A DOMINANT Nyah-Nyah West United claimed an important 149-point win against Koondrook-Barham to continue their hunt for a spot in the finals.
The strength and outside run of the Demons was too much for the young Koondrook-Barham side, who were beaten 28.17 (185) to 5.6 (36).
With four games remaining before their final round bye, the Demons are sitting in sixth place ahead of Swan Hill solely on the big percentage boost.
NNW United co-coach Nick O’Neill said he was pleased to see his side improving towards the end of the season.
“We have a strong focus on taking the game on every week,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter who we are up against, we want our guys to have that belief that we can take the game on at all times.
“I think our boys are really building that belief that we can take it up to any side and really use our outside run and try to burn teams off with our speed.
“It’s all coming together for us at the right time, all of our players are working really hard for each other.
“We know that if we really stick to our game plan, we can beat anyone on our day.”
That game plan was on full display against the River Raiders, who were unable to contend with the quick ball movement and run of the Demons’ midfield.
Koondrook-Barham were often hemmed into their defence and forced to take the long kick down the line, which allowed NNW United’s half-back line to rebound quickly.
Mitch Grinham and Zack Threadgold were impressive down back, with the latter given the freedom from his usual lockdown defender role.
That quick transition added to the difficulty for Koondrook’s defenders, who already had to contend with the threat of Hasan Ahmat-Watkins and Corey Daniels down forward.
O’Neill said that having his co-coach Daniels in the forward line had added more defensive pressure to their attack.
“Having Corey down forward was so good for us today,” he said.
“You know the opposition won’t be able to transition the ball out of defence easily because he just keeps it locked in there so well.
“Hasan is doing very well for us down there in the forward line too, he’s really fantastic at finishing those snaps from the boundary.
“I think our forward line is looking dangerous, we’ve got some great targets down there.”
Ahmat-Watkins finished the game with six goals, one of the eight multiple goalkickers for the Demons, including three each from both Threadgold brothers.
“We play better when we are sharing the ball around,” O’Neill said.
“If the handball is available, we want our players to take that option.
“Whether we are having one player kick 10 or are spreading the goals around, we are happy.”
The day wasn’t one to remember for the River Raiders, but their supporters were still in full voice into the final quarter, especially when Andrew Edwards kicked the second of his goals.
Koondrook-Barham will be hunting their first win when they take on Tyntynder, while Nyah-Nyah West United will be hoping to claim the scalp of the league’s top contender, Kerang.
“It’ll be a big game for us next week at Kerang,” O’Neill said.
“I honestly believe that we can beat anyone if we really do keep to our game plan.
“We want to keep this momentum rolling on and hopefully make it to the finals.”
FINAL SIREN
| Koondrook Barham | 2.0 | 2.0 | 4.6 | 5.6 | 36 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NNW United | 7.5 | 18.9 | 23.13 | 28.17 | 185 |
VOTES
3 – Mitchell Grinham (NNW United)
2 – Hassan Ahmat-Watkins (NNW United)
1 – Corey Daniels (NNW United)
