Tigers hold off fast-finishing Saints

Derby Tigers and Broome Saints played out an enthralling clash at Haynes Oval on Saturday in the West Kimberley Football League, with Derby winning a close game 13.7 (85) to 11.12 (78).

Derby, a grand finalist last year, were looking to get off the mark after losing their opening fixture to Cable Beach, while Saints knew they would be in for a tougher game after dispatching Bidyadanga comfortably in their first outing.

Derby were missing key forward Michael Embley, but took the game to their opponents early on, opening up a 5.2 (32) to 2.2 (14) lead in the first quarter.

Despite determined play from Saints the score remained in the Tigers’ favour approaching half-time, with the visitors up 9.2 (54) to 5.5 (35) at the interval.

Saints reduced the deficit at the end of the third quarter to 17 points and in the final term Tigers managed to hold on for a thrilling victory.

Scott McKenzie kicked five goals for Derby in an impressive display, while Trent Audas and Adam Hunter were also on the mark with four goals each respectively.

Des Headland continued the good start to his Saints career with four goals for the losing side, while Michael Farmer kicked three.

Derby president Brett Angwin felt his side played well, despite missing a few players.

“It is good to get our first win, and we are still missing a number of players due to work commitments and personal reasons,” he said.

“You don’t win a premiership in the first weeks of the season, but it is good to get on the board.”

Saints coach Neil Bourke said his players applied themselves well, but needed to be more clinical in front of goal.

“We are pretty happy with how we played, and we started to play well after a slow first quarter,” he said.

“We came from behind to reduce the gap, but you can’t afford to make mistakes against quality opposition.

“The disappointing thing is that our forward line missed a number of opportunities to kick goals. We had a chat about it after the game and hopefully we can learn from that.”

Derby play their first home game of the campaign this Saturday against Broome Bulls, while Saints’ mettle will be tested as they face reigning premiers Cable Beach at Haynes Oval at 11am on Saturday.