MALLEE EAGLES 0.1 8.5 8.6 10.9 69
COHUNA KANGAS 4.2 4.2 10.6 12.6 78
GOALS – MALLEE EAGLES – E. Pinchen 3, H. McGregor 2, Z. O’Meara 1, L. Doolan 1, D. McGregor 1, B. Bennett 1, J. Wade 1
COHUNA KANGAS – D. Johnstone 5, J. Helman 1, S. McGlone 1, T. Findlay 1, P. Doyle 1, B. Conforti 1, O. Cooke 1, R. Hird 1
BEST – MALLEE EAGLES – A. McKenzie, H. Allen, A. Tessari, T. Mcgregor, H. McGregor, C. Dickinson
COHUNA KANGAS – B. Archard, T. Metherell, D. Johnstone, B. Conforti, J. Helman, R. Hird
COHUNA are back on the winner’s list after a hard fought nine point victory over Mallee Eagles in blustery conditions on Saturday.
After going down by over 10 goals last week to Kerang, Kangas coach Neil Bradley was happy to bounce back, although it was anything but smooth sailing for his side.
“It’s always good to win, there’s no doubt about that,” he said.
“I’ve been coming here for forever and a day and it is always hard to win here regardless of what the standings are on the ladder.”
The windy conditions played a huge part in the match out at Lalbert, with the only two goals against the wind kicked all game going to Cohuna during a tight final quarter.
“I said to the guys at three quarter time that we’ve got to kick goals into it,” Bradley said.
“We needed to kick at least two and they did.”
Cohuna had the advantage of the breeze in the first quarter and got off to a great start through forward Dylan Johnstone who kicked a long range goal to open the scoring.
The Kangas led by 25 points at the first change, but Mallee hit back hard in the second quarter, running rampant and getting on top of the Kangas’ midfield.
The Eagles booted eight goals for the quarter and led by 27 points at half-time.
With the strong wind still blowing, Cohuna quickly ate into the lead in the third quarter, with Johnstone kicking the first three of the quarter before Riley Hird kicked a goal in his return match.
Goals to Patrick Doyle and Oscar Cooke late in the quarter gave Cohuna a 12 point lead heading into the last quarter.
Johnstone kicked the first goal against the wind early in the last quarter and with a huge celebration fired his teammates up for the challenge.
Shortly after Sam McGlone added another goal to extend the margin for the Kangas and make the job just a bit more difficult for the Eagles.
Ethan Pinchen got one back for the Eagles before teammate Jacob Wade reduced the margin to under 10.
But it wasn’t to be, as Cohuna won a hard fought contest on the road.
Ben Archard was a clear best on ground, with the ruckman playing a variety of positions throughout the day.
With captain Tom Toma missing through injury, Archard replaced him in the middle and played as an onballer for the majority of the first half.
When the Eagles got control of momentum, he switched back to his ruck position before playing down back at the end of the game.
“I think Ben Archard was outstanding,” Bradley said.
“That’s the beauty of him, he is just so versatile.
“We played him as a quarterback probably the last quarter and a half and he would’ve taken half a dozen strong marks.”
Tom Metherell, Brenton Conforti, Joel Helman and Hird were also outstanding for the Kangas while Johnstone ended up with five crucial goals.
“Goals were diamonds today,” Bradley said.
“His last three weeks have been really good.”
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Kangas however with Tyson Findlay not playing in the second half after returning from a hamstring injury.
For the Eagles, Angus McKenzie was brilliant in the ruck all day and was well supported by Harry Allen, Ayden Tessari, Tom McGregor, Hamish McGregor and Callum Dickinson.
