Carina stalwart David Browne was his side's hero in the Tigers' 70-6 demolition of Eagleby Giants in the Intech Men’s Open 2 Southside game played at Leo Williams Oval last Saturday.
Browne’s personal haul of 28 points saw the Tigers unsung hero bag two tries and kick 10 goals, in the game played on a sweltering Brisbane autumn afternoon in front of a healthy Carina crowd for Round 1 of the new season.
The avalanche of points started early for the Tigers who pounced down the left edge to see centre Ricardo Isbon cross outwide with only two minutes played.
Diminutive hooker Kormac O’Brien scored the first of his two tries at the seven-minute mark, ducking under some lazy Giants defence to reach out and score beside the sticks.
With the heat taking its toll on Eagleby’s big men, Carina upped the tempo by sending in hard-working second rower Jack Foster beside the posts.
With the Giants forwards trying to outmuscle the home side up the middle, it was man of the match Browne who was causing all sorts of headaches from fullback.
In the 20th minute of play, he sliced through some flimsy Giants defence to cross for a superb solo try in front of the can bar.
An equally superb sideline conversion from the left foot custodian had the Tigers race out to an early 24-0 lead.
Arguably, the try of the afternoon though belonged to electrifying Tigers winger Kien Selu, who from the kickoff, stepped and weaved his way through the Giants defence to race 90 metres and score a scintillating four-pointer.
The half-time hooter could not come quick enough for Eagleby, as the rampaging Tigers took full advantage of the tiring Giants.
On the stroke of half-time, Tigers replacement Dylan Roberts finished off a fantastic move to score under the posts, seeing the Tigers go into the break leading 36-0.
After a well-deserved break, the Giants came out a more-rejuvenated side with captain Grant Kenealy leading the way both in attack and defence.
However, the scoreboard attendant was busy again, with Carina adding another try in the 44th minute, when Roberts scored his second try for the afternoon beating two Giants defenders.
Browne showed again why he is a class above, chiming into the backline to slice his way through a yawning gap and slide in for yet another four-pointer for the Tigers.
Eagleby did have some moments of their own though, with halves pairing Trevor Campbell and Tori Tito dangerous with the ball in their hands.
The Tigers notched up the half century in the 59th minute when Ashley Taunao broke free and powered his way to the line to score.
Eagleby made some changes late in the game, introducing powerhouses Ropeti and Mateai Mateai to the fold.
However, the Tigers continued their rampage and further tries in the 62nd, 65th and 68th minutes catapulted the Tigers to a 70-0 scoreline.
But just as the Tigers thought the game was done and dusted, Eagleby replacement Mateai scooped up a loose ball right on the full-time siren to see the Giants score a late consolation try.
