FIVE unanswered third quarter goals have helped the Cohuna Kangas secure a 51-point win over Tooleybuc-Manangatang on the weekend.
The 15.19 (109) to 8.10 (58) result handed the Kangas their sixth win of the season, and with it, second place on the Central Murray ladder following the Mallee Eagles’ shock loss to NNW United.
It was a game where Cohuna’s highly talented midfield came to the fore, with Tom Toma, Ricky Monti, Joel Helman and Jack Geary controlling the match through their ability to not only win the ball at the contest and use it effectively, but also get dangerous and provide a dangerous target when resting forward.
Helman spent most of his time forward, where he not only kicked a game high four goals but also set up several others, while Toma and Monti were damaging around the stoppages for the home side.
Geary was also influential across half back in his first match back from injury, with the Cohuna coach going to be even better for his first run since his teams round 3 win over Tyntynder.
The first half an hour belonged to the Kangas as they dominated possession and switched the ball with precision on the wide open spaces of their home ground.
Tooleybuc-Manangatang’s defence did remarkably well to restrict Cohuna to just four first quarter goals in fact, with John Wardle and Josh Williams regularly called in to spoil and intercept in the first quarter.
This was due in part to the Saints’ wasteful disposal, with turnovers killing them as they tried to bring the ball back through the corridor.
Cohuna’s Chris Anderson and Tooleybuc-Manangatang’s Connor Mcdonald battled hard all afternoon in the ruck, with both ending the afternoon to be among their teams’ most influential players.
Anderson was at his best around the stoppages, with his size and tap work giving Cohuna’s onballers an arm chair ride at times, while Mcdonald had the better of the play around the ground as he regularly got involved in the Saints’ forward passages of play.
It wasn’t a complete domination however, with Tooleybuc-Manangatang having the momentum at stages throughout the second, third and fourth quarters and even outscored the Kangas in the final term.
Having trailed by 40 points mid-way through the second quarter, the Saints managed to wrestle back control late in the half with three consecutive goals to Ethan Johnstone (two goals) and Mcdonald (one goal) reducing the margin to 25 points at the main break.
The first 10 minutes of the second half was some of the most absorbing football played this season, with neither team giving the other an inch as both teams lifted their work rate.
That was until Helman broke the stalemate with his third goal in the 11th minute, with the Kangas slowly getting on top as the Saints began to run out of legs.
Sensing the momentum shift, Cohuna put the game out of reach with five unanswered goals for the term, with the last four majors coming in red time to give them an unassailable 57-point lead.
While Cohuna’s ball use by foot was impressive, so too was their ability to run and link up by hand through the midfield, with Monti and Toma again key contributors.
Although the lack of a key target forward of the ball created some issues at times, the Kangas were well served by Jacob Mitchell and Jude Palmer, with Mitchell impacting across half forward as a lead up target and and Palmer imposing himself deep in the first half of the match.
Johnstone was among the Saints’ better players and looks like he will be a good mid-season inclusion, while Sebastian Rogers also found plenty of the ball and used it well.
Perhaps the best sight for Tooleybuc-Manangatang supporters though was the continued improvement of their younger players Julian Muir, Rylee Taylor and Rydar Morris, with the trio also having an impact for the visitors.
Muir was dangerous on the wing early in the match with Taylor, who not only showed his opponents a clean set of heels but also set up several shots on goal with his accurate kicking going inside forward 50.
The only negative on an otherwise perfect day for Cohuna was an apparent hamstring injury to Daniel Coates in the second quarter, with the forward taking no part in the match after half time.
SCORES
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final Score |
| Cohuna Kangas | 4.4 | 8.12 | 13.15 | 15.19 | 109 |
| Tooleybuc-Manangatang | 1.3 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 8.10 | 58 |
VOTES
3 – Joel Helman (Cohuna)
2 – Tom Toma (Cohuna)
1 – Ricky Monti (Cohuna)
