Tigers secure in third place but eyeing-off double chance for GFL finals

Boulder had 12 goal kickers and enjoyed a 15-goal second half in Saturday’s Goldfields Football League win against Kambalda, 29.13 (187) to 0.1 (1), but it came at a price with injuries to Brett Blair and Cam Grover.

The Tigers led by 89 points at half-time and piled on 15.7 after the main break to consolidate third spot with six wins.

It was a goal feast led by Callum Johnson and Andy Higgins, each with five majors, and Blair and Shyrone Graham contributed four apiece.

But Boulder coach Simon Edwards confirmed that Blair and Grover could miss this Saturday’s derby clash against Mines Rovers with knee and hamstring injuries, respectively.

“We were a bit of the walking wounded yesterday (Saturday),” Edwards said.

“Apart from those two lads, it seems everyone else is OK — apart from the normal knocks and scrapes — and in reasonable nick.

“I’d think Cameron might miss a game, but it could be a bit longer with Blairy until those scans are done and we get some clarification.”

Blair is the Tigers’ leading forward with 35 goals, trailing only Railways’ Chris Yarran (62).

An upside, however, could be the versatility of Johnson, who is highly-regarded as a midfielder but enjoyed a day-out up forward against the Eagles in between runs on the ball.

Boulder are two games adrift of second-placed Mines Rovers, but Edwards said his group were aggressively chasing a top-two finish.

“Our mindset is to definitely try and get ourselves into second (place),” he said.

“Mathematically, we have enough games left to do it.

“Obviously we’d have to win most of those, but we’re not lowering our standards and only aiming for third when second position is up for grabs.

“Two bites of the cherry in finals is always handy and we’ve got the cattle — it’s just a matter of getting everyone on the field at the same time.

“Work commitments and injuries like we had against Kambalda means five or six changes every weekend and shuffling the magnets around to cover, rather than building within the entire squad but every club says the same thing.”