NYAH-Nyah West United breathed life into their stuttering season with a 28-point victory over Tooleybuc-Manangatang.
The result moved the Demons to sixth on the ladder, just one win outside the top five, and left the Saints languishing in ninth, with only one win from their opening four games.
After an inaccurate first quarter, the Demons eventually found their rhythm, kicking four of the next six goals to hold a slender five-point lead at half time.
From that moment on, they were never headed, their midfielders getting on top around the stoppages and helping secure a 15.17 (107) to 12.7 (79) win.
Although Alex Erlandson and Ben Shadbolt returned, the home side were still without a number of their best 22, particularly in their defensive half.
While they were found wanting in defence seven days earlier against Swan Hill, NNW United joint coach Corey Daniels was full of praise for his back six and the effort produced at the weekend.
“It was a good result, we defended a lot better than we did last week, which is pretty important to the way we play,” Daniels said.
“I know (Josh) Williams kicked six, but we still defended the ground better and we didn’t get too conscious of focusing solely on him.
“I felt like the week before we were too (Michael) Hurley conscious and we just held back and it created a lot of space for them (Swan Hill) – whereas on Saturday, we pushed up higher up the ground and defended higher, which worked really well.
“We probably lost our structure a bit last week, so it was a pretty big focus to get back to playing the way we want to play.
“Because we’re missing a few guys out of our back six, we’re pretty young back there at the moment, but they’re holding up really well.”
While Williams threatened to take the game away from NNW United’s undermanned defence, their midfield proved to be the difference, despite Tim Auckland’s strong display in the ruck for the Saints.
Jarrod Stokes was dominant for the home side in a dual forward/midfield role, while Brayden Bigham on the wing and Nick O’Neill in the midfield were strong contributors through the middle.
Charlie Boulton and Erlandson both ended the match with three goals, with NNW United having eight individual goal kickers compared to the Saints’ five.
While Williams was a clear best on ground for Tooleybuc-Manangatang, midfielders Mitchell Grant, Blake Grant and Johnathan Marsden were also among their better players, along with defender Jaicob Kenny.
NNW United face a massive game against the Mallee Eagles this Saturday, when a win could potentially put them into the top five.
Tooleybuc-Manangatang enter a make-or-break month of football, with games against Cohuna, Tyntynder, Balranald and Woorinen to come, their finals credentials likely to have been decided by then.
FINAL SIREN
| NNW United | 1.5 | 5.9 | 9.10 | 15.17 | 107 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tooleybuc-Manag | 3.2 | 5.4 | 7.7 | 12.7 | 79 |
VOTES
3 – Jarrod Stokes (NNW United)
2 – Josh Williams (Tooleybuc-Manangatang)
1 – Brayden Bigham (NNW United)
