The 2023 AFL Scotland Elimination Final saw the Tyne Tees Tigers host the Kingdom Kangaroos on our home turf in Gosforth, and from the opening bounce a powerful Tiger outfit took complete control of the game, running out 212 point winners (38.18.246 v 4.10.34).

 

As the scoreline suggests, the Tigers dominated in every aspect of the game against an undermanned Roos team who – despite battling valiantly for the four quarters – were simply no match for the team in yellow and black.

 

From a Tigers perspective, it was heartening to see our backline communicating well and working in a cohesive way. As a result, they were the creative source of many Tiger forays into attack, and once the ball had found its way into our forward line our key forwards took full advantage, with Luke Rowson and David Hodgson kicking 11 and 7 goals respectively.

 

Luke and ‘Hodgy’ might have bagged the biggest goal numbers on the weekend, but the more pleasing aspect of the game was the spread of effort across the whole 15 Tigers who took the field. The class of Ben Hawtin, Harry Telfer and Roy Brannigan was self evident, but once again the fantastic efforts of relative newcomers ‘Yoda’ Kawase and Ben Bell were an encouraging sign of the depth of talent gradually building at Tigerland.

 

We thank the Kingdom Kangaroos for making the long trip down from Fife for yesterday’s game, and now move onto next week and the Preliminary Final to be played against the Glasgow Sharks up in Glasgow. 

 

It’s currently one all in our encounters with the Sharks in Season 2023 - we held on for a 6 point victory when we hosted them in Gosforth back in April of this year, but then suffered a heavy 120 point defeat in our return fixture against them in Glasgow in May. 

 

What will the outcome be this weekend? 

 

Time will tell. We know that when the Sharks hit their straps as a team they are a formidable opponent, but we also know that there is a quiet resolve and hunger for the contest building at Tigerland, and we’re looking forward to testing ourselves once again against one of the best teams in the AFL Scotland league.