THE Bomaderry Tigers are on the verge of qualifying for the AFL South Coast premier men's finals series after recording their third straight victory on Saturday, downing the Wollongong Bulldogs 8.7-55 to 5.14-44.
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After back-to-back wins against Shellharbour City and Northern Districts, the hosts at Artie Smith Oval jumped out of the blocks on Saturday, to lead 25-11 after the first quarter.
"I had a sense before the game that we were going to be really switched on," Tigers coach Matt Barnes said.
"They beat us convincingly earlier in the year but we aren't that team anymore.
"The guys have been working hard to get to a level where they can maintain the required work rate for four quarters".
The black and golds' lead stretched to 20 points by the main break, before the Dogs closed it to under three goals at the end of the third quarter.
But despite the visitors closing the margin to just four points, a late goal by Tyler Dunstan sealed the Tigers' fifth win of the campaign.
"I was pleased with most aspects of Saturday's performance but there are still areas we need to work hard on," Barnes said.
"We were harder at the ball all day and more desperate in the contest, which was a reward for effort on the training track - it was a very physical game.
"It's taken a bit longer than I'd hoped for us to be playing with this intensity but it's the right time of the year to be hitting our straps.
"We'll go into this weekend's game with one eye on the Kiama game - if we get through, I'm certain we have the game to cause a few headaches in September."
In the 11-point win, Jordan Matthews (three), Dunstan (two), Blair Oliver (two) and Mathew Ganderton kicked majors, while Adriaan Toms, Tom Hines, Tristan Craig, John Muggleton, Siwa Harvey-Aziz and Courtney Ward also had strong games.
"It was a big day for the club - to win both men's and women's premier division games was great," Barnes said.
"But I've already moved onto planning for this week's game and trying a few new things out against the Wollongong Lions."
Looking ahead, Barnes' Tigers will lock up a spot in the finals if they can defeat competition front-runners Lions or the Bulldogs fall to second-placed Kiama, in this Saturday's final round.
Earlier in the day, as Barnes alluded to, Geoff Gibbs' premier women's team toughed out a 2.8-20 to 3.1-19 victory against the league leading Bulldogs.
Lily Macdonald and Katie Sargent were the hosts' two goal-kickers, while Sophie Phillips, Emma Dempsey, Jess Liddiard, Jaimi-Lee Gibbs and Bridget Kellett also stood out.
The final match at Artie Smith Oval on Saturday saw Brent Tyrrell's division one men's side fall to the undefeated Bulldogs 8.9-57 to 4.2-26, despite goals from Matt Hickmott (two), William Grootenboer and Mitchell Wurr.
Others to have solid performances in the defeat were John Ulrick, James Macdonald, Lachlan Hunt and Charlie Bramley.
Elsewhere, both Nowra-Albatross Vikings teams had the bye, while Bay and Basin fell 4.3-27 to 3.4-22 to Wollongong Bulldogs in their division one women's fixture.