COHUNA are certain to regain key players Chris Anderson and Jackson Williams for this Saturday’s qualifying final against the Mallee Eagles, after both players were resting in the Kangas 74-point win over Lake Boga on the weekend.
Despite kicking four unanswered goals in the opening term, Cohuna were made to work to defeat the determined Magpies, who managed to turn the game into a scrappy and hard-fought contest from the outset.
The 14.12 (96) to 3.4 (22) result saw the Kangas sew up second place on the Central Murray ladder, with Cohuna coach Jack Geary looking forward to the return of both Williams and Anderson for this weekend’s all-important clash.
“The boys are super keen, ‘Jacko’ (Williams) and ‘Ando’ (Anderson) will definitely be available for Saturday,” Geary said post-match.
“‘Jacko’ got a scan on his hamstring during the week, but got the all clear so we’re pretty sure he’ll be right to go.
“We’re unsure about Daniel Coates at this stage though, I think he’ll be right but he had a bit of a calf strain that we’ve been resting for the past few weeks, so we’ll just have to see how he trains and pulls up during the week.”
While Geary was pleased with his team’s output, particularly the continued good form of key midfielders Ricky Monti and Joel Helman, the Cohuna coach was also quick to heap praise on his young opponents after the match.
“They (Lake Boga) were really competitive and brought heaps of pressure,” Geary said.
“I was talking to Dean (Helmers) after the game and said it was a pretty scrappy game and we couldn’t really move the ball all that well and he said that was exactly what they were trying to do.
“It wasn’t that they didn’t give themselves a chance, it was more that they didn’t want to turn it into a free-flowing and open game and that’s what it looked like.
“The conditions were pretty good, but the disposal all day was a bit scrappy, which might have also been down to their pressure too.
“They have a good, young group of kids, but they probably lack a little bit of experience.
“Our top end talent, particularly our experienced top end talent was probably the difference.
“They (Lake Boga) tried hard all day and they made good decisions and were well drilled, but our talent won out in the end.”
Toma was again dominant for the Kangas around the contest and looms as the key player ahead of Cohuna’s finals campaign.
He was shadowed only by Monti, who was equally damaging around the stoppages with his ability to win the ball on the inside and use it effectively on the outside.
Corbin Anderson proved problematic inside the forward 50 with the clever forward finishing with a game high four goals, with Sam McGlone, Jarrod Findlay and William Lee also among the Kangas better players.
Lake Boga on the other hand were well served by Marty Parsons, Darby Hayes, Ryan Fox, Nathaniel Holmes-Brown and Darcy Butler, with their coach Dean Helmers impressed with his developing squads endeavour after the match.
“It was a very competitive game in general play and most of the game was played between the arcs,” Helmers said.
“Cohuna defended extremely well and as a result, we couldn’t get anything on the scoreboard in the second half.”
While Cohuna will press on and look to go deep in this year’s highly anticipated finals series, the Magpies season comes to a close, but not before showing that the future is looking brighter providing they keep the bulk of their young squad together for the next two to three seasons.
SCORES
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final Score |
| Cohuna Kangas | 4.2 | 8.2 | 10.8 | 14.12 | 96 |
| Lake Boga | 0.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 22 |
VOTES
3 – Ricky Monti (Cohuna)
2 – Tom Toma (Cohuna)
1 – William Lee (Cohuna)
