COHUNA will go into this year’s finals series as one of the in-form teams after claiming their seventh straight victory with a 55-point win over Swan Hill.
The 18.9 (117) to 9.8 (62) lifted the Kangas to fourth place on the ladder after Woorinen’s loss to Balranald.
Cohuna started off well, scoring five goals early in the contest, before Swan Hill managed to kick a couple to end the first quarter to trail 37-14 at the first break.
Swan Hill started to put some pressure on Cohuna during the second term, with scoring minimal as both teams tried to control the tempo of the game.
The Kangas managed the footy exceptionally well, which was the main reason why they were leading the game at half-time with a 22-point margin.
Cohuna started to pull away from the Swans in the third term as they rammed home their advantage, with the Kangas using the footy well, controlling it and passing by foot effectively.
Try as they might, Swan Hill were unable to get the ball off the Kangas and by the end of the third quarter, Cohuna were leading the Swans by 30 points.
By game’s end, the visitors had absolutely smashed Swan Hill out of the park, with their dominant ball movement netting them seven goals in the final term, with the home side managing just three of their own, the Kangas pulling away to register a 55-point win.
Even though Cohuna had a comfortable win over Swan Hill, the Swans can hold their heads high, having made the in-form Kangas work for the four points.
Although the scoreboard might tell you that Cohuna won comfortably, in reality their finishing proved the difference, with the Swans working just as hard as their more-fancied rivals and forcing them to battle it out.
Some of the better players for Cohuna were Joel Helman, who dominated in the midfield, Christopher Anderson, Jack Donat and Jackson Williams.
Jacob Mitchell led the way up forward with five goals for the visitors, with Brenton Conforti also finding form in his first game for a month since returning from injury.
For the Swans, some of their key players were Ned McKeown, Sonny Beasy and Swan Hill coach Michael Herlihy, who tried hard all day, along with Nyawi Moore, Anthony Lewin, and Tom Holdstock in defence.
Despite winning their past seven matches, the Kangas are no certainty to play finals, with Balranald’s win over Woorinen ensuring the three teams will fight it out for the last two spots in this year’s finals series in the final round of the season this Saturday.
Cohuna’s strong percentage ensures they sit in the box seat to finish fourth, although they will need to defeat second-placed NNW United in their final game to make sure they are still alive come September.
Swan Hill will finish their season on the road against ladder leaders Kerang.
SCORES
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final Score |
| Swan Hill | 2.2 | 3.6 | 6.7 | 9.8 | 62 |
| Cohuna Kangas | 6.1 | 7.4 | 11.7 | 18.9 | 117 |
VOTES
3 – Daniel Coates (Cohuna)
2 – Joel Helman (Cohuna)
1 – Jacob Mitchell (Cohuna)
