By David Polkinghorne June 24, 2012
WITH Akermania engulfing southern Canberra, it could have been easy to overlook Queanbeyan's emphatic 47-point victory over Ainslie at Ainslie Oval yesterday, which reinforced the Tigers' premiership credentials. The Tigers were far too good for the reigning premiers and Ainslie coach Chris Rourke said Queanbeyan had a ''better forward line, better backline and a better midfield''.
Former Essendon midfielder Jarrod Atkinson (four goals) was sensational for the Tigers across half-forward and on the wing.
While this top-five clash meant much more in the context of the NEAFL eastern conference, it was Jason Akermanis's appearance that generated the most interest.
''Anything for a bit of publicity is good for AFL footy up here. Everybody talks about Tuggers and their financial problems and they're at least trying to attract a crowd with Aker,'' Rourke said.
Tigers coach Kade Klemke said it had clearly been a good thing for the Hawks.
''It was good for them to get a win. It's probably someone good to learn from, a guy with AFL experience, it's always good to learn from those guys, a lot of our guys have learnt from Jarrod,'' Klemke said.
Meanwhile, Eastlake celebrated Aaron Bruce's 100th game in style with a 32-point victory over Sydney Hills Eagles in Sydney. Bruce's move into the middle in the final quarter was the catalyst for a six-goal-to-none final-quarter.
Demons coach Anthony Bourke also backed Tuggeranong bringing in Aker.
''The more publicity we can get for footy [the better] and he seems to do it okay,'' he said.