COHUNA is a step away from a grand final berth after overcoming an undermanned Woorinen by 15 points in a hard fought qualifying final on Saturday.
The Kangas will now face Kerang in the second semi-final, although will be sweating on the fitness of key big man Ben Archard, who came off the ground late on Saturday with what appeared to be a dislocated thumb.
Woorinen also has injury concerns, and could be without marking forward Lachlan Wright for their first semi-final against a resurgent Lake Boga after he came off the ground with a shoulder injury in the second term and didn’t return.
Patrick Veszpremi and Matthew Gardner were the other worries after both hobbled from the field late, but in a positive sign, they were both able to return to the field and play out the match.
While Woorinen had their moments, the Kangas had all the answers and led at ever change on the way to a 14.8.92 to 12.5.77 victory.
The Kangas set up the win with a withering opening 20 minutes, where they bounced out of the blocks with six goals. Cohuna’s onballers dominated the opening stages, with Tyson Findlay and Rhys Free contributing four of the six goals in that opening stretch.
Cohuna’s run off half back through Tom Toma and Tom Metherell was also damaging, with both players using their pinpoint accuracy by foot to advantage.
Woorinen settled late in the term, with red time goals to both Josh Domaille (his second for the quarter) and Veszpremi clawing the margin back to 17-points by the first change.
The Tigers continued to eat into the advantage with the first three goals of the second term to bring the margin back to just two points, before Jarrod Findlay responded with Cohuna’s only goal of the second quarter to givethe Kangas an eight-point lead at the main break.
The one aspect of their game that was letting Cohuna down was their composure with the ball, especially going inside their attacking 50.
While Cohuna weren’t helping their own cause, Woorinen’s backline proved hard to penetrate, with Ben Booth working overtime deep in defence, along with Matthew Gardner and Taylor Cameron, who was providing plenty of run off half back.
With Wright off the ground, Woorinen coach Marcus Demaria was forced to send Gardner forward, with the young defender providing a solid target at stages after half time. The third term played out much like the first, with Cohuna taking control early before the Tigers fought back late with 11 goals kicked for the term in a see-sawing contest.
Kangas key defender Jake Hammond took his game to another level in the second half, with his intercept marking a constant thorn in Woorinen’s side.
The Kangas took a 13-point lead into the final change, before Veszpremi (three goals) opened the scoring in the seventh minute thanks to a downfield free kick to cut the margin to eight points. But it would be as close as Woorinen would get.
Jarrod Findlay’s mark and subsequent goal five minutes later pushed Cohuna’s lead back out to 15-points – and that’s where it stayed for the remainder of the match.
While the Tigers attempted to move the ball through the corridor with speed, Cohuna instead slowed the tempo of the game down.
Arnold Kirby and Archard battled hard in the ruck all afternoon, with Archard having the better of Kirby at the stoppages – but the Woorinen big man having a bigger impact around the ground with his marking ability and physicality a constant threat for the four quarters.
Much was said about the Kangas tall forwards in the lead up to game, but Free (two goals) and Johnstone (one goal) were both well held by the Woorinen defence – although coach Neil Bradley would be pleased that his side was able to get the job done with an even spread of goal kickers.
While Archard is in doubt, the Kangas got through relatively unscathed on the injury front, with pressure forward Riley Hird playing his first game since injuring his collarbone in Round 13 against Tooleybuc-Manangatang.
MATCH RESULTS
COHUNA KANGAS 6.0 7.3 13.4 14.8.92
WOORINEN 3.1 6.1 11.3 12.5.77
GOALS – COHUNA KANGAS – Daniel Coates 3, Jarrod Findlay 3, Tyson Findlay 2, Rhys Free 2, Riley Hird 2, Joel Helman, Dylan Johnstone 1.
WOORINEN – Josh Domaille 3, Lachlan Gardner 3, Patrick Veszpremi 3, Bailey Codling, Daniel Mase, Jordy Mcinnes 1.
BEST – COHUNA KANGAS – Tom Toma, Jake Hammond, Daniel Paterson, Tom Metherell, Jarrod Findlay, Joel Helman.
WOORINEN – Ben Booth, Arnold Kirby, Josh Domaille, Patrick Veszpremi, Taylor Cameron, Daniel Mase.
