Sport
10 September, 2024
Tigers to face Buffs in AFL Mount Isa grand final
The old rivals will do battle at Legend Oval this Saturday.
Can Buffs follow the footsteps of their netball counterparts and complete a perfect season, or will the Tigers produce a fairytale finish and spoil the party with a premiership?
Those are the questions on the minds of AFL Mount Isa fans, who will flock to Legend Oval on Saturday with the expectation of a good game of footy between two long-time rivals.
While Buffs will be favourites, and deservedly so, the Tigers will fancy their chances.
On Saturday, they produced one of their best performances of the season to knock off Lake Nash in a dominant display.
The Tigers led from start to finish and held the Bats at bay to record a 70-point win in the preliminary final.
Co-captain Jarrad Quinn said he was pleased with the all-round performance of his teammates.
“We’re pretty stoked; it’s been a long year – we played in a lot of games where we didn’t have much cattle, but come finals we’ve got a full side,” he said.
“I think we’re looking pretty good for next week. It’ll be a strong side like today, so we think we can give Buffs a good run for their money.”
Quinn said getting a strong start, similar to their performance against Lake Nash, would be critical to getting the upper hand over Buffs, which has talent on all three lines across the field.
“We planned to start the game hard and get on top while kicking with the breeze,” he said.
“It’s pretty hot at this time of year so you don’t want to be trying to kick a big score in the last quarter to try and win it.”
Asked if Buffs could be beaten, Quinn was steadfast in his belief.
“They have been the standout team all year and they won against us last week to get straight into the grand final, so we’ve definitely got a challenge to beat them, but we’re going to go for it full steam and try and knock them on the head,” the skipper said.
“We are (still rivals) and there always seems to be a bit of tension in the game whenever we play, so hopefully next week is the same.
“Having said that, it’s always nice and fair and clean – you won’t see fights breaking out because we respect each other – but we are there to win it, for sure.”
Saturday’s grand final between Buffs and Tigers will bounce down at 12.30pm at Legend Oval.
A women’s contest will act as the curtain-raiser.