Tigers prevail in stunning fashion

By Rover

NINTH-PLACED Mirboo North produced one of the upsets of the Mid Gippsland season, when it defeated 2022 premiership hopeful, Boolarra, by 13 points at Tigerland on Saturday.

Boolarra’s unexpected loss sees it drop from second to fourth on the ladder, and the Demons now risk missing the double chance in this year’s finals.

In a display of innovation, unity and strength, the mighty Tigers refused to be a timorous foe, ripe for the picking.   

By and large, Mirboo North’s master plan of keeping Boolarra’s star imports, Luke Marriott, Ricky Cochrane, Kyle Hearn, Nick Miller and Josh Segond relatively quiet, worked a treat. 

Prior to the match, Christine and Holly Johnson conducted a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony in glorious sunshine, to mark Mirboo North hosting its fifth Indigenous Round fixture since 2017.

Early on, the visitors looked cumbersome, slow and lethargic, with one spectator remarking, “I don’t think all the extra hard training I’ve read about in the paper, has done Boolarra much good.”

Mirboo North started feverishly, fearlessly and ferociously with a goal apiece from skipper, Damien Turner, youngster, Max Woodall and giant killer, Liam Nash — who finished with four majors for the day — that unsettled the Demons in the opening 14 minutes of  the contest.

Soon after Boolarra’s Michael Cleaver booted back-to-back rear-guard goals to open the Demons’ account, Hudson Kerr replied to give Mirboo North a handy 11-point buffer at quarter-time.

Despite a vociferous spray from coach, Tony Giardina, Boolarra’s play showed little improvement in the second quarter, with Mirboo North outscoring its highly-fancied opponents by a goal.

Time and again, Mirboo North’s defenders, Joel Lambourn, Jacob Blair, Beau Peters, Rhys Kratzat, Taj Wilkins and Tyron Stevens intercepted the Demons’ forward advances by taking chances and attacking the Sherrin at all costs.

All the while, indefatigable long-kicking left-footed onballer, Ben Campbell, was frequently gathering quality possessions around the ground for the Tigers.

Rotating ruckmen Joe Brooks, Mitch Richardson and Patrick Lewis, last-minute inclusion Isayah Terrick, juniors Harry Mahoney and Rory Peter, plus veteran Dom Pinneri, were also heroic contributors for the home side.

However, the Tigers were suddenly one man down when playing coach, Josh Taylor, ripped his right hamstring; it dropped the ‘Blond Bombshell’ as though he’d been shot by a stray bullet and ended his season on the spot.

A clever snap at the top of the goal square by Aidyn Sheers was just what Boolarra needed to begin the third quarter — but only three behinds followed for the rest of the term.

After Nash crashed his way through a pack and let fly from the boundary line from 40 metres for Mirboo North’s seventh goal, Kerr followed suit with another major on the run —  that put the Tigers 22 points clear at the last change.

A solid mark and tight-angled goal from Sam Mazou, 63 seconds into the last term excited Boolarra fans, and after three successive behinds and their sixth major, the Demons had reduced the deficit to 13 points.

Mirboo North looked weary and almost spent, making several tackling errors that conceded free kicks — and it seemed Boolarra’s new-found momentum would carry it home.

Then, against the flow, came hard-fought goals from multiple premiership stars, Turner and Nash, that put the game beyond Boolarra’s reach

On both occasions, Mirboo North worked the ball forward with gritty endeavour where the Tigers ‘ will-to-win had won the contested ball, when it really counted.

Hamish Towns marked and recorded Boolarra’s seventh goal deep into time on.

But time had run out for the Demons, and Tigerland remains its nemesis for yet another year.