ROUND one of the South Coast AFL competition kicked off on Friday night with a local derby between the Bomaderry Tigers and the Nowra Blues at West Street Oval.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
This was the first time this season the teams had gone head-to-head, with them missing out on a match-up at the Tom Smith Oval the previous week.
In the knockout Nowra had only one win over Albatross, but went into the clash on Friday night full of heart.
Bomaderry were coming off a stellar 2013 season where they finished third on the competition ladder.
Despite having to reshape their team due to almost half moving on, there was still a core group of regular players ready to take on the Blues.
From the first blow of the whistle Bomaderry came out firing and the Blues struggled to get past the Tigers’ defence.
Up front, Bradley Graham kicked three goals for the Tigers, and was well supported by James Lees, Matt Case and Brayden Varcose, who all scored two goals each.
Dylan Nelson and Scott Fagerlund were the only goalkickers for Nowra, with the final score going the Tigers’ way 86-15.
Best players for the Tigers were Irwin Burbage, Lees, Matthew Wyles, Andrew Ellis, Brent Herdman and Jack Hangan
Over at Bonaira Oval, a closer match was played on Saturday between Kiama and Northern Districts.
Kiama finished runner-up in the 2013 season, but Northern Districts proved to be more than a match for them, taking the win 65-51.
Northern Districts had Kiama on the back foot from the blow of the whistle after four goals in the first quarter put the Tigers in front 24-16.
Kiama were having plenty of opportunities to put them ahead, but were only grabbing single points.
However, at the end of the third quarter persistence had paid off for Power, and they had caught up to be a point ahead of the Tigers.
The fourth quarter had spectators on the edge of their seats as the two teams fought for first round points.
The Tigers eventually claimed that honour after they scored three goals to Power’s two in the final quarter, taking the win 65-61.
In the other games Figtree celebrated a 108-48 win over Port Kembla, whereas defending premiers Wollongong proved they have returned with strong form with a 169-22 win over Shellharbour.
