“We came out and pressured them straight away and then we just kept building on that over the game,” the ruckman said.

 “It was our focus at the start of each quarter to stay on top, be physical and it worked out well for us in the end.”

Oakley, who plays in Portland’s senior side, said he enjoyed his leadership role in the 52-point interleague win on Saturday.

“It was good fun and it was really good to lead the boys out there and make some new mates from it,” he said.

The Tigers ruckman said the team’s defence had been a standout.

“It was a full team effort, the midfielders and wingers were putting pressure on their midfielders, so it made it harder for them to get those cleaner entries, and they were popping it up and because of our height down there we used that to our advantage,” he said.

Oakley praised the efforts of his whole side, but individually mentioned defenders Isaac Thomas, Josh Edwards and vice captain Patty Smith.