Wolfe best-on-ground as Tigers stun Lions to claim crown

Railways sixteens produced a stunning performance to upset Royals by 35 points in the grand final on Sunday morning at Sounness Park.

The Lions had only lost two games all year but a fast-moving Tigers outfit used a strong first half to set up the win and a three-goal third quarter gave them an insurmountable 40-point lead at the last change, eventually winning, 7.5 (47) to 2.0 (12).

The Tigers controlled the opening term with repeated forward thrusts as they piled on four unanswered goals with Jamon Barrett kicking two.

The Lions appeared to have found a spark when captain Nic Finlay caught Rory Gibbs holding the ball and goaled from a tight angle, however they failed to make any serious inroads on the scoreboard as they went into the main break down by 22 points. The Tigers burst out of the blocks in the second half with goals to Jeff Fitzpatrick and Jonah Muir in the first four minutes to push the lead out to 35 points, and when Muir kicked his second for the quarter 10 minutes later the Tigers looked home.

A last-quarter goal to Royals brought the final margin back to 35 points as the Tigers won their first sixteens flag since 2013.

Tom Wolfe was named best afield as he ran rampant through the middle of the ground.

Wolfe capped a brilliant finals series as he played the latter stages of the season with the sixteens after a solid stint in the colts and said it was great to win the grand final.

Nelson Kent was also instrumental in the midfield while Fitzpatrick and Declan Willey provided strong marking options.

Finlay played a captain’s game for the Lions and Samuel Collins and Ben Watson put in strong performances.