MACORNA have pinched a narrow victory over Wandella with the Tigers winning by three points in what was almost a mirror-image of the teams’ round six Golden Rivers Football Netball League seniors matchup.
The two sides, who sit equal on wins in third and fourth, have been neck and neck all year but the win wasn’t enough to move the Tigers above Wandella.
The Bombers carried a slender 11-point lead into the final quarter, before the Tigers kicked three goals to one in the game’s final term to complete the comeback victory.
A last second scramble in the Wandella forward line wasn’t enough for the Bombers to steal the lead, as the Tigers held on to claim their fifth win.
Macorna coach Scott Wishart said the back-and-forth nature of the game, had both sets of supporters on the edge of their seats into the latter stages.
“I don’t think the margin ever got out to more than two or three goals for the whole game,” he said.
“Neither side were able to make a too big a push with their momentum, it was goal for goal for a lot of the match.
“In close matches like that one, it all just comes down to effort and especially the effort you can put in throughout a last quarter.
“Our players were able to keep up that intensity and bring the pressure late which created turnovers and opportunities for us to score.
“We were able to lock the ball in our forward half for a fair bit of that last quarter, it just gave us those repeat looks which eventually leads to a score.”
The Tigers were able to get on top of the midfield battle, with the likes of Josh Macpherson and Malcolm Neiwand integral to winning the clearance count.
Macpherson added immense scoreboard pressure to his midfield game kicking three goals, as did Johnny Dawes who also impressed.
But Wandella’s hard-ball winning trio of Kaine O’Connell, Tim Robinson and Russell Rich were just as good through the middle for the Bombers.
Wandella forward Michael Rowe almost carried his side to a win, finishing the game with five goals and providing a strong target.
Wishart said the season’s final match against Wandella will be another opportunity for the sides to see where they’re at before a potential finals clash.
“If we had dropped this match, we would have slipped a bit further from the top three,” he said.
“There’s no difference between third and fourth spots, whoever finishes there will be playing each other on a neutral ground come finals.
“While it doesn’t matter too much, there’s that mental side of things that could give a player a bit of an edge over their opponent.
“It’s looking like we could be playing Wandella five times this season, so it’s pretty important to gain that edge before the end of the season.”
In the round’s other matches, Ultima have ground out their ninth win of the season, away from home against Moulamein.
While Ultima started the game brightly, they couldn’t make their early dominance count on the scoreboard kicking 2.7 to the Swans three goals for the opening quarter.
But once the Roos hit their straps, they didn’t look back and kicked away to hold a 15-point lead at the main break before winning by 39 points.
Ultima continued to pile on the pressure all game, but their inaccuracy kept the Swans within a few goals until the game’ final stages.
Rodney Reeves continued to impress for the Swans, while strong defenders Cody Storm and William Gibson kept their opponents in check for much of the game.
Both Hunter Hartland and Ely Miller finished the game with three goals for Moulamein with the side only kicking one behind for the match.
Ultima’s Ryan Devereux continued his streak of games with multiple goals, kicking four as the Roos’ leading scorer.
Wingmen Mitchell Seton-Stewart and Zac Cattlin gave immense run to the Roos, while Ryan Featherby and Jacob Schaper impressed at either end of the ground.
Hay travelled to Murrabit in a match headlined by a nine-goal haul from star forward Declan Watson which helped the Lions to a 119-point mauling of the Blues.
The Lions piled on the goals in Murrabit, with young pair Jim Houston and Jensen Hargreaves supporting with four and three majors respectively.
Jacob Watson and Jack Cattanach continued their fine form, while Tom Spence and defender Jayden Kinces were also named in the Lions’ best.
Coach Jack Shannahan was the Blues best with two goals, Jordan Lampi was another of Murrabit’s better performers, alongside Nathan O’Toole, Austin McKerrow and Jacob Wade.
