Sport

Blues limp into finals as Finley fire

By Matthew Kappos

Aug 24, 2026

Tongala goes into the finals on a downswing after Finley crushed the Blues by 10 goals in the last round.

Tongala missed an opportunity for a home final after going down to an unpredictable Finley side in the final round of Murray Football League.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

With Numurkah on the bye in the final week, Tonny knew it would overtake the fellow Blues with a win over the Cats, moving into the fourth v fifth semi-final, which is scheduled for Tongala Recreation Reserve this weekend.

However, the Blues were well-handled by a clinical Finley, which has strangely looked like a finals side for much of the year despite a poor record.

Tongala was completely outclassed away from home in the opening quarter and the Cats kicked five unanswered goals to lead 35-2 at the first change.

The Blues got on the board early in the second, but Finley continued to extend its lead, ahead by 42 points at the main break.

Tonny simply couldn’t find an answer as the game wore on and the Cats closed things out 14.12 (96) to 5.7 (37), sending the Blues into the post-season with little momentum.

The sixth place finish not only sees the Blues avoid their home turf, instead heading to Moama for the elimination final on Saturday, but also sees them face off with stiff opposition in third-ranked Mulwala.

The Lions were a top two club for most of the season, posting 13-5 to the Blues’ 10-8, and defeated Tongala a few weeks ago on August 8, 14.9 (93) to 10.13 (73), a game where the Blues threw away a 26-point three-quarter time lead.

Mulwala was also victorious in the other meeting this year, winning by two goals on June 20.

Should the Blues prevail they will take on the winner of Nathalia and Numurkah in another elimination game the following weekend.

Congupna finished on top of the ladder for a third year in a row and will look to avenge last year’s remarkable grand final defeat when it takes on Cobram in the qualifying final on September 5.