Tigers take it one triumph at a time

THE Tigers have already exceeded expectations in Adam Griffith’s first year at the helm, but the coach still refuses to ponder the fairytale finish within touching distance.

Yesterday’s 16-run win against SA lifted Tasmania back into second spot on the Sheffield Shield table, with next week’s home game against three-time defending champion Victoria to decide who will reach this season’s final.

Griffith took over from Dan Marsh — who was sacked with two rounds remaining last year — and inherited a squad that had won consecutive wooden spoons. Now they are one good performance away from potentially hosting the shield decider and earning a shot at a fourth title in 11 seasons.

It’s a remarkable turn- around, and while the ambitions since the start of the campaign have shifted, the long-term vision hasn’t.

“That’s what you do with your goals, if you are going well you reassess. We will sit down as a high performance group and all the staff that have worked really hard this year . . . and assess where we are at,” Griffith said. “I have said all along we are on a journey and the directions we want to head in and we are heading in that direction, which is a really pleasing thing for me.

“We will let the boys enjoy today and enjoy the win but then we will refocus on Victoria. One bad performance next week and we are out of the running. Four wins is probably a little bit above expectations of where we thought we would be this year. We are really happy with that and will see if we can make it five.”

If there has been one notable change within the playing ranks it has been the rise of confidence levels.

“Confidence is good, they are enjoying their cricket, which is probably the biggest thing at the moment,” Griffith said.