A DEVASTATING first half helped Woorinen stretch their unbeaten streak to 10 straight on the weekend, with the Tigers accounting for Cohuna by 61 points on Saturday.
The 16.6 (102) to 6.5 (41) result sees Woorinen move three games clear on top of the Central Murray ladder ahead of their bye this weekend, with the ladder leaders now nominally holding the tag of premiership favourites.
The Tigers dominated the first half thanks to a mix of fast ball movement, clean disposal and a dynamic mix of forward options, with a 30-point quarter time lead stretching to 50 points at the main break.
The Kangas were without several key players, including Joel Helman and Daniel Coates, but it was the absence of key defenders William Lee and Brenton Conforti that hurt them most throughout the first half. The Cohuna defence seemingly had no answer for Woorinen’s Kyle Skene.
Skene was a clear standout up forward for the Tigers early, kicking three first quarter goals and finishing with six for the match.
While Skene and Doug Beames proved to be strong forward targets all afternoon, it was the manner in which Woorinen moved the ball through the corridor with speed and precision that was most impressive.
Jye Barry was unstoppable around the stoppages, while Henry Thompson also won plenty of the ball in close against the highly rated Cohuna midfield.
The Kangas had their opportunities too, with Chris Anderson having the better of his ruck duel against Lachlan Gardner, but Woorinen’s midfielders simply worked harder both at the contest and spreading from the stoppage throughout the first half, with Lachlan Warburton doing an admirable job tagging Tom Toma.
Cohuna were able to even the contest after the main break, with Toma breaking the shackles to quickly become one of the Kangas better players, while Ricky Monti also found plenty of the ball in the second half.
Jack Geary was another who found plenty of the ball across half back for Cohuna until he was taken from the field with concussion late in the third quarter after a sickening collision with Barry.
Although the Cohuna coach is sure to spend some time on the sidelines, it was both a positive sight and a relief to see him walking the boundary post-match.
The issue that will need to be addressed by the visitors ahead of this year’s finals series is their lack of marking targets inside their forward 50.
It was a constant problem throughout the match for the Kangas, who would regularly pump the ball deep into their attacking 50, only to see Woorinen’s well organised back six intercept and rebound it back out with ease.
Taylor Cameron was the chief destroyer for the Tigers with his run off half back and clean disposal helping to set up the win in the first half.
Matthew Gardner was another who proved to be a thorn in the visitors side, along with Ben Booth and Mitch Uhlhorn.
While the Kangas lack of forward targets was a problem, with the exception of Lachlan English in the third quarter, so too was the ball movement into their attacking half, with Cohuna’s ball carriers regularly blazing away.
Woorinen had very few passengers, with all 22 players contributing in some way throughout the afternoon to highlight their depth.
The Tigers will enjoy a well earned week off before hosting Balranald, while the Kangas will host Koondrook-Barham in a must-win game for both teams this Saturday.
Final Score
SCORES
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final Score |
| Woorinen | 7.2 | 11.4 | 12.4 | 16.6 | 102 |
| Cohuna Kangas | 2.2 | 3.2 | 5.3 | 6.5 | 41 |
VOTES
3 – Taylor Cameron (Woorinen)
2 – Jye Barry (Woorinen)
1 – Kyle Skene (Woorinen)
