Sport
1 September, 2024
'Gutsy' Tigers claim tight win in extra time thriller | WFNL finals
Nhill kicked five first quarter goals but held off the Demons.
WFNL Football
Stawell
The Nhill Tigers have booked its place in the WFNL semi-final after an 11.14 (80) - 11.7 (73) extra-time win against Horsham at Central Park on Sunday, September 1.
Tigers senior coach Jake McQueen and assistant David Flood were thrilled with the "gutsy" display.
"To fight like that through extra time [it is a] credit these guys. They have been through a lot in the last five to six years; it hasn't been easy," Flood said.
"There's plenty of resolve in this group, both on and off the field, and they just want to keep getting better. And it's the passion and determination that got rewarded today."
The Tigers flew out of the blocks with five first-quarter goals with the breeze, but McQueen was pleased with how his defence held up.
"We knew it was probably a four or five-goal breeze, so we needed to send a few back and try and help out our defence," he said.
I thought we fought pretty well to keep them to four goals [in the second term]."
Ryan Kemp and Tyler Blake led the Demons' fightback in the second half, but McQueen was happy with how his side handled extra time after some initial confusion.
"We just went back to exactly what we were doing because we just had [numbers] back behind the ball so clogged up their forward line, and we were lucky enough to get one against the breeze,"
He credited Patrick Purcell, Deek Roberts and Daniel Batson's impact on settling the group in tense moments.
And Roberts backed it up on the field.
After telling his coach, "I can't find the footy" in the first half, the veteran "was the difference in the game."
"He just went to another level. I think that's the experience and the finals that he's played in, so he knows when to stand up and what to do at a big time," McQueen said.
Roberts, Dylan Ridding and Drew Schneider kicked three goals, as Roberts and Jarryd Dahlenburg finished atop the best.
Kemp booted three goals for Horsham and featured in the best with Blake.
The Tigers will now face the Stawell Warriors in the semi-final but may do so without Purcell (foot) and Glen Saniong (hamstring.)
Stawell has progressed to the under-14s semi final after a 4.4 (28) 1.4 (10) victory against Dimboola.
Tom Collins and Dusty Wethers kicked two goals.
The Warriors will now play the Horsham Saints.
Nhill has come from behind to defeat Stawell 3.8 (24) - 3.5 (23) in the under-17s
Jett Rabone was one of the Tigers' three goal kickers and featured in the best.
Nhill will now play Ararat in the semi-final at Coughlin Park.
The Southern Mallee Thunder have fended off a late surge from Dimboola to take a 6.5 (41) - 5.8 (38) win in the reserves.
Adam Schultz kicked two goals as the Thunder booked a semi-final spot against Stawell.