NYAH-Nyah West United’s unbeaten start remains intact, after the Demons recorded a hard-fought 25-point win over the Cohuna Kangas at Nyah on Saturday.
The 13.7 (85) to 8.12 (60) victory was set up by a seven-goal-to-three first half, with the Demons managing to maintain the 24-point half-time lead throughout the second half.
Played in perfect conditions, it was a contest marred for the most part by wasted opportunities as both sides regularly turned the ball over.
The match should have been put to bed by half-time, such was NNW United’s dominance in the second term, but after kicking 3.6 for the term, the door was instead left ajar.
Quick goals to Alex Erlandson (two) and Charlie Boulton (one) early in the third quarter blew the margin out to 41 points to seemingly end the contest.
Cohuna had other ideas, however, booting five of the next six goals to reduce the margin to just 14 points midway through the final term, before the Demons rallied late with goals to youngsters Darcy Butler and Liam White.
The result keeps NNW United a game clear on top of the Central Murray ladder and sets up a mouthwatering match against reigning premiers Kerang this Saturday, while seeming to end the finals chances of Cohuna, who need to win seven of their final nine matches to be any realistic chance of finishing in the top five.
Making that challenge harder is the likelihood of the Kangas being without playmakers Joel Helman and Jacob Mitchell for an extended period after suffering game-ending injuries in the first half.
Helman, whose impact was negated by Zach Threadgold and Lucas Iudica in the first half, was also hampered by a back injury sustained in the first half, while Mitchell tore his hamstring midway through the second term.
Mitchell proved to be a considerable loss to Cohuna’s forward line, where the energetic utility started to cause problems for the Demons defence until his injury, with Izaac Johnson the only other Kanga forward to look threatening in attack in the first half.
While quiet for the first three quarters, Jude Palmer came to life in the final term to provide Cohuna with a much-needed presence in attack, but it was a case of too little, too late.
While both teams applied plenty of pressure around the contest, which forced countless turnovers, the difference was the Demons’ ability to run, spread and consistently link up with handball chains through the corridor.
Dom Gallo was instrumental through the midfield, along with Lucas Iudica and Charlie Boulton, while Jaydyn Stirling, Campbell Everitt and Jordan Iudica provided plenty of drive out of the defensive half of the ground.
Similarly, Cohuna coach Jack Geary was damaging for the Kangas and produced a commanding four-quarter performance, perhaps his best game in purple and white.
The problem for Geary and Cohuna was that help was few and far between, with the exception of Jack Donat, Jarrod Findlay and Rhys Thrum, who all flashed in and out of the game at times.
William Lee is one who could hold his head high, the key defender restricting leading goalkicker Brandyn Grenfell to just one goal for the match, with the Demons not really helping their key forward with their poor delivery inside attacking 50 at times.
While it may not have been Grenfell’s day, the positives for NNW United are that they still managed to hit the scoreboard without Grenfell’s impact.
Erlandson, Boulton and White each kicked three goals, with Erlandson appearing to be a welcome addition to the Demons’ front half in his first senior game for the season.
SCORES
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final Score |
| NNW United | 4.0 | 7.6 | 10.6 | 13.7 | 85 |
| Cohuna Kangas | 1.4 | 3.6 | 5.7 | 8.12 | 60 |
VOTES
3 – Dom Gallo (NNW United)
2 – Jack Geary (Cohuna)
1 – Jaydyn Stirling (NNW United)
