A 63-point win over Koondrook-Barham has kept Cohuna’s finals hopes alive for another week, with the Kangas to host Tyntynder in a season-defining contest this Saturday.
The 14.15 (99) to 5.6 (36) victory was Cohuna’s third in a row and fifth of the season, climbing to seventh on the ladder to sit two wins outside the top five, with Tyntynder just behind the Kangas on percentage.
Five unanswered goals in the opening quarter gave Cohuna a 29-point lead, before the Raiders produced a more competitive performance in the second term.
The Kangas were never really threatened after half-time, however, kicking seven of the last 10 goals of the match to secure the four points.
It was a performance that pleased Jack Geary, who last week re-signed as Cohuna coach for next season.
Geary said the Raiders made his team fight all the way.
“We’ve been going all right and I suppose we were expected to win on the weekend, but (Koondrook-Barham) have been competitive most weeks and they had a genuine crack against us too,” he said.
“We knew it was a danger game and we thought it might be a game that they thought they could possibly win and they started like that, but a bit of continuity and keeping some blokes on the park has made a massive difference for us.
“We moved the ball well and had decent inside 50s and we had a little bit more class around the footy I thought.
“We didn’t make the most of our opportunities at times and I felt we were a little bit better than what the scoreboard showed, but we did enough even though (Koondrook-Barham) stuck it out and never went away.”
The Raiders were well served by midfielders Jack Shannon and Billy Driscoll, along with James Martin, Chester Gardner and key-position talls Scott Wood and Reagan Hamilton.
For the Kangas, their regular contributors dominated, with ball carriers Joel Helman, Jack Geary, Jack Donat and Jackson Williams all finding plenty of the footy, along with forwards Daniel Coates and Xavier Mitchell, who finished with four goals.
As good as Helman and co were, it was the performance of Kangas ruckman Christopher Anderson that garnered special praise from Geary.
“(Anderson) was massive in the ruck for us on Saturday and was the key reason why our midfield got on top I felt,” Geary said.
“In the first half of the year when we were losing a few games, he was a huge loss for us because he’s almost our most important player.
“He may not be our best player, but he’s definitely our most important in terms of giving us first use out of the middle, his hands around the ground and being a good option down the line.
“He was exceptional on the weekend, along with Xavier Mitchell and Joel Helman in the middle.”
The news isn’t all good for Cohuna ahead of this weekend’s must-win clash with Tyntynder, with defender Brenton Conforti expected to miss the match after injuring his hamstring in the early stages of Saturday’s win over the Raiders.
SCORES
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final Score |
| Koondrook-Barham | 0.3 | 2.4 | 4.6 | 5.6 | 36 |
| Cohuna | 5.2 | 7.6 | 11.10 | 14.15 | 99 |
VOTES
3 – Christopher Anderson (Cohuna)
2 – Joel Helman (Cohuna)
1 – Jack Geary (Cohuna)
