Tigers survive scare

South Bunbury overcame a slow start and inaccuracy in front of goals to overrun traditional rivals Carey Park 9.13 (67) to 7.11 (53) under lights at Hands Oval on Saturday night.

Carey Park coach John Baggetta pulled the first surprise of the year with two-time premiership-winning Claremont ruckman Mitchell Andrews lining up for the Panthers on a permit.

This set up the contest of the game with Andrews taking on South Bunbury’s Wes Lammie in a battle that provided many highlights.

The Tigers looked slow in the first half, with Carey Park’s pressure killing the running effort of South Bunbury who struggled to push the ball inside 50.

The Panthers looked the better side for much of the game with superior tackling and passing helping them make their way through a strong South Bunbury zone but a failure to make an impact on the scoreboard kept the Tigers in the game.

Brett Robinson looked rusty early in his first game for the Tigers with Carey Park’s Brayden Lawler running with the experienced former Swan Districts midfielder to negate his impact.

However, towards the end of the game Robinson’s skill and experience shone through and proved to be one of the major differences between the two teams.

At three-quarter time the Panthers seemed out on their legs and South Bunbury pounced, their running game eventually allowing them to penetrate the defence of the Panthers.

Brynn Francis and Guy Piggott kicked three each for the Tigers while for the visitors Matthew Martin put two majors through the middle.

Scoreboard

South Bunbury 1.5 3.8 6.12 9.13 67 def Carey Park 4.3 5.4 6.7 7.11 53
Goals:
SOUTH BUNBURY - B. Francis, G. Piggott 3, A. Harper, A. Taylor, B. Robinson.
CAREY PARK - M. Martin 2, B. Lawler, M. Andrews, M. McMillan, L. Stewart, S. Roche.
Best:
SOUTH BUNBURY - A. Harper, S. Crane, G. Piggott, M. Wilkinson, B. Francis, W.Lammie.
CAREY PARK - T. Collins, L. Sciani, M. Andrews, B. Lawler, S. Roche, C. Rintoul.