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Last Saturday Balmain had a rare trip East. The destination was the crumbling Communist monument that is ES Marks field. The opponents were our old rivals Hakoah, who knocked us out of the semi-finals last year. The Tigers were determined to set things right. In the end, the boys came away with all six points on a day that panned out a bit like a Picnic chocolate bar. Though a bit ugly, and not very good for you, like most revenge it was oh so sweet!

The Under 20s set the tone for the day, getting one over fellow title contenders Hakoah with a hard-earned 2-0 victory. Midway through the first half came one of the season's more improbable moments. A cross from the right flank appeared to be sailing away from captain Parelli, until he decided to unleash a bicycle kick from the top of the goalbox. This was a bicycle of the highest order, unseen from a Balmain player since Paul Tripodi's enthusiastic warmups close to a decade ago. Launching himself off the ground, he connected perfectly with the ball, only for the rust-encrusted crossbar to shout "not this time Parelli" as it shaked and shuddered from the hit.

Before long though the crossbar was silenced and its goal breached after a great early ball from the left caused all sorts of problems for the Hakoah keeper. With the ball landing at his feet, debut Dom did well to miss Hugo and roll the ball into the unguarded net.

I'm told by my man in stands the second half was all Balmain, securing the team a clean sheet (as promised at half-time by Tyrell) and another goal, this time for recent arrival Uri. Well done chaps - keep up the sensational start to the season!

The first grade lineup looked a little different this week, with Danny and Loz forced to attend a mate's wedding and Hardwick out injured. It meant Crouch Bonus in midfield with Ilias and Julian leading the line, as well as some time to adjust...

As a result, Hakoah's nippy striker was creating some early problems for our defence and was guilty of wasting a couple of chances. As their shots flew high and wide though, the Tigers began to build momentum. Jules hit the post with a powerful header, and the half chances began to fall the way of the Tigers.

Hakoah's traditional negative style of play wasn't making things pretty, and it was lucky that the club shop was serving mushrooms with its sausage rolls or else the travelling fans may have been regretting coming. For once, the Tigers canteen had been outdone! But it was the opposite story out on the pitch...

The decisive goal came shortly after halftime. A raid down the right ended with Luis cutting back and finding Ilias's feet in the box. So too did his defender, for a clear penalty. Ilias dusted himself down to hit a spot kick John Aloisi would have been proud of and, for the fifth week in a row, it was 1-0 to the Tigers.

As we all know though, it had been more than a month since the boys actually took home all three points and it appeared the Gods of football were desperately trying to get Hakoah level. Shenol was forced off injured, joining Julian in the hospital ward. Even head coach Andrews was sent from the bench for abusing the linesman. And worse was to follow.

Anthony, under pressure from several Hakoah attackers, lunged in with both feet as last man, earning himself probably the reddest card we'll see this year. The Tigers took a while to adjust to the reshuffle at the back, but in the end worked hard to hold on, with Simon, Muggsy, Eamonn and Mitch standing strong.

Finally, the Tigers were back in the winners' circle, ahead of the must-win match against bottom-placed Auburn at Birchgrove on Saturday. With injuries and suspensions the Tigers will be stretched against the notorious Star-studded lineup.

And don't forget Jake and Noodles' farewell party after a few pints and the platter at the Exchange on Saturday.

Approaching the end of the first-grade game on Sunday, everything in Tigerland looked peachy. We were leading the previously unbeaten Lakemba Sports team 1-0, and only hours before the Under 20s had earned themselves a valuable point. But as the shadows lengthened across the ground, sadness was about to strike the club. Who could have guessed the tragedy that was to follow...

Turning first to the start of the day's proceedings, and the Tigers were finally back at Birchgrove on Saturday after a run of four away games. The weather was typically spectacular, the Exchange Hotel, Gillespies Cranes and Bracewell signs were out and attracting the usual admiration, the nets set the bar for the league and the smell of Balmain's famous chicken kebabs filled the ground.

No surprise then that the hill was packed for the top of the table Under 20s match. Coach Alex 'Low-cal' Kaltenegger sent out an attack-minded squad, with the club's top-scorer Sasha at left back (well, if the Mariners could do it...). Lakemba sent out a flock of council workers. It was sure to be a pushover.

These council boys could run though. My word could they run! If we didn't know it before, we did now - the Tigers were in a game. Birchgrove's famously narrow pitch wasn't making things particularly easy for either team but Diego and Dave were working hard in the midfield, and Carl was filling in ably in sweeper.

It meant a difficult day for strikers Matt and Jules, who enjoyed his entire family offering their own brand of support and affection on his return from the UK. Still, against this difficult, thus-far unbeaten Lakemba side, the Tigers stood firm and came away with a hard-earned point that keeps them close to the table's summit.

For first-grade, deadline dealings couldn't get new signing Ilia out onto the field, so the Tigers retained a side similar to last week. The only change was the return of Shenol to midfield, who was rested last week after the Brick Footy Nationals.

Boy did we start with intent! Crunching into challenges and pressuring Lakemba across the ground, within the first half hour we created a handful of chances. Sadly though Lakemba, who seemed to have borrowed Sydney Cedars kit for the day, withstood the barrage. After the initial onslaught, the match settled into a rhythm. It wasn't particularly pretty, and we were definitely taking time to adjust to the Birchgrove's narrow confines, but still threatened from set pieces and Lakemba errors.

Finally the breakthrough came in the second half. Luis won a freekick on the edge of the area and Anthony smashed it home, burning the keeper's fingers with a stinging drive. Definitely one for baby Trieste.

1-0 up was a familiar place to be for the Tigers, and we seemed to be doing it comfortably. Soon however, tragedy was to strike...

A misplaced Danny T shot flew into the crowd, hitting club legend Abe Stirling in the kebab. Having just sat down he had yet to pull out the stick - it was to prove his downfall. The impact of the ball sent the kebab stick through Abe's voicebox and into his spine, killing him almost instantly. Before making the trip to the big Birchgrove Oval in the sky, he mouthed his final words, which were understood to be either "Birchgrove on a winter's Saturday - there's nothing I'd change" or "birds, beer, free food - I'm into Saturdays at the Exchange".

It was a shock for everyone, but not enough of one to prevent the Tigers conceding our customary late equaliser, before holding out for a valuable draw to remain unbeaten after five games.

But thoughts remained with Abe after the match. His memory will long be with the Tigers, and his spirit and love for the club will provide eternal inspiration. We'll miss you Abe. Some of us, anyway.

Next up it's crunch time against the old nemesis Hakoah following the Easter break. It's going to be a wild one - hold onto your hats/kippahs!

The Tigerium

Well the summer is officially over and the 2006 season is well and truly underway! It would seem the Tigers this year have come back hungrier than ever after 2 good starts from both grades and at time of writing are still undefeated after 4 rounds.

The summer proved a fruitful one for Balmain with yet another successful 6-a-side competition and the near completion of our new stadium (see picture) "The Tigerium". It would also seem that a few of our players were quite busy during the break too with congratulations going to Anthony Tieste and his wife on thier new son, Jem and Katrina Richardson expecting their first baby and Dave Hardwick and his partner Mel expecting their first World Cup!

Once again we have a great set of lads down at The Grove especially the 20's, whose maturity has reflected in thier top of the table position, and with AK in charge I expect good things. With the 1sts, a solid start has seen them take 3rd spot from four games (all away) and it would seem the lessons from last year have been learnt and a good positive attitude and vibe around the club will hopefully see Luke Andrews' men go further this time around.

Oh yes and what of Abe Stirling? Well i can tell you Abe has been around the club a long time and it would seem (from his reports) has become a little, shall we say "crustier", in his opinions. And what of all those metaphors on refs and players alike? I can assure you that his heart is in the right place and has taken on board to be a little more positive in his approach - after all he's that old each report could be his last!

That's it guys, have a great season and remember to enjoy yourself...GO TIGERS!!

Well, another weekend has come and gone for the Tigers, and with it, another missed opportunity. Another 1-0 lead lost, this time to UNSW. Yes, a good result away to the team at the top of the league, but a match that could - nay, should -have played out much more favourably, both for the Tigers and for the neutral fans. Can you guess who's at fault?

Is it the players? The boys fought hard in the first-half for a one-nil lead, but they couldn't quite finish the job after the break. Still, I've seen far poorer performances get better results, and young keeper Simon could only be beaten in the end by an unstoppable strike. Mitch Bonus, Totaro up front and goalscorer Hardwick all led with stirring displays, but something was stopping team as a whole from performing to its ability...

Is it the coach? Though he did go back to the 3-6-1 formation that failed in last year's semi-final and his team have twice now thrown away 1-0 leads, coach Andrews was not at fault either. At the start of the day, a point away to UNSW would have been a solid result. Though the Whalies were missing some players from last year, the draw still leaves our boys in good shape for the match against Lakemba next week. With some stability in the side, the Tigers are well positioned to start putting a run together.

Is it Mother Nature? Though quite a gale was blowing down at Little Bay (known as Little Play by the locals), it hardly had much of an effect on the football apart from on the odd long shot or goal kick. Considering all the day's goals were scored against the wind, Mother Nature, like most mothers, should be ignored.

So who's left? That buffoon of a referee has to be considered. I predicted the match would be DVD-material last week: I wasn't wrong. Just don't look in the sports section down at Video Ezy - the game was comedy all the way. From the first-half's shambolic series of yellow cards, to the second half filled with more whistles than a wet t-shirt competition at a brickies' convention, the referee's decision-making ruined the game as a spectacle, and is blatantly at fault for preventing the Tigers from playing how we know they can.

Having played with more than a few refs in my time, I have no reservations about labelling this idiot's performance as the worst I've ever seen. The ref turned this game into a farce that didn't resemble football in the slightest. As far as I'm concerned, the Tigers might as well have drawn 1-1 in tiddlywinks, so trivial were the day's proceedings.

However, I can forgive the poor ref for having an off-game. Hell, I've had some shockers in my time. Yes, he doesn't look like a particularly calm, controlled ref, but - as I'm sure you'll agree - it's a tough job, and we all need as many refs as we can hold onto. My beef lies elsewhere.

In all my time playing in and watching the Soccer NSW State League, the worst refereeing performances occur when one of the much-feared 'inspectors' is present at the game - supposedly working with the refs, making sure they're doing the job alright.

What do these inspectors say to the refs? That they don't want to see any football? That there's a bonus for every five yellows dished out? Sure, maybe the ref gets nervous at these matches, what with his job on the line and all. But surely if there is such a difference between how a ref controls a match when there is an inspector there and when there is not, not only does the inspection become a pointless refereeing exercise, the match becomes a waste of time for players, supporters and officials.

Happily the day wasn't a total waste of time, thanks to another sensational Under 20s performance. The boys have gone clear at the top, and on this form you'd be a foolish man to bet against them lifting the trophy in September. UNSW, with the help of the wind, had us on the rack for the opening quarter of an hour, but the boys showed character to claw their way into the match. The vital goal came late in the first half after some good work down the right flank from Owen and James who laid on the chance for Sasha to bury.

The second half was more comfortable for the Tigers with the wind at their backs. Though Owen and Gandalf missed a couple of sitters (the latter after a quite remarkable 50-yard dribble) the boys held on for their best result of the season, led by Pirelli in midfield and assisted by cameos from veterans Flower and Owen.

Next week it's back to Birchgrove for the first time with a home match against form team Lakemba. I've spoken to Ken and he's pulling out the magic beans this week to ensure the green carpet is at its finest. It's another top of the table clash that could end up being one to remember - hopefully this time for the right reasons.