On the move: Tongala's Mitchell Gugliotti bursts through the middle. Photos: Megan Fisher
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Tongala shook a run of narrow losses to claim its second win of the Murray Football League season, jumping back into the top six on the back of monstrous performances from Makenzie Ryan and Coby McCarthy.
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Ryan’s 10-goal haul and a starring show from McCarthy saw the Blues return to the winners’ list by 194 points over the struggling Rumbalara at the weekend.
The 29-goal victors sang the song for the first time since round one out at Mercury Dve, with Ryan’s double-digit return — an accurate 10.2 — overshadowed only by McCarthy’s sublime performance out of the midfield, marking his return from suspension with eight goals.
Flying high: Rumbalara’s Dion Patten and Tongala’s Kyle Fitzgerald battle in the ruck.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
The pair combined for 18 of Tongala’s 31 majors for the day, but Blues coach Matt Daniel said it was pleasing to see all 22 players return to form.
“For us, we were very selfless,” Daniel said.
“We played a lot of team-oriented football, which is what we’ve been asking of the boys.
“When you win by that many goals, some of the boys can be a bit greedy and start floating forward. We kept our structures, which was really impressive.
Side step: Tongala’s Ryley Cowley tries to affect Desmond Tipuamantumirri’s kick.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
“Hopefully we played ourselves into a few good habits. We played four quarters for the first time all year.”
Daniel admitted it was a struggle to lock down particular contributors outside Ryan and McCarthy in the blitz, but gave praise to Ryley Cowley after booting four goals while operating through the midfield.
Coming through: Tongala’s Levi Taylor shakes a tackler.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
New recruits Mitch Gugliotti and Ryan Campbell also earned a place in the best players alongside Andrew Hummerston.
“We had 22 contributors, when you win by that much it’s hard not to have anyone contribute,” he said.
“Ryley Cowley played his best game of the year through the middle and forward.”
Importantly, the Blues have jumped from 10th to sixth on the Murray Football League ladder.
Reeled it in: Jack Sinclair tries to get a move on after taking a mark.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
On the other side of the ledger, it has been a difficult start to the season for Rumbalara.
A mix of key player departures and the early-season loss of coach Chris Egan has contributed to Rumbalara’s four straight losses, all of which were by more than 100 points.
“Obviously Rumba is rebuilding,” Daniel said.
“They’ve got the long process there of rebuilding the club, but they had a few good young players, which was good to see.”
Tongala will have the opportunity to improve its record to 3-3 with a match-up against 12th-placed Tocumwal at home in round six.
Slippery: Riley Clark attempts to get his hands on the Sherrin.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
The Game
Scores
Tongala: 6.4, 12.11, 23.18, 31.21 (207)
Rumbalara: 0.0, 1.1, 1.1, 2.1 (13)
Goals
Tongala: Makenzie Ryan 10, Coby McCarthy 8, Ryley Cowley 4, Kyle Fitzgerald, Jack Sinclair, Levi Taylor 2, Ryan Campbell, Bailey Cox, Jayden Tucker
Rumbalara: Jayden Armstrong 2
Best
Tongala: Coby McCarthy, Makenzie Ryan, Ryley Cowley, Mitchell Gugliotti, Ryan Campbell, Andrew Hummerston
Rumbalara: Scott MacDonald, Desmond Tipuamantumirri, Graham Weston, Enrico Bauer, Tim Kelly, Shannnon Buscombe
Blues’ one-point win to savour
While the seniors and reserves games were blowout victories for Tongala, the club’s Thirds did it much tighter for their first win of the season.
Despite trailing by 19 points at half-time, the James Coulson-led Blues staged an inspiring fightback to lead by five points at the final change, holding off Rumbalara in the last quarter to claim a memorable — and accurate — 9.1 (55) to 8.6 (54) win.
Hudson Kellett was judged best-on-ground booting three goals while Jessie Johnstone (four goals) and skipper Coulson were also pivotal.
