Craig Dudley
The Tylden Tigers took the field on Sunday in wet and muddy conditions, led by captain, Kristian Knight-Hills, celebrating his 50th game. They faced the Gisborne Blues at Gisborne. Both teams came out playing hard in the first quarter. Despite the mud, it was a fast game with both defences put under constant pressure as the ball moved around the ground. Tylden scored first with points followed by a goal. The Blues responded with a goal of their own just before quarter-time. The closeness of the game was evident with Tylden leading by only two points. The second quarter was just as tight. 'The General' Charles Pritchard, together with David Ash, showed their usual best in defence. The two are becoming a formidable defence force with strong marks and ball control. They were well supported by a number of younger players including Tristan Newman. Tylden stood tall with only three points scored between the two teams for the quarter.
Determined to give their leader a win for his 50th, Tylden ran out after half-time in pouring rain. Kristian led by example, constantly pushing the ball into Tylden's attacking half. His wing men, Carlin Arumets-Smith and David Dudley, were on fire, stepping up and taking on their opposition, determined to win the ball. It was a drawn game at three-quarter-time with everything in place for an exciting fourth quarter.
Both teams were determined to win. Halfway through the quarter both teams had kicked a goal and scores were still tied. A late goal by the Blues in the dying minutes pushed them into the lead. Tylden pushed the ball forward, again putting pressure on the Blues' defence and kicking a point. Desperately looking for that winning score, Tylden pushed forward again. Despite their best efforts, time ran out for Tylden and the Blues took the points with the final score - Blues 3.3 (21) to Tylden 2.4 (16).
It was a hard-fought muddy match and both teams should be proud of the quality of the 'real' wet weather football that they played. Coach Grant Hills was again impressed with what he saw.
"The team fought hard all game," Hills said, "everybody did their best and rose to the occasion."
"No-one stopped until the final siren and that was evident in the final score. It was a hard but exciting game and I'm pleased with how the team is developing."
The goal scorers for Tylden were vice-captain, Justin McKeone, and Salvatore Amenta. Kristian Knight-Hills received the Subway Best Player Award for his outstanding 50th game. Adam Donnelly and Mitchell Kirley received the All Conditions Driving School Mars Bar Awards. The Opposition Player of the Day, awarded by Gisborne Blues, went to Tristan Newman for his fantastic game.
All teams will have a bye with the interleague played over the weekend. Tylden's next game will be Sunday June 16, kick off at 11.30am, at home. Everyone welcome. The Tylden Tigers would like to thank all their sponsors for their ongoing support this year.
See next week's Macedon Ranges Guardian for more scores on all other games in the competition.
