Sport
17 August, 2022
Finals bound
FINISHING top five on the Mininera ladder was the aim for season 2022 and Tigers coach Tyson Hogan was pleased his side accomplished that.
FINISHING top five on the Mininera ladder was the aim for season 2022 and Tigers coach Tyson Hogan was pleased his side accomplished that.
After COVID forced the abandonment of the previous finals series, the Tigers were keen to ensure they made the 2022 finals and gave themselves the chance to bring home a premiership.
“It was certainly disappointing after a great season last year not to have had the chance to play in finals so we made it our goal this year to finish in the top five and we’ve done exactly that,” Hogan said.
“Now we need to finish what we started – and bring home the flag.”
Sitting comfortable in fourth, Hogan is confident his team has what it takes to make it through to grand final on September 3.
“Like many clubs we’ve certainly had our fair share of injuries across the board, both in the seniors and the reserves, as well as COVID interruptions including a forfeit round, but we’re hopefully back at full strength come this Sunday,” Hogan said.
Hogan said the vibe around the club was very much a united, positive one and he was confident this would reflect come game day.
“We know what we have to do to overcome the Rams, and then to push through the following couple of weeks."
“Come finals time it doesn’t matter if you’re sitting top or fifth, you still have to beat everyone to get that flag.”
Hogan believes ladder leaders Ararat will be the greatest threat to the Tigers’ end goal, having lost to them by 21 points in round six.
“They have a couple of star on-ballers who we will need to shut down early if we get the chance to play them,” Hogan said.
“Full credit to Ararat, they’ve picked up some real handy footballers.”
Hogan paid tribute to the full squad at the Tigers, saying their dedication and persistence had paid off.
“Our reserves only just missed out on playing finals and many of those blokes also had a run in the seniors during the season so the future looks good for the club. If we can retain those players for next season and have a strong pre-season they’ll also be a force come 2023.”
