RALLYING after a shaky first half, the Koondrook-Barham Raiders prevailed over the Kerang Blues by 44 points in a scrappy, windswept shootout at Riverside Park.
After a slow scoring start to the match from both sides, the Blues got the jump on their cross-border counterparts though a score of missed opportunities kept the Raiders well within striking distance at half-time.
Coming out of the major break nine-points down, the Raiders regained control and stamped their authority on the match, kicking five goals six while keeping Kerang goalless in the premiership quarter.
Koondrook then doubled their lead in the fourth and left Kerang with a final scorecard reading 8.14 (62) 15.16 (106).
Raiders coach Marcus Demaria said his team was outplayed in the second quarter before making the necessary changes at half-time.
“Kerang were very good, they pressured us well,” said Demaria.
“Probably our forward line wasn’t functioning that well, we sort of had guys competing in the same area and there wasn’t a lot of space when we’d present up forward.
“It was good in the second half where we isolated a couple of our key players and let them get to work.”
Kye Attwell kicked three majors for the Raiders, with Patrick Goble slotting a game-high five goals while staying highly damaging up the ground.
Flynn McKnight and Jordan McNeil for the Blues each bagged two goals.
Demaria said he was measured with the boys at halftime with their top four ticket in the balance.
“I was fairly vocal, but after I got what I had to off my chest it was more about them working it out,” he said.
“I asked them questions: where they thought we were falling down and what areas we needed to improve on.
“And credit to them they obviously identified the areas we needed to improve on and fixed them up.”
Koondrook’s key players lifted when their team needed them, said the coach.
“Goble was probably the big one, Kye was good being a focal point for us,” he said.
“Isaac Corvo in the middle and them down back our captain Jack Thrum off half back was really good.”
The win all but secures the Raiders’ finals berth, now sitting 12 points clear of the Saints in sixth place on the ladder.
With only percentage separating the Raiders and the fourth-placed Demons, a fiery round 15 clash – and potential elimination round preview – is in the post.
Demaria said with the bye this week he’s hoping a few key returns will bolster the Raiders’ run home.
“It’ll be a big challenge for us, we’ll hopefully get a few players back… it’ll be a good contest,” he said.
Star off-season recruit and talented midfielder Lee Dale is expected to return, with the return of gun forward Matt Bilton also imminent.
Key defender Jack Shannon is also tipped to return to the fold in the coming weeks, along with Nick Frankling and Roy George – subject to his availability with the VFL.
Demaria said coming out of the stop-start nature of the break and this week’s bye, the Raiders are looking for a consistent run home.
“There are some winnable games there, so we’ve just gotta keep winning and let it take care of itself,” he said.
“We’ll be looking at refining our plan, like our structures, our game plan, our ball movement, the whole lot.
“We’ve continued to improve in those areas.
“I thought we defended the ground very well on the weekend, and we spend a fair bit of time on it.
“I think it’s a big part of our game that defensive aspect.
“We’ll continue to work on that and refine a few things, keep pushing forward.”
SCORES
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final Score |
| Kerang | 1.4 | 6.8 | 6.11 | 8.14 | 62 |
| Koondrook-Barham | 11.22 | 33.44 | 55.66 | 77.88 | 999 |
LJ Hooker best player votes:
3 votes: Patrick Goble (Koond-Barham)
2 votes: Kye Attwell (Koond-Barham)1 vote: Jack Thrum (Koon-Barham)
