Twelve rounds are gone in the Kowree-Naracoorte/Tatiara season and the race to the finals has begun.
Mundulla took a strangle hold on second place on the ladder as they defeated arch rival Bordertown by 21 points. The Tigers jumped out of the blocks in the first quarter and could have put the game away early as they kicked 4-10 to Bordertown's 0-0 to get off to a strong start. The Roosters fought back in the second quarter as they added seven goals. The Tigers led by 14 points at the long break. The Roosters again had the upper hand in the third quarter to cut the margin to eight by the three quarter time break. The Tigers steadied in the fourth quarter to record the victory in a great performance. William Nankivell and Billy Wiese were strong performers for Mundulla with three goals each. Jacob Grosser, Nick Mosey and Travis Wagenknecht were Mundulla's best players. Bordertown spread the load of their scoring with Jacob Eats, Tom Mackenzie, Ned McCarthy and Thomas Whittlesea kicking two goals each. The Roosters best players were Billy Hayes, Bryce Damin and Angus Day.
Keith kept up their chase for a double chance in the finals after they won against Kingston by 61 points. The Crows took until the fourth quarter to shake off a persistent Saints team that played some hard and tough football. Keith's Riley Wilsdon had a big game with seven goals in the victory. Blake Read and Will Schreiber also got in on the scoring act as they added two goals each during the victory. Riley Wilsdon, George Johnson and Travis Wilson were the Crows best players. Kingston had lots of the ball but could only find one goal kicker who kicked multiple goals. James Siviour managed to kick two goals in his comeback game. The Saints best players were Ben Rogers, Jack Armfield and Chris Draper.
Padthaway defeated Penola in a classic close game by four points. The Lions overcame a slow start in the first quarter to record a great victory. The Eagles jumped the Lions to lead by four goals at quarter time. Padthaway turned the game around in the second quarter and by three quarter time the game was anyone's to win. The Lions outlasted the Eagles to record the four points and keep their slim finals chances alive. Blake Harris and Jordan Hooper were the Lions leading goal kickers with two each. The Lions best players were Blake Harris, Tom O’Connell and Jarryd Dolling. Penola could only find two goal kickers for the game. Amazingly Garrett Ha (6 goals) and Brodie Foster (4 goals) shared the Eagles entire goal kicking total of ten goals. The Eagles best players were Beau Shinnick, Jayden Eldridge and Garret Ha.
Kybybolite demolished Naracoorte by 212 points in a one-sided game. The Tigers put in a strong four quarter performance as they built their percentage up. Kybybolite's Billy Laurie kicked eight goals in the victory. Lucas Schultz (6 goals) and Charlie Hillier (5 goals) also put through big bags of goals as they kicked eleven goals between them. The Tigers best players were Jack Trengove, Oscar Clark and William Russell. Naracoorte only scored the one goal as Brodie Pratter again proved to be the only Demon who could score a goal against the Tigers. Brodie was the only player who scored in their previous clash in round three. The Demons best players were Kai Schmid, Josh Reeves, Max Midwinter, Matt Willson, Ralph Palma and Tommy Anderson.
Border Districts kept their double chance chances alive after they defeated Lucindale by 28 points. The Roos started strong in the first quarter but it was the Eagles who took control in the second quarter and ran out the rest of the game with the lead. Mackenzie Bower kicked three goals in the victory for the Eagles. Luke Nicholas, Joshua Richards and Zac Richards also hit the scoreboard with two apiece. The Eagles best players were Joshua Richards, Daniel Skinner and Isaac Hewson. Henry Tregoweth put in a solo effort for the Roos as he kicked three goals to be their only multiple goal kicker for the game. The Roos best players were Riley Milne, Jack Walker and Bradley Agnew.
Round 13 this weekend and with only four rounds to go the race for finals spots heats up.
Border Districts are at home to Mundulla. This game will take place at Goroke and it should be a cracking contest. The Eagles need to win this game if they are going to try and defend their title from the top three. A loss would see Border Districts almost be certain to be locked into an Elimination spot by the time the finals start. Mundulla are almost certain to have the double chance. The Tigers are looking set for a big finish to the season. These two teams have played some good games in the past 18 months and this one should be another close game. Mundulla will head into the contest as slight favourites.
Bordertown will be looking to keep their double chances alive when they play against Naracoorte. The Roosters started the season in strong form but recently they have been a bit patchy and would be keen to turn things around. The game against the Demons should be the game where their forwards dominate and kick bags of goals. Naracoorte kicked just the one goal last weekend and will be determined to be more competitive and take it up to the Roosters. Bordertown should win this by 10+ goals. I'm hoping for Naracoorte's fans that their young team puts up a fight and kicks a few goals to let them celebrate.
Kybybolite will be very strong favourites to defeat Padthaway this weekend. The Tigers have had a great season so far and have weapons across the ground that the Lions might find hard to contain. The Lions are a sneaky chance for finals still and need to cause an upset here to stay alive in the finals race. Funny things happen in football but I can't see the Lions getting up in this game. The Tigers should win comfortably and continue their run towards ending with the top spot on the ladder.
Penola hosts Kingston and the Eagles won this contest earlier in the season. Both teams are out of finals contention and are playing for pride now. The Eagles are winding down their games before they leave the league and they have had some great battles against Kingston over the years. This game looks like it will be a close contest and a hard fought one. It could be on a wet track as there is some rain forecast. The Eagles will be confident at home and will start slight favourites.
Keith welcomes Lucindale to Keith and the Crows are travelling along nicely in their search for a double finals chance. One more win would likely seal the Crows the double chance and at this stage they look like they should be too strong for the Roos. Lucindale has fallen away after they started the season strongly. The Roos have lost five games in a row to dent their finals chances after they looked like big contenders for a finals spot at one stage. The Crows should get the result they are looking for at home and get across the line by 5-6 goals.
Photo provided by https://www.acecootephotography.com/