Sport

MFL | Tongala quells gutsy Barooga in final-quarter thriller

By Josh Huntly

Apr 10, 2022

Ruck battle: Tongala Photo by Steve Huntley

Strong hands: Anthony Dennis gets the hands out for a strong mark against Barooga on Saturday. Photo: Steve Huntley Photo by Steve Huntley

Tongala went 2-0 in the Murray Football League season on Saturday, but Blues coach Jordan Souter admitted his side was “lucky they weren’t beaten” after Barooga threatened to stage an almighty upset.

Barooga took a one-point into the fourth quarter, which was extended to nine with a goal early to send a shock through the Blues camp.

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The minor premier responded with three of the final four goals to pull away in wet conditions out at Barooga, withstanding a gallant Hawks outfit by 14 points.

Victory extends Tongala’s winning streak to 15 games, but Souter admits it was a struggle and a bit of a “wake-up” call for the wayward Blues, who booted 21 behinds for the match.

“They played some pretty good footy over there — we definitely didn’t play ours,” Souter said.

“We blew chances going into our forward line. We kicked 3.11 in the last quarter.

“We know for a fact we probably had some passengers there yesterday.

“It’s good to get away with a bit of a tough win — that’s why we play footy, to be challenged.

“Sides are out to get us; we’ve got to perform each week.

“If you’re 10 or 15 per cent off our best you can be easily beaten in the Murray league competition. We were lucky we weren’t beaten yesterday.”

In dire conditions and a “three or four goal” breeze present, on-baller Brock McLean stood up for the Blues in his second game.

“If we didn’t have him, we would have been in a bit of strife,” Souter said.

The Hawks, led by Tomas O’Sullivan and three goals to Ethan Leighton-Daly, threatened throughout the contest, overturning a 14-point half-time deficit.

Kris Bextream, Riley Gow, and Callum Leighton-Daly toiled hard for the Hawks, while Jack Hammond and Nicholas Jamieson joined McLean in the Blues best.

The Hawks pulled off a rare feat in keeping the Blues goalless in the third quarter, adding three of their own to lead by a solitary point heading into the final term.

Sebastian Fotia and Cooper Trembath booted two goals for the Hawks, while Mackenzie Ryan led the goal-kickers for Tongala with two.

Seven Blues players managed to hit the scoreboard with a goal.

Tongala’s hard-fought win has come at a cost however, with a broken finger to Riley Cowley sustained in the third quarter set to rule him out for an extended stint.

“Riley Cowley is likely to have broken his thumb,” Souter said.

“He would be out for an extended period of time, about a month, I think.

“He was our best player up until then.”

Tongala currently sits third on the Murray Football League senior ladder, one of five unbeaten teams remaining after two rounds.

The Blues now look towards this Friday and its clash against Nathalia for a 2019 grand final rematch at Tongala Reserve.

Nathalia is coming into the clash on the back of a crushing defeat to ladder leaders Moama on Saturday, but Souter said his side would remain wary of the wounded Purples, who were missing several frontline squad members.