A RECORD six Mallee Tigers teams contested the Victorian Aboriginal Community Service Association Limited (VACSAL) titles in Ballarat recently.

The Tigers played off in the finals of the three-day competition with the footballers taking out the title.

The Mallee Tigers won three of their five preliminary rounds and then took out the elimination final to advance to the grand final against the Fitzroy Stars, which they won by eight points, 7.7 (49) to 6.5 (41)

MDAS community engagement officer John Jackson, who was part the line-up, said players and supporters were ecstatic.

“It was an absolute belter of a game. It was four 15-minute quarters and on the final siren it was a draw,” Jackson said.

“We played five minutes overtime each way and, after the first overtime, it was still a draw.

“But in the second five minutes of overtime we were able to get away from the Stars for an eight-point win.”

Co-coaches Nathan Yates and Jason Kirby said the teams had been training since mid-September and the weekend carnival was a huge success.

“It was an absolutely deadly weekend and for all of us it meant so much to represent our community and mob,” Yates said. 

“The kids we had on the trip just soaked everything in, the culture, preparations for the games, warm-ups and supporting the players in the other football and netball games.”

Kirby said the Tigers were “stoked” to bring home the region’s first Division One title at the carnival.

“We’ve got the silverware and bragging rights for the next 12 months – and we’re already looking at the next challenge – going back-to-back,” Kirby said.