Tigers string together back-to-back wins with victory over Turvey Park

The Tigers built a 21-point three quarter time lead with a five-goals-to-three term, but had to withstand a Bulldogs fightback to prevail 11.14 (80) to 11.5 (71).

The win before next week's competition bye was crucial for the fourth-placed Tigers (4-3), who now enjoy a two-game gap over Turvey Park (2-5).

With Stephenson moving himself down back the past two weeks after starting the year up forward, the Tigers' greater versatility in the forward 50 is paying dividends with Nick Ryan, Brady Morton and Ryan Falkenberg all finishing with two goals apiece.

Youngsters Baxter Wallet (four goals) and Pat Voss (three) led the way up forward for the Bulldogs, with another teenager Luke Fellows judged their best.

Stephenson said it could have been easy for his youthful players to take their eye off the prize, or even be intimidated, as the Wagga derby became tense on a handful of occasions.

He praised their composure and ability to focus on the job at hand, which was shoring up their place in the top five.

"It was good for our young guys to stand up in a game that got a bit fiery at times and a bit spiteful," Stephenson said.

"There was a couple (of spotfires), but the pleasing thing is we didn't go away from playing footy. You look after each other, but we didn't go away from playing footy.

"That was some maturity our young guys showed in some sense. Sometimes young players can maybe get intimidated in that situation, and none of them did.

"The demographic of their (Bulldogs') playing group is probably pretty similar to ours. They've got a lot of young guys and some senior guys, but not too many in between 25 or 26 year old types."

It was the first time the Tigers had strung together back-to-back wins after last week's big victory against Narrandera.

The Tigers created the majority of chances, with their wastefulness in front of goal making life more difficult than it should.

"We had the majority of chances and probably just didn't take them. The scoring shots indicate that as well," Stephenson said.

"But they (Turvey Park) were good, they were at it all day and they worked hard. They were definitely a huge challenge.

"We weren't really looking at our win-loss as such coming into today, it was more just about getting some consistency week to week.

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"We've played some good footy and poor footy at stages of the year, but getting back to back wins is a big thing.

"It's a reward for backing up what you do on the track, the vibe around the place is good because you're winning games of footy.

"There's still a lot to work on for us. We've got a young group, a lot of developing players, and the upside is there's a lot of improvement left."

Charlie Bance's composure when the Bulldogs made a late charge was vital in the Tigers maintaining control of the contest.

"He had an absolute ripping game, he really stood up when it counted. In the last quarter it got pretty tense and tight, Turvey had a bit of a surge and he was our rock," Stephenson said.

"When the game was on the line he was a calm head for us, he wins footy and makes good decisions.

"Jock Heeney has only played three or four senor games and didn't put a foot wrong, he had another good game today.

"Our forward line is starting to jel a bit better with Brady (Morton), Ryan Falkenberg and Nick Ryan and Jock Cornell. There's a few promising performances.

"It was just about getting a win, it wasn't our most polished performance. It was a physical game and we stood up in the end."

The only downside for the Tigers was an early ankle injury to defender Hamish Gilmore.

Wagga Tigers 3.5 5.6 10.11 11.14 (80) def Turvey Park 3.1 5.1 8.2 11.5 (71)

GOALS: Wagga Tigers - Ryan Falkenberg 2, Brady Morton 2, Nick Ryan 2, Thomas McCoullough, Nathan Cooke, Fraser Yates, Brendan Myers, Murray Stephenson; Turvey Park - Baxter Wallett 4, Patrick Voss 3, Harrison Stapleton 2, Tyler Cunningham 2.

BEST: Wagga Tigers - Charlie Bance, Shaun Flanigan, Nathan Cooke, Nick Ryan, Brady Morton, Jock Cornell; Turvey Park - Luke Fellows, Ashley Harris, Baxter Wallett, Rhett Weidemann, Stephen Camp, Tyler Cunningham

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