Noone was lacking in motivation as the Katunga Swans went to war with the Deni Roos at Deniliquin’s Memorial Park on Saturday.
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It was a tough battle from the outset, but the Swans found their wings a little quicker and avoided pressure from the home team.
“It was a very physical game,” playing coach Alex Hay said.
“We started well early on in the game but faded in and out through the first half.
“Our skills were good but fumbled the ball at times which hurt our ability to move that ball quickly, which Katunga capitalised on.
The first half closed with the Rovers on 5.3 (33) and Katunga 10.5 (65).
The Rovers managed to improve their contest by the third stanza, capping the Swans’ gains to two majors while booting four of their own. It narrowed Katunga’s lead to 20 points, 59-79.
“The response was good in the second half, and we were a lot more fluid with our ball movement but we had to work really hard for our goals were it seemed that Katunga moved the ball easily when we turned the ball over,” Hay said.
“At times we were very reactive and didn’t seem desperate enough to defend which took the pressure off their ball movement.
“When we cleaned up our touch, we moved the ball well from the stoppage, but it was too little too late towards the end of the match - although I was happy with our ability to run the game out and which almost got us over the line.”
It could have been a winnable fourth round, but the Swans threw their weight down in the last term, kicking another four goals and interrupting the Rovers’ contests. And a strong red and white defence line kept the Roos away from the sticks.
Tom Blake was “excellent” according to Hay.
“ He fought really hard down back in the first half then was swung forward in the last quarter and provided a real focal point for us to kick to.
“James Gilligan continued his form from last season and played an excellent game across half back.
“Our mid fielders regained some control in the second half with Andy (May), Nick (Sheldon) and Jimmy (Falcone) all getting busy at the contest.
“Scott Howard was fantastic in providing a link through half forward. Next week we will be looking to get a more consistent contribution across the four quarters against Picola.”
Hay was also knocked down in a tackle, before sitting off the remainder of the round.
Deniliquin found the sticks just twice more before the final siren.
Final score: Rovers 11.8 (74) lt Katunga 16.7 (103).
Best players: James Gilligan, Alexander Hay, James Falcone, Andrew May, Scott Howard, Raymond Murphy.
Goal scorers: Scott Howard (3), Ray Murphy (2), Alex Hay (2), Nicholas Sheldon, James Falcone and Thomas Blake.
The new and youthful Rovers seconds side took the field behind their new captains Ben ‘Bam Bam’ McCalman and Daniel ‘Mouse’ Mison.
And they came away with an undisputable win, taking the Swans down 19 majors to nil.
The Rovers started against a strong breeze but it was Patrick ‘Mudflap’ Westcott who scored the first goal for the game, and the Rovers boys didn't look back.
Dylan Mills had a massive first quarter as the backline were put under pressure time and time again.
After putting in a massive pre-season, Jordan Treble played like a man possessed through the midfield busting through packs and putting it out in front of our forwards time and time again.
Veteran forward Terry ‘T-Train’ Lumbar put on a show kicking eight goals for the day and was aided by Westcott and Treble, who kicked three goals each, Blake Norris and Jai Ezard with two each and Dylan May kicking one.
All of the boys in the backline played well, keeping the opponents scoreless for the game.
The attack out of the backline was exciting to watch and newbie Jack Bartlett was named the Player’s Player.
Although the boys haven't played much football together, they linked up really well and took the game on at every opportunity. The group was probably a bit quiet and that is something that will be worked on for next week.
Final score: Rovers 19.10 (124) to Katunga 0.0 (0).
Best players: Terry Lumbar, Jordan Treble, Tim McDonnell, Ben McCalman, Dylan Mills, Jack Bartlett
Goal scorers: Terry Lumbar (8), Jordan Treble (3), Patrick Westcott (3), Jai Ezard (2), Blake Norris (2) and Dylan May.
The battle between the Rovers and Katunga’s thirds sides drew out as a tit-for-tat in the first half of the round one match on Saturday.
The Rovers held a hesitant lead, staying just one goal ahead of the Swans in the earlier terms.
Half time score: Deni 5.3 (33) def Katunga 4.4 (28).
After the long break, however they gained momentum, just about doubling their score with another five majors.
The Roos held their lines, keeping up the pressure in the contest and feeding the ball to their forward line.
Goal kickers Tyson Wills (5) and Jackson Muldoon-Leetham (2) provided leads on the forward line to drive up the score.
The Swans had less luck, only scoring twice more by the final siren.
Final score: Rovers 12.4 (76) def Katunga 6.7 (43).
Best players: Tyson Willis, Cameron Wills, Jordan Stafford, Connor Didcock, Jackson Muldoon-Leetham and Cayden Hawley.
Goal scorers: Tyson Willis (5), Jackson Muldoon-Leetham (2), Cameron Wills, Liam East, Alex Harvey, Luke Holloway and Dexter Hardman.
The Rovers fourths had the Katunga Swans pinned from the start.
Counting 3.5 (23) in the first stanza, the Roos were tallying steadily from there, closing the first half with 5.8 (38), and letting Katunga’s only goal for the match in during the second term.
Whatever hopes that might have ignited for the Swans was not to be; another quarter saw the Roos add another two majors and by the final battle, they were up 11 goals.
Final score: Rovers 12.17 (89) def Katunga 1.0 (6).
Best players: Baxter Cowley, Isaac Behsman, Andrew Smith, Dexter Hardman, Brody Wills and Nicholas Fanning.
Goal scorers: Baxter Cowley (4), Logan Elphick (2), Andrew Smith (2), Spencer Cowley (2) and Brody Wills.