Wayward kicking costs Magpies dearly

By Alexander Dabb

May 21, 2023

Finally: Jye Smith watches on as his shot sails through for a goal. It was one of only three Moama kicked for the entire match. Photo: Alexander Dabb Photo by Alexander Dabb

Moama has suffered a surprise defeat to Finley, with a poor display in front of goal costing it dearly in the 3.18 (36) to 7.9 (51) loss.

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The Cats got off to a strong start in the clash, keeping the Magpies goalless in the first term, before piling on four goals to one in the second to jump out to a 31-point half-time lead.

While Finley added only one goal after half-time, Moama fared only slightly better, slotting just two goals from 11 scoring shots despite dominating play.

It was a game the home side should have won, and coach Sam Sheldon was understandably unhappy with the result.

“Obviously it wasn't what we would have liked,” he said.

“Finley jumped us early and we just couldn't get it back.”

Errant goal-kicking has this year become a worrying trend for the Magpies, who have now kicked more than 14 behinds on three occasions, including a score of 9.14 last week which cost them a win against Congupna.

Sheldon was at a loss as to why his side had been unable to find the middle of the big sticks, with goal-kicking having been a focal point at training.

Down the line: Moama’s Jack Russell kicks along the boundary during the first quarter against Finley. Photo: Alexander Dabb Photo by Alexander Dabb

“I mean, we've been working on it at training, it's just something we've got to break,” he said.

“I don't know, to be honest, for some reason it's just not working for us at the moment, so we'll just continue to work on it. We'll turn it around.

“We outscored them in the second half, we just couldn't kick straight. Three straight kicks and we win the game, but we couldn't do it, so it's a hard one to cop.”

The loss means Moama has now been jumped by Cobram on the ladder, placing even more importance on the clash when the two sides meet next Saturday.

“It's a big game for us,” Sheldon said.

“Compound interest, it always piles the pressure on. So yeah, the boys have got to train well this week.

“We'll bounce back this week and we'll be fine. We'll get Cobram, I think, and get us back on the winning streak.”

While there were a number of individual contributors around the ground, Moama’s inability to use the ball effectively meant it was unable to get across the line.

“Yeah, ‘Doyley’ (Callum Doyle) was good, Jack Sheldon was good,” Sheldon said.

“Big Joshy Pavlou in the back line was good, Jack Russell (too).

“We had a few good contributors, but at the end of the day we just butchered the footy and that just cost us.

“Bad kicking is bad football and that’s basically what we did.”