COHUNA KANGAS
FAST FACTS
PREMIERSHIPS – 0
PRESIDENT – Rick Easton
COACH – Neil Bradley
2022 BEST & FAIREST – TBD
2022 AT A GLANCELADDER POSITION – Second
2022 FINALS RECORD – 2 wins, 0 losses
RECORD – 14 wins, 2 losses
PERCENTAGE – 212.17%
AVERAGE POINTS FOR – 114
AVERAGE POINTS AGAINST – 56
QUARTERS WON – 58 of 72 quarters
2022 JACK BETTS MEDAL – TOP FIVE
18 – Joel Helman
11 – Tom Toma
10 – Ben Archard
7 – Oscar Cooke
6 – Jake Hammond
LEADING GOALKICKERS
78 – Rhys Free
49 – Dylan Johnstone
23 – Daniel Coates
23 – Joel Helman
18 – Jack Donat
18 – Tom Toma
KEY PLAYERS
Tom Toma – Missed most of the second half of the season with a serious hamstring injury, but has returned in career-best form in a new role off half back. Tore Kerang apart in the Second Semi Final, particularly in the second half with a match-winning display. Is one of the best kicks in the competition and is the man the Blues need to stop tomorrow.
Rhys Free – Won the league leading goal kicker award at last Sunday’s presentation night, having kicked 73 goals in the home-and-away season. Has kicked just two (Round 8) and three (Semi Final) goals against Kerang this season, but at his best, is almost unstoppable. His contested marking ability will be vital on the smaller Swan Hill oval and has the game that should be suited to dominating on grand final day.
Joel Helman – Knows how to get it done on grand final day, having played in North Bendigo’s 2019 premiership in the HDFNL. Can break a game open with a ten-minute burst of brilliance and is usually the one who gets the momentum going the Kangas’ way. Can play both inside and outside equally well and will likely lock horns with Kerang midfield ace Marty Kelly once again.
PROFILE
The Cohuna Kangas will be out to create history tomorrow afternoon – and deliver the club their long-awaited first senior premiership since joining the Central Murray Football Netball League.
The Kangas have been in three grand finals in their time in the competition, with all three resulting in losses (1998, 2000 and 2013). On each occasion, the Kangas went in as underdogs after facing clubs in the middle of dynasties and on the back of heavy Second Semi Finals losses (1998 versus Tyntynder, 2000 versus Nyah-Nyah West United and 2013 versus Kerang).
For a club and town with as rich a football history as Cohuna, the last 25 years have been tough. At the start of last season, their luck appeared to change, with the Kangas bringing home a number of former local stars to give that long awaited premiership a shake. Joel Helman, Rhys Free, Daniel Coates, Jack Donat and Tyler Jones all returned to play after years plying their trade elsewhere – and the Kangas responded, winning all but one of their first ten matches to sit on top of the ladder.
That’s when the story changed. What should have been the season of dreams turned into the one that never existed, with the COVID pandemic rearing its ugly head once again and putting an end to the dreams of the purple army. While Cohuna would finish the 2021 on top of the ladder and be declared minor premiers, there was no finals series – and minor premiers doesn’t quite feel the same as holding up the silverware on that last day.
But season 2022 has a different feel to it – with this Kangas outfit not only going in as favourites, but in peak condition to break their proud club’s drought. They’ll go into tomorrow’s grand final full of confidence after their 21-point Semi Final win against Kerang, fresh after having the week off and most importantly, injury-free and fully fit for just about the first time this season.
It wasn’t just the fact they beat Kerang two weeks ago, but the manner in which they went about winning their Semi Final that should fill the playing group full of confidence. Their ability to both maintain possession as well as restrict Kerang’s usually crisp ball movement were major factors in the win, along with the dominance of Ben Archard in the ruck and Tom Toma across half-back.
The Kangas’ big strength all season has been their ability to hurt opposition teams on the scoreboard, with some of the most dangerous forwards in the competition. Rhys Free (78 goals) and Dylan Johnstone (49 goals) provide Cohuna with an unmatched aerial dominance inside their forward 50 and will again take a lot of the Blues’ focus – while Daniel Coates and Riley Hird should not be ignored either.
In their 25 year history in the Central Murray, the Kangas have never had a better opportunity to break their drought – and come 5pm tomorrow, it may well be purple rain that’s falling.
