A six goal to one first half helped Woorinen return to the winner’s list with a 37-point victory over a mediocre Cohuna Kangas outfit on Saturday.
The Tigers dominated from start to finish and should have won by more had they made the most of their ample opportunities forward of centre. Inaccuracy in front of goal plagued them for much of the afternoon in the 11.14 (80) to 6.7 (43) victory.
While Woorinen impressed with their ability to move the ball with speed and utilise the corridor, especially from half back, Cohuna’s performance was in equal part concerning, with their inability to hit the most basic targets making it almost impossible for them to transition the football in the first half.
It was a battle of the backlines for the first hour, with both teams intercepting many of their opponent’s errant forward entries.
Xavier Mitchell was instrumental in defence for the Kangas, along with Brenton Conforti and Jack Geary, while Doug Beames, Henry Thompson and Matthew Gardner led the way at the other end of the Woorinen Recreation Reserve.
Woorinen steadied in the second quarter and started to make better decisions going forward, with their ability to use the ball effectively by hand and foot and bring it back through the corridor helping them set the game up.
Taylor Cameron, Josh Domaille and Regan Vesty found plenty of the ball, while Arnold Kirby helped give the Tigers first use around the stoppages and dominated his ruck duel with Sam Leitch and Tyson Farrant.
The loss of Chris Anderson proved to be a genuine body blow for the Kangas, with the injured ruckman’s absence allowing Kirby to take full control of the game both at the stoppages and around the ground.
While Woorinen had a distinct advantage in the ruck, it was a similar story deep forward for Cohuna, with the absence of Ben Booth expected to give the visitors an edge deep in attack, especially with Dylan Johnstone starting the season in form.
That upper hand never eventuated, however, for Cohuna, as Johnstone struggled to get into the game in any meaningful way. James Gleeson did an exceptional job in keeping the Kangas spearhead quiet. Unfortunately for Gleeson, his day ended prematurely when he suffered a hamstring injury in the last quarter which forced him from the ground.
While the Kangas second half was much better than their first, the damage had been done, despite the best efforts of Joel Helman and Sam Mcglone, who found plenty of the ball.
After spending the entire first half making an impact down back, Cohuna swung Mitchell forward in an attempt to provide them with a marking target forward of centre.
While the move didn’t have the desired impact of dragging the Kangas back into the contest, Mitchell’s presence at least negated the Tigers aerial dominance across half back.
While Lachlan Gardner was the Tigers sole key forward for the day, the Woorinen forward line functioned far more effectively than their opponents.
Clayton McCartney ended the game with three majors, including the first two of the match and looked dangerous at times, along with Josh Stone and Jason Iannucci who used their years of experience to find space inside forward 50.
The Cohuna forwards on the other hand were victims of their onballer’s poor execution, although Izaac Johnson worked hard for his two goals and was a strong contributor.
The win sets up a big weekend this Saturday for both sides, with Woorinen to face off against reigning premiers Kerang, while the Kangas will meet Tooleybuc-Manangatang in a must-win clash at Cohuna.
FINAL SIREN
| Woorinen | 2.4 | 6.9 | 9.10 | 11.14 | 80 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cohuna Kangas | 0.3 | 1.4 | 3.5 | 6.7 | 43 |
VOTES
3 – Henry Thompson (Woorinen)
2 – Doug Beames (Woorinen)
1 – Joel Helman (Cohuna)
