The Grafton Tigers AFL team had the difficult task of travelling to Port Macquarie for round 3 of the North Coast AFL competition on Saturday to take on the Port Macquarie Magpies.
For Grafton it was a chance to prove that they were a formidable force this year after defeating last season’s runners up, North Coffs Kangaroos in round 1.
The match started with Grafton dominating early possession to open up a 14 point lead by quarter time, but with Port regathering to dominate the second quarter to lead into half time with a 4 point buffer.
The third quarter was hotly contested affair with neither side willing to lie down, they traded goal for goal with Grafton gaining the upper hand late in the quarter to lead into the final break with a 8 point lead, the Magpies had no answer to the dominating Tigers midfield in the final term with Grafton run away winners 16.10.106 to Ports 12.5.77
It’s the first time Grafton have beaten Port Macquarie at their home ground in more than 10 years of trying.
Top scorers for Grafton were Shawn Purton with 4 goals, Evan Duryea, Dale Beaver and Dan Zacek with 3 each.
Stand out players for the tigers were midfielders Ron “Hooky” Davis and Dale Beaver who were simply too classy in the middle of the ground providing the forwards of Purton, Zarcek and Duryea plenty of possession and opportunities to score points.
After defeating two of last year’s top three teams, the Tigers meet the reigning premiers, the Sawtell Saints at JJ Lawrence oval this weekend in what promises to be close and exciting match on the much improved Grafton Tigers current form.
Last Modified on 18/05/2011 20:42