The Grafton Tigers AFL team are only one win away from successfully defending their 2011 AFL North Coast premiership when they face off against the Sawtell Saints in the 2012 grand final at Coffs Harbours BCU International Stadium on Saturday.
The Tigers and the Saints have faced off 3 times already this season and it’s the Tigers who have the bragging rights in those matches with two victories to the Saints one.
But the Tigers will take little comfort in that fact after some monumental battles between these two sides in 2012.
They first met in round 1 in Grafton this year, when the Tigers romped home convincing winners, 140 – 46, however the Saints were able to regroup by the time the sides met in Sawtell for round 6 and it was the Saints who were singing the club song after kicking clear late in the game with a 70 to 44 victory over the Tigers.
By the time of their round 10 encounter, the game had been labeled as a possible grand final preview with the Tigers only suffering the one defeat and sitting on top of the table, and the Saints came into the match with a 6 game winning streak and in second on the ladder.
What followed was a titanic struggle between two evenly matched and determined sides, the match only decided in the final minutes of the last quarter with the Tigers gaining the upper hand to defeat the Saints 94 – 79.
The Tigers have proven themselves to be the benchmark throughout the season and finished comfortably at the top of the table to take out the minor premiership for the second year in a row.
With a formidable forward line that includes Captain Dan Zacek, Lee Anderson, Evan Duryea, Carl Boehme, Chris Holder & Luke Hayman, the Tigers have the ability to use multiple players as goal scorers which has proven to give many an opposition coach nightmares throughout the season.
But the depth of talent doesn’t stop there, Sam Morrison, Ronald Davis, Tim Whalan& Scott Onus in the midfield have consistently outplayed their opponents to deliver the ball forward off the hands of the big ruckmen of Dan Gordon and Grahame Connolly, while in the backlines, Ryan Sheather, Kelly Thompson, Will Darby, Dion McGregor & John Chapple have the statistics to boast being the strongest backline in the competition.
Not to be out done, Sawtell has an equally impressive team after taking advantage of the collapse of the Nambucca Valley Lions, with many of the Lions joining the ranks of the Saints for 2012.
Quality players like Ray McGrath, Jimmy Angel and Luke Benson have joined their ranks this year to team up with Elliot Schmit, Les Cohen, Patrick Gillingham, Craig Parsons & Trent Baade to name just a few, its every reason that Saints captain/coach Ben Hooke will take some confidence into the match.
It all builds up to what is expected to be a epic battle between two tough and evenly matched teams this weekend, and both sides will be determined to get the upper hand early, but as proved between these two sides this season, the premiership will likely to be decided in the last quarter.
The one thing that is a certainty in Saturday’s grand finale is that the team that hold aloft the AFL North Coast premiership cup after the final siren will be a deserving victor and will have overcome stiff opposition to do so.
For all the Tigers fans who wish to attend, there will be a supporters bus leaving Ellem Oval in Prince St at 10:30am at a cost of $15 per head, entry into BCU International Stadium is $10.
11:30 am - Under 18’s – Port Macquarie Magpies v North Coffs Kangaroos.
1:00 pm - Reserves– Coffs Swans v Sawtell Saints
2:30pm –Seniors – Grafton Tigers v Sawtell Saints
Last Modified on 31/08/2012 06:53