A LAST-minute Will Collicoat goal helped Woorinen snatch victory from the jaws of defeat on the weekend, getting past a determined Cohuna Kangas by two points.
Moments before the match-winning moment, Luke Conca had a chance to seal the match for the Kangas, only to see his set shot sail wide.
One last opportunity was all Woorinen needed, moving the ball from one end to the other for Collicoat to snap truly off his left boot for his second goal of the afternoon.
The 10.8 (68) to 9.12 (66) result all but locked away a top-two finish for Woorinen and set up a mouth-watering encounter with fellow contender Balranald this Saturday, with both teams on 10 wins.
For Cohuna, it could prove a costly loss, having dropped to fifth on the ladder and just four points ahead of a rapidly improving NNW United.
While the second half produced some scintillating football, the same cannot be said for the first half, with a heavily contested and scrappy contest heavily affected by skill errors from both sides, owing to the finals-like pressure being applied around the contest.
Woorinen were on top through the midfield, as Jye Barry, Josh Domaille and Robbie Miller found plenty of the ball, as did Taylor Cameron across half back.
Joel Helman was also impactful both around the ball and up forward, with the former Jack Betts Medallist kicking Cohuna’s opening two goals in the space of two minutes in the first quarter leading out of the goal square, helping halt Woorinen’s early momentum.
The Kangas’ disposal going forward was at times deplorable in the first half, with their long entries into attack continuously picked off by Woorinen’s Henry Thompson and Doug Beames.
This method of ball movement proved particularly ineffectual when it came to Cohuna’s key forwards Rhys Free and Dylan Johnstone, who were having very little impact in the first half, except for a five-minute purple patch in the second term.
However, both Free and Johnstone started to get busy after half-time, with Free taking several contested marks across half-forward and causing numerous problems for Beames.
Three goals in a six-minute period turned the match on its head, with Cohuna wrestling the momentum back from Woorinen and taking the lead, before a fortunate Matthew Gardner kick on the goal line gave the Tigers a one-point lead at the final break.
With Free in control up forward, and Jake Hammond intercepting everything that came his way across half back, it looked like an upset could well be on the cards as the pressure around the contest from both sides reached a finals like intensity.
Hammond was impassable at times in defence for Cohuna, while Cooper McLoughlan managed to keep the dangerous Collicoat to just three goals for the match in what was an enthralling battle all afternoon.
So too was the contest in the ruck between Woorinen’s Lachlan Gardner and the Kangas Christopher Anderson.
Cohuna’s prime ball movers also worked hard, with Helman joined by Jarrod Findlay, Luke Conca, Jack Donat and half-back Daniel Paterson to help Cohuna change the momentum in the second half.
Not to be outdone, Barry, Domaille, Robert Rush, Mitch Uhlhorn and Lachlan Warburton worked well out of the centre square and around the stoppages, while Cameron off half-back could consider himself unlucky to not feature in the votes.
With seemingly no injuries to either side, both clubs will now go into important matches in good shape, with the Tigers and Roos offering a potential qualifying-final preview, and Cohuna can freshen up with the bye ahead of a possibly season-defining encounter with reigning premiers Kerang in two weeks’ time.
FINAL SIREN
| Woorinen | 3.3 | 5.6 | 7.7 | 10.8 | 68 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cohuna | 2.0 | 4.2 | 7.6 | 6.12 | 66 |
VOTES
3 – Jake Hammond (Cohuna)
2 – Jye Barry (Woorinen)
1 – Joel Helman (Cohuna)
