KOONDROOK-Barham are finally on a winning streak after losing almost two straight seasons’ worth of games as they have defeated Tyntynder at Alan Garden Reserve.
Despite it being the first game of the season, the River Raiders won their final match of the season last year against Tyntynder as well.
Now Koondrook-Barham are hoping to keep pushing with their streak and become a dark horse for finals in the 2025 Central Murray Football League season.
At the start of the contest, the River Raiders drew first blood early on in the contest and went on towards a 14-point lead before Bailey Reeves slotted one for the Bulldogs with the score being 15 to seven at the end of the first quarter.
Both defensive line-ups were playing hard, with both having solid matches in the backline.
In the second quarter, Tyntynder started to put the pressure on a little bit more and took a three-point lead by the time the siren sounded.
Koondrook-Barham had plenty of chances in the forward line throughout the second quarter but couldn’t capitalise when they were given the opportunity in front of goal.
The Bulldogs on the other hand took the chances they were given, which was the main reason that they were in front by the end of the first half.
But the River Raiders came out blazing in the third quarter, having some fantastic ball movement to get themselves out of danger from the Tyntynder opposition.
By the end of the third quarter, Koondrook-Barham kicked four goals extra to their tally and had a sound two goal lead against the Bulldogs.
The midfield work was incredible to watch, particularly from River Raider players of Thrum and Neal, both having reliable matches.
Koondrook-Barham’s new head coach Marcus Demaria spoke about the ball movement during the second half of the contest after the match.
“Yeah, at times it looked really good, didn’t it?” Demaria said.
“Like the passages of play was really good, but once we got to the half forward line, we kind of coughed it up.
“So that is going to be something we will work on in training.”
In the final quarter, a low scoring contest again with the defensive lines hard at work, but Koondrook-Barham overall was the better team and won by 14 points.
The final score saw seven goals, eight behinds and a total of 50 points for Tyntynder, while the River Raiders had eight goals and 16 behinds with their final score being 64 points.
Demaria was overall pleased with how his new side turned out on the day.
“Yeah, pretty pleased, all bits and pieces came together which was good, and Tyntynder were a really good side today,” he said.
“I thought we started the game well. We did put the foot off the accelerator a little bit during that second quarter.
“But you can see what the boys can do as a team, it’s just a matter of getting the team together and work as one.”
Koondrook-Barham brought in 11 key new players into their squad during the off-season, and all of them made their debuts in the River Raiders colours on Saturday.
Demaria was pleased to see how they all went as a team, particuarly with those who only met the team on game day and how strong they were during contests.
“Yeah it worked well, I reckon, some of them only just got to see the team today and with a different structure it will take time to adjust,” Demaria said.
“But overall pretty happy how they went today, and they were also strong inside of a contest, which is perfect for us as we are most certainly a stronger inside of a contest kind of team.”
Next week, Koondrook-Barham will be playing their first home game of the 2025 season as they take on reigning premiers NNW United.
Demaria was asked on how the River Raiders will shape up for that contest..
“Yeah it will be a tough contest, NNW United are a very strong outside of the contest kind of team,” he said.
“We have to make sure we play hard inside of the contest, because if the Demons get more ball inside, that will hurt us.
“But we will do our homework and work on outside contests in training this week as well.”
VOTES
3 – Kye Attwell (Koondrook-Barham)
2 – Benji Neal (Koondrook-Barham)
1 – Jack Thrum (Koondrook-Barham)
