Tonny again left wanting in Nathalia defeat

Nathalia scored the first goal, only to be matched by the Blues, but surged on with three more majors in the first period to lead by 19 points at the first break.

On the back foot, Tonny pushed back in the second, keeping the Purples goalless to close the gap to 10, but could have done much more had their scoring shots sailed true.

The Blues kicked 1.6 for the quarter to go into the half down 30-20.

Both sides were more accurate coming out of half-time and Nathalia pushed again to lead by three goals at the final change.

The fourth period went Tonny’s way narrowly, but it wasn’t enough to close the gap.

Nathalia prevailed 11.9 (75) to 8.11 (59).

Mackenzie Cowley was the pick of the Blues’ scorers, kicking three majors, while Nathalia relied on the efforts of Liam Evans, who slotted five.

At the halfway point of the season, the league’s nearly-men are languishing at 2-7, the Blues now three games adrift of the finals places.

Also 2-7 is next week’s opponent, Finley, the Cats in a slump after losing the 2024 grand final.

The game should pose a chance for Tonny to get back to winning ways and break its three-game losing streak.