Tigers prepare for top-four showdown

COLAC is looking forward to its big test against second-placed St Mary’s at Central Reserve at 2.10pm in GFL Round 8 tomorrow (Saturday, June 14).

The fourth-ranked Tigers beat Geelong West Giants 14.14 (98) to 4.6 (30) last weekend, with co-coach Jason Armistead praising the consistent performance.

He explained how the Tigers managed the Giants’ attacking style.

“They’re just really attacking from stoppages and contests.

“They sort of slip forward and try to surge the footy through contests.

“So we just had to make sure that either our mids got their hands on it first or that we had some good cover at the back of the stoppages.

“That was the primary thing that we worked on and it seemed to work okay.”

He’s expecting plenty of attack from the Saints who have the biggest percentage in the league (303.95) and most points-for with 1076.

“They’re a pretty high-scoring side and very attacking,” Armistead said.

“So probably some similar things to the way Geelong West went about it but perhaps St Mary’s are just a bit [of a] higher-talent side, so it’s just a matter of trying to slow that down a little bit.”

Armistead said the Tigers, who have a 5-2 record, were happy with their start to the season.

He said several young players had come into the team and performed well, which had been inspiring for others.

“I think they’ve been a pretty steady side over the last four or five years and just injecting a few of the younger guys has probably created a bit of excitement underneath the senior group,” Armistead, who joined as co-coach this season, said.

Billy Buchanan debuted last weekend after Fraser Holt did in Round 6.

Darcy Lang is unavailable this weekend but Armistead was hopeful of getting captain Jack Melican (hamstring) and Lachie Simpkin (ribs) back.

Micah Robb is still a few weeks away (tibia fracture) while Jack Skinner is serving a suspension.