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Well it wasn't the six points the Tigers so desperately craved, but with another Under 20s victory and other results going our way, the Tigers can be somewhat satisfied with the weekend's business. Things get better when you look at the season so far: having played all the recognised title contenders, we're unbeaten after eight rounds. With the best defence in the league. And less than one win off top spot in both grades. A solid start indeed, but can the Tigers take it to the next level?

Saturday saw the Under 20s performing a great comeback for a 3-1 win. Having lost Diego before the game to a mystery illness and Hugo to tonsillitis not far into the match, it was headaches all round for the Tigers as they went into half-time trailing 1-0.

But in a blistering opening to the second stanza, first a Kellyville own goal then a monumental Delaney save, followed by a Tigers penalty all of a sudden swept the Tigers into the lead.

After some fine work from strike pairing Yuri and Matt, Sasha grabbed a third on the counter-attack, and the Tigers were going home with three points. They're still second, but continue to pile the pressure on UNSW.

By first-grade kickoff time, darkness had descended upon Bernie. With the sun wisely leaving Kellyville early, the temperature dropped. Without the soothing cries of "ball speed" from absent Coach Andrews to settle our nerves, the Tigers knew we faced a stern test.

After a hearty warm-up we started well, crunching into challenges and shutting up Bernie's boo boys on the hill. But then the ghost of games past drifted onto the ground, for 10 minutes transforming the Tigers from razor-sharp superathletes to slack-jawed buffoons.

As this evil spell finally wore off, the scoreboard read 1-0 to Kellyville. How rude for otherwise such gracious hosts to take the lead!

We set about overturning the deficit, and were soon rewarded. Thanks to Danny's improbably placed freekick from deep on the right flank we had nicked our equaliser, and things were looking up.

The second half saw the Tigers again dominate proceedings, but we couldn't quite find enough cohesion to convert our field position and possession into chances. It was the same old story for the Tigers, who will be keen to click into top gear as the season approaches its halfway mark. With the World Cup attracting a chunk of senior players, Balmain will be looking to its young army to contribute to even greater successes in the coming months.

Next week it's Prospect United at William Lawson, followed by the FA Cup Final. Go you reds!

And a big cheerio to Jake and Noodles, who are off to England to find stale weather and miserable people. The club will be poorer for your absence. Australia's backpackers, even more so. Have a great time and we'll see you again at Birchgrove on one of our famous Saturday afternoons.