Some wet and muddy conditions didn't bother Jemma Neuman and the Orange Tiger women who scored a huge home victory.
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Coming into Saturday's clash, the Tigers were sitting 16 points behind the second place Dubbo Demons. But that gap was closed by the time the final horn sounded as the home side grabbed a narrow 3.2 (20)-2.3 (15) win.
Neuman took player of the match honours and said they were "pretty ecstatic" with the win.
"It's clear that our training is paying off and we're starting to work as a cohesive team and I do think we were the better team on the day so it was good to come away with the win," she said.
Making the victory that much sweeter was the fact that last time these two sides met, the Tigers kicked just the single behind on their way to a 100 point loss.
A clear difference was the fact that the Tigers had a full allotment of players this time around.
"We played a number of our recent games without a bench or any spare players at all due to team availabilities and sickness so it certainly made a difference having fresh legs on the bench," Neuman added.
"To be honest it was very much a team performance. There was a lot more communication on the field and we were just the team that was prepared to get in, pick the ball off the ground and keep it moving forward."
Tigers teammate Jacqui Ryan agreed.
"Six on the bench not only gave the squad the some well earned sub time but also allowed the luxury of being able to trial specific on-field combinations which certainly paid off," she said.
"A solid midfield combination of Jemma Neuman, Aspasia Manos, Meaghan Kempson and vice captain Emilie Lowe allowed the ball to be transitioned down field into a more structured forward line and Tigers led the scoreboard at half time."
But it was far from easy going from there.
"The backline had their work cut out for them in the third quarter defending in some very high pressure situations as Dubbo fought back to take the lead at three quarter time," Ryan added.
"Emily Moffat proved herself showing grit and determination even in the slippery conditions. However we were hungry for the win and rallied together to finish off as strong as we started, knowing how crucial this game was for the season."
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