Berrigan comeback over Tocumwal in Good Friday thriller

It was a hot day, which led to some even hotter footy.

With warm conditions greeting players and spectators, it was Tocumwal who came out firing.

The Bloods displayed sharp ball movement, relentless tackling pressure, and a strong hunger for the contest, surging to a 32-point lead by half-time.

Flynn Tonks was in electric form, booting five first-half goals and causing plenty of headaches for the Berrigan defence.

Tocumwal were off to a great start, moving the ball extremely well, and it looked as if the game had passed the Saints in the first half with Tocumwal in control.

In the break, Saints coaches Mitch Reilly and Nick Manly had a stern word with their playing group, simply asking them to dig in for their teammates and supporters.

Coming out of the break, the Saints’ newfound belief was immediately evident as they quickly began knocking away at Tocumwal’s lead.

Unfortunately for the Bloods, injuries took their toll on the Tocumwal bench and momentum shifted after the main break.

With rotations limited, the Bloods struggled to maintain their intensity and scoreboard pressure.

Berrigan capitalised, slamming home seven unanswered goals in the second half, while Tocumwal could only manage three behinds.

In the final quarter, the Saints took the lead and went on to win an enthralling comeback, finished off by a thrilling goal by Matt Ross that had the crowd roaring.

The Saints’ defence was outstanding, holding the earlier red-hot Tocumwal scorers goalless for the entire final two quarters as Berrigan scored an exciting ‘come from behind’ victory by two goals in their Good Friday clash against Tocumwal.

It was a disappointing fadeout for the home side and a reminder of the importance of maintaining pressure for the full four quarters.

Despite the result, there were still plenty of positives to take from the game for Tocumwal.

Brayden Hall was composed and creative, Lachlan McDonald battled hard through the middle, and Ricky Gittens continued his solid form.

Raymond Sutton was again among the best, alongside Josh Mosman and Kyle Keenan, who both showed strong commitment across the ground.

While the second-half fadeout was frustrating, the opening half showed just how dangerous this Tocumwal side can be when firing on all cylinders.

With key players returning and lessons learned, the Bloods will no doubt look to bounce back strongly in their next outing.

For the Saints, their backline was headlined by terrific efforts from Jake Dalgliesh and Zeke Carruthers, as both stepped up to the task.

Dalgliesh was a force to be reckoned with, intercepting everything coming his way, while Carruthers locked down Tocumwal’s most in-form forward.

Matt Whelan starred for the Saints as an extremely efficient ball user off half-back, cutting the game open with his accuracy and breaking lines with his incredible pace, even earning himself a goal for the day.

The goalscorers for the Saints were very evenly spread but Keith Tallent again led the list with a three goal haul to add to his impressive start to the year.

Lochie Schifferle continued his amazing run of form as he racked up a heap of touches on the wing and across half forward.

It was rated one of the best comeback wins seen by the Berrigan crowd in a while, and a massive credit to the belief and hard work the players and coaches have put in for 2025.

Final score: Tocumwal 10.8 (68) def by Berrigan 12.8 (80).

Tocumwal goals: F Tonks 5, R Sutton 2, B Scoullar 1, C Parish 1, C Locke 1.

Tocumwal best players: B Hall, L McDonald, R Gittens, R Sutton, J Mosman, K Keenan.

Tocumwal awards: Raymond Sutton, Josh Mosman, Blake Aglinskas, Logan White.