BATEMANS Bay Tigers Rugby League Football Club is set to play its first home game since its return to Group 16 on Saturday.
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Forty-five years ago the Tigers played its last season in Group 16 and a heavy injury toll pushed it down the ladder and the club was on the verge of rubbing out its reserve grade in the final few games of that season.
Over a tough three weeks the players stuck together and fulfilled their reserve grade commitments with most of the first grade side playing two games on the day.
The season finished with an away game when the club travelled to Tathra with 11 players for two games.
The Tigers beat the Tathra reserve grade then ran into the dressing rooms and donned the first grade jumpers before re-taking the field with 10 players.
The Tigers finished with nine players and were duly flogged by Tathra to the tune of 88-6, a record that stood until Nowra Warriors put more than 100 on the Geoff Leary coached Tigers one windy afternoon at Nowra Showground.
Cobargo fielded a first grade side in 1970 for the first time in five years and some names that went around that year in Group 16 were Peter Preo, Barry Lemon and the Glover boys, Alley and Liz, from Tathra.
Narooma-Bodalla featured stalwarts such as Keith and Barry Crapp, Sqibby Whittle, John Constable, Jackie Blackman and Bob Bennett.
Puddin Radford, Les Boyle, John Smith, Dale Cole and Tony Allen turned out for Bega.
Moruya fielded a strong side with Keith Pickett, Jeff Hopkins, Barry Weeks, Noel Hogno, Grahame Cowdroy, Noel Dalton and Raymond ‘Ack’ Weyman.
Past Bay Tigers president Barry Belt played with Eden along with Dennis O’Callaghan, Gary Storch, and Pat and Sonny Robin.
Candelo-Bemboka was strong as usual, captain-coached by the evergreen Noel Crowe who led them to the 1969 premiership when it beat Moruya in the grand final. James Buckley, giant prop Rodney Taylor, halves Willy Watson and Noel Cuznor and representative centre Glen Holdsworth were some of Candelo’s stars.
Tommy Burke, Tommy Davis, Paul Cullen, David Hancock, Billy Stove, Max Ladmore, Raymond ‘Tex’ Glover, John Ladmore, John McAdam, Keith Brooks, Laurie Allard, Bob Mitchell, Michael McAdam, Megs Windley, Jeff Barrett, Billy Richards, John Bamman, Keith Sergeant, Peter Pickett, Phillip Pickett, Brian Spencer – his last season - and Pat Tehira played for the Tigers in the club’s final year in Group 16.
In 1971 the boundaries were changed and the Bay Tigers dropped out of Group 16 and went into the Molonglo Shield competition in 1972.
In 1971 Bombala, Bibbenluke and Delegate moved to Group 16.
The Tigers played six years in the ACT before the club moved to Group seven where it spent the last 36 years.
The Bay Tigers, who are in the early stages of recovery as a viable club, welcome the Narooma Devils, last year’s grand finalists, to Mackay Park on Saturday.
“We hope to reinvent old rivalries and enjoy an afternoon of rugby league,” Tigers president Bob Mitchell said.
The Tigers’ reserve grade tackles Narooma at 4.30pm and first grade kicks off at 6pm.
Bay Tigers reserve grade team:
Sean Connell, Brent Guerin, Brent Parker, Ashbee Reid, Anthony Chatfield, Jimmy Thomas, Tyson Pan, Billy Zahra, Ben Carmody, Jack Drew, Will Reynolds, Scott Belcher, Brent Pan, Jono Tennant, Sam Sellick, Marcus Neal, Andrew Stewart, Jason Wright and Jarrod Ward.
Bay Tigers first grade team:
Mick Tadich, Jake Cowling, Mason Harrison, Kane Leggett, Dylan Powell, Jacob Hill, Rhys Burazer, Gerard Dennis, Luc Hill, Sam Cunningham, Marcus Golman, Jack Leggett, Matt Cross, Mitch Freeman, Baden Payne, Doug Ebsworth and Grant Roberts.