COHUNA Kangas will have plenty to play for when they meet Nyah-Nyah West United this weekend, following their hard-fought 18-point victory over the Mallee Eagles.
The Eagles took it right up to their more fancied rivals, especially in the second half, after the Kangas got out to a 29-point lead at half time.
While the Eagles could have been excused for falling awayy, they refused to throw in the towel, pushing the Kangas all the way to the final siren in the 13.10 (88) to 10.10 (70) contest.
Cohuna now find themselves inside the top five with a 4-3 record following consecutive wins, but now facing a classic eight-point game against fellow finals contender NNW United, according to coach Tyson Findlay.
“It’s going to be a challenge to go up there and play on their smaller ground, plus they’re playing with a lot of confidence it seems,” Findlay said.
“(NNW United are) playing really good, team footy from what I can tell. It’s another opportunity for us to play against a quality side and keep working on our game style against a team that’s also fighting for a finals spot like we are.”
While the Demons will no doubt pose a challenge to Cohuna, so too did the Mallee Eagles, whose ball movement at times hurt the Kangas, according to Findlay.
“It was a win, but it was an ugly win,” he said.
“I felt we had control of the game for the majority of the day, but we probably let ourselves down with our execution at times and with turnovers in crucial parts of the ground.
“Their ability to get us over the back at times hurt us, we pressed up on them a bit but it didn’t quite work as well as we’d like, and they got us out the back from their kick-outs three or four times and scored from them.
“They were able to kick through our press and get it over the back a few times, which was disappointing from our perspective.
“I thought we broke even through the midfield, but once we controlled the ball across half back, our efficiency going forward was really good, as was our run and spread from half-back when we had ball in hand.”
Christopher Anderson had the better of Angus McKenzie in their ruck battle, which helped the likes of Jarrod Findlay, Joel Helman and Luke Conca have a big impact on the match, while Daniel Paterson continued his great season with his run from defence a constant highlight.
Jake Hammond returned for his first game of the season in purple and was quickly back to his best, taking countless contested marks.
For the Eagles, Zac O’Meara was sensational across half-back, repelling numerous Kanga forward entries, while Brett Thomas, Liam Drummond, Billy O’Meara and the ever-reliable Harry Allen and Darcy McGregor were also among their better players.
The Eagles will also face an important game this week, despite their finals chances having been dashed, with the side likely to be confident of claiming their second win of the season when they host Tyntynder.
FINAL SIREN
| COHUNA | 4.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.10 | 88 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MALLEE EAGLES | 3.1 | 5.6 | 7.8 | 10.10 | 70 |
VOTES
3 – Jarrod Findlay (Cohuna Kangas)
2 – Zac O’Meara (Mallee Eagles)
1 – Christopher Anderson (Cohuna Kangas)
