A 20-man squad and a solid band of supporters made the trek south and the club exceeded all expectations by taking home the $1000 prizemoney.  

The Tigers played Cooma Stallions and beat them by 25-7.

Tries were scored by Ashbee Reid (2), Rhys Burazer and Marcus Golman. 

The competition favourites, Moruya  Sharks, were next and the Tigers were bought undone by the class of Jake Clarke out wide.

Tries for the Bay were scored by Dylan Powell and Luc Hill.

The Tigers played Bega in the semi-final and the Tigers’ tactic of throwing the ball out wide proved too much for the bigger Bega side. 

Will Thomas powered the Tigers to a good start by intercepting a pass and running 70 metres to score.

Kane Leggett was next with a chip-and-regather effort which he “probably shouldn’t try again” to put the Bay up 11-nil.

Fullback Mick Tadich capped off a backline movement to move the score to 18-nil, just before Bega picked up a consolation try for a four-pointer.

In the final against Eden, the Bay led 8-nil at half-time from tries by Reid and Jack Leggett.

Eden then made up good ground with its big men, and forced over near the sticks to make the score 8-4. 

Jake Cowling topped off a solid day’s work when he flashed over out wide to lift the final score to 12-4.  

Tigers’ president Bob Mitchell said the young side “tackled their hearts out all day” and that it was the defence and early season fitness that delivered the win.

“The short format suited the Bay who collected their first bit of silverware for a few years,” Mitchell said. 

Another unexpected bonus came when the Tigers took out the four-man relay and picked up $200.  

The team of Reid, Thomas, Jason Wright and Tadich started slowly.  

Wright wound the clock back with a great third leg, picking up a couple of places on his younger opponents before handing off to Tadich.

Tadich had some work to do but he hit the lead about 30 metres from the finish to nab the Tigers extra prizemoney.

Mitchell said each player “put in” throughout each game.

“The Bay’s best on the day were Mick Tadich, Mason Harrison and Ashbee Reid,” he said.  

“Youngster Luc Hill made the step-up to the big boys with confidence and is a player to watch during the season.

“While it was okay to bask in a bit of long-awaited success, and make no mistake the $1000 prizemoney was not to be sneezed at, the business begins this Sunday,” he said. 

The Tigers take on Cooma at Cooma and the home side’s big pack will be a handful for the Tigers over 80 minutes but enough was shown at Eden to suggest the Bay will annoy a few sides before this season has finished.