Richard MichaelSuper League finals slipping away from the Tigers
July 14th 2008 10:13
One thing was made clear after Sunday's match - on current form, Northern Tigers are not playing well enough to play in the Super League finals.
Bossy Liverpool turned in a dominant display to recall their table-topping exploits of 2005 as the Tigers failed to capitalise on last week's hard-fought win over St George Saints, going down 3-1 to the third-placed side at home at Mills Park.
"Yeah, it was a good performance today," said Liverpool coach, Mile Todorovski. "Alex Canak, the captain, played well, getting two goals. We have two games in hand, and at the moment, we're looking at the title."
With two games in hand, this is certainly not out of the question for the side that boast some of the most vocal supporters in the competition, and they certainly showed their mettle against Hugh McCrory's side.
Alex Canak's double (including a penalty) and Sam Awad's deft finish showed a level of performance that the Tigers were producing on a weekly basis last season on the way to becoming league winners and grand finalists.
Not so, this year with squad difficulties, as their once impenetrable backline were made to look ordinary.
"We weren't good enough; again," McCrory said. "Defensively, we were awful."
The North Shore side has been forced to experiment with positional play with injuries and suspension this season, and against Bossy, captain, Tony Mittiga, and recent stand-out performer, Marcus Frost, moved into midfield from defence, which left Stephen Chipps, Maurice Aliberti and Simon Bell to protect Stuart Page's goal.
Against the league's leading scorer, Alex Canak, and an in-form Bossy strike force, the Tigers' often-tenacious defensive unit were easily tamed.
Although it was a tough match - often, physically, with two reds shown - the Tigers will be expected to produce some more penetrating play to please their coach and their loyal fans.
Sitting in eighth spot but only three points out of the top five, the season isn't over for the Tigers, but with only six games remaining, the pressure is on to turn in some winning performances.
Bossy Liverpool turned in a dominant display to recall their table-topping exploits of 2005 as the Tigers failed to capitalise on last week's hard-fought win over St George Saints, going down 3-1 to the third-placed side at home at Mills Park.
"Yeah, it was a good performance today," said Liverpool coach, Mile Todorovski. "Alex Canak, the captain, played well, getting two goals. We have two games in hand, and at the moment, we're looking at the title."
With two games in hand, this is certainly not out of the question for the side that boast some of the most vocal supporters in the competition, and they certainly showed their mettle against Hugh McCrory's side.
Alex Canak's double (including a penalty) and Sam Awad's deft finish showed a level of performance that the Tigers were producing on a weekly basis last season on the way to becoming league winners and grand finalists.
Not so, this year with squad difficulties, as their once impenetrable backline were made to look ordinary.
"We weren't good enough; again," McCrory said. "Defensively, we were awful."
The North Shore side has been forced to experiment with positional play with injuries and suspension this season, and against Bossy, captain, Tony Mittiga, and recent stand-out performer, Marcus Frost, moved into midfield from defence, which left Stephen Chipps, Maurice Aliberti and Simon Bell to protect Stuart Page's goal.
Against the league's leading scorer, Alex Canak, and an in-form Bossy strike force, the Tigers' often-tenacious defensive unit were easily tamed.
Although it was a tough match - often, physically, with two reds shown - the Tigers will be expected to produce some more penetrating play to please their coach and their loyal fans.
Sitting in eighth spot but only three points out of the top five, the season isn't over for the Tigers, but with only six games remaining, the pressure is on to turn in some winning performances.
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