Boyup belting seals Tigers’ finals berth

The Tigers can prepare for finals football after demolishing Boyup Brook by 94 points at Rea Park on Sunday.

In the wet and wintry conditions, the Tigers’ engine room set up the convincing victory, initiating a continuous forward drive that delivered a winning score of 18.19 (127) to 5.3 (33).

The Tigers’ ruck-rover combination of Jeff Smith and Tim Ioannou were able to crash through the Roos’ defence to set in motion a succession of goals.

Smith’s ruckwork was exceptional, as the big-man commanded centre square control with deft tapping to set the wheels in motion.

Lyndon Muir was the beneficiary of the ball flying forward at speed, sneaking through three goals in the first term, while Nathan Ward was in the thick of things to ensure the home side built a 36-point lead by quarter time.

The centre square carnage continued unabated in the second term, again on the back of Smith’s supremacy.

Despite this, the Roos gave a dogged defensive effort, but the sheer weight of attacks delivered by home side led to the adddition of another five goals on the scoreboard.

Brent Piercy, Luke Dale and Shaun Hodgson joined in on the dominance, delivering some clean football to keep the Roos on the back foot, while Brett Stephen and Dan Ward were solid in defence.

With the game won, the second-half highlights were scarce, albeit the Roos continued to battle away in their defensive half to stymie an expected avalanche of Tigers’ goals.

Lance North, Kaiden Aitken and Jamie Crane worked hard for the Roos, while Michael McLeod kicked three goals.