The stars are starting to align for the Tassie Tigers as they remain disciplined, follow the team plan and are coalescing as a team, which saw them rewarded with a convincing 5-1 win over the South Australian Hotshots.
While the Tigers' progression during the AHL tournament is consistent with coach Glenn Freeman's mantra of continuous improvement, it is pleasing to see the team's self-belief growing and their confidence returning after some disappointing results.
Today's match started poorly for the Tigers as the Hotshots converted their first PC of the match. This was the only time that they appeared to provide any threat to the Tigers, who subsequently switched to game mode and shut the Hotshots out of the game. The Tigers' strong defence and midfield continued to frustrate the opposition's forwards, while the Tigers' forwards played with a new sense of purpose.
Once again, Luke Doerner converted an early PC to put the Tigers on the scoreboard. This was followed by a wonderfully set up goal to Angus Boulton in the 17th minute that saw the ball move from one side of the field to the other before a pin point pass found Boulton free on the spot, with plenty of time to convert.
An overlap by Nick Budgeon late in the first half saw his clever backstick flick beat the keeper but not the legs of the defender on the goal line. Budgeon duly converted the penalty stroke to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead with 6 minutes remaining in the half. A crude tackle on Sam McCambridge a minute later saw the Tigers earn a second penalty stroke, which was put away by Luke Doerner.
At half time Glenn Freeman asked his team to ignore the scoreboard, not to get complacent and to keep improving in the second half. The Tigers responded but were met by a determined Hotshots team. While a number of chances were missed by the Tigers, they denied their opponents any clear opportunities to score, as shown by the Hotshots only getting their second PC in the final minutes of the match.
The only goal of the term occurred in the 55th minute when Geoff Cock pounced on the rebound of a PC shot. The score could have been better than the 5-1 end result when the Tigers received a third penalty stroke (this time for the keeper taking out Angus Boulton) but Nick Budgeon's shot was saved.
The Tigers are full of confidence and will use the next 48 hours wisely to prepare for their next match against the NT Stingers on Tuesday and their final pool match against the Victorian Vikings on Wednesday. It is likely that the match against the Vikings may determine which of the two teams progresses to the medal round.
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