Tongala comes out ahead in battle with Hawks

The Blues fought back to reverse the advantage, taking their own three-point lead into the main break.

That was extended to 15 by three-quarter time as Tongala booted six goals to four for the term to lead 11.5 (71) to 8.8 (56).

Barooga clawed back a couple of points over the course of the final quarter but it was Tongala who claimed the victory, 13.6 (84) to 10.11 (71).

“It was a closely fought game,” Tongala coach Billy Barnes said.

“We've definitely got a few things to work on.

“We were a little bit untidy with the footy sometimes going inside 50 and a few other things that we’re going to look to try and address through the week

“A good start (to the season), but we know that we've got plenty of work to do just to roll on and continue that momentum for the next few weeks at least and then we’ll reset and go again.”

Kyle Fitzgerald, Bendigo Pioneer Angus Scoble and forward Sam Cipriani performed particularly well in the hard-fought win, with Fitzgerald being awarded best-on-ground.

“Kyle Fitzgerald won the medal, which is fantastic,” Barnes said.

“He was great for us in the middle, competed really well in the ruck all day and just gave a really solid four-quarter effort.

“Angus Scoble, luckily we’ve had him for the last few weeks because the Pioneers have had an interim break. He was great for us yesterday, particularly in the second half.

“Sam Cipriani was really great up forward as well, competed really well and won a lot of contested footy.

“We didn’t have too many passengers yesterday, which was great, so another good team effort and it was a contested game so pretty fatiguing because it was a real arm wrestle all game.”

Cipriani’s three goals were the most for Tongala, while Scoble and James Coulson each added two.

Tongala’s total of three wins from its first four games has shown marked improvement from last season, when the team won only five games for the year.

“It’s good to know that we’re starting to come together as a group and to understand how each other play,” Barnes said.

“It’s just about trying to build off that and get ready for that next few weeks.

“The fixture is great to allow a little bit of time with split rounds and a few general byes because that buys us a little bit of time, especially with a new group, to try and get together and off-field, socially, we want to try and make sure that we’re a pretty tight group.”

Tongala had the week off last weekend as part of the Murray league’s split round four.

The Blues will be in Moama on Saturday, May 4, where they will face the Magpies, one of the league’s top sides over the past several seasons.

“Not going to get any easier, the games, that’s for sure,” Barnes said.

“We’re just going to make sure that we play consistent footy and always look to improve from week to week.

“It’s good to know that the boys have got that bit of resilience going into some tougher matches as well, because we’re definitely going to need to make sure that we respond when challenged.”