By Trevor Jackson
Tantanoola 16.20 116 d Nangwarry 16.9 105
It was a tough Round 1 Mid South East football win for Tantanoola on Saturday.
With the game transferred from Nangwarry, the Tigers enjoyed a home-ground advantage but someone forgot to tell the Saints.
In a turnaround from recent seasons, where the Saints struggled to kick a score, the Tigers had to fight right to the final siren to claim the points.
In fact, Nangwarry led early in the contest before the Tigers found their feet and began to apply scoreboard pressure.
While Tantanoola closed the margin leading to the main break, scores were tied and the Saints were right in the contest.
From there little separated the two sides and it was anyone’s guess who would salute at the end of the day.
Nangwarry was buoyed by an eight-goal haul from forward Andrew Hyland, who provided a strong target inside 50 and finished off with style.
But the Tigers had plenty of goal kickers of their own, including coach Jak Ryan who bagged six majors.
Troy Hatt and Braydn Reilly kicked three each, while Jack Dawe and Liam English added two each.
While Ryan was pleased with the outcome, he said it was certainly a wakeup call for the Tigers.
“It opened a few boys eyes to where they are fitness wise,” he said.
“I think Nangwarry came in with a lot of confidence and I think my boys went in expecting the same old story.
“It kind of made them pull their fingers out after a quarter or two.”
Ryan said the Saints would not go away, with plenty to prove after such a long time in the wilderness.
“They have had about eight years of something to prove,” he said.
“That first win is important to them.”
Tantanoola’s goals came from various areas, including Dawe and Hatt from the mid-field, which showed a lot of run through the middle of the ground under plenty of pressure.
The chance of a victory hinged on the Tigers’ ability to stop Hyland up forward, which Ryan addressed early n the contest.
“About mid-way through the second quarter we took Zane Walker off (Hyland) and Will Wright went there,” he said.
“To his credit he knew where he could kick goals from.
“He found himself in the deep pockets and was happy as Larry to kick them from there.
“But our mid-field also needed to shut down their delivery.”
Ryan said that mid-field strength would take some time to develop.
“Last year myself and Jack Dawe didn’t have a chance to bond much due to my injury,” he said.
“I sat up forward a fair bit, so this was the first game we got to bond a bit.
“We were getting plenty of it so now it is the next stage – after we get plenty of it to get it into the forward line.
“Within a few games we will be able to give a wink or a nod and know which way we were going.”
While a win is the ultimate result in any round of football, Ryan said it was more of a relief to claim the points.
“Towards the end the celebration was more like we dodged a bullet,” he said.
“I know the boys can play a lot better than that – it was the one-percenter skill areas we were lacking, simple marks, simple hand balls and some decision making.
“We have a lot to learn which is good.
“Rather than going out and winning by 100 points, where you don’t get much out of it, this way we can work on certain structures ready for Robe this week.”
