When it comes to the home-and-away season, some wins just mean more than others.
This could be said of Cobram’s 20-point victory over Barooga at the weekend.
The Tigers triumphed 11.14 (80) to 9.6 (60) over the Hawks at Cobram’s Scott Oval on Saturday afternoon, with a dominant second-half defensive performance helping the yellow-and-black overturn a half-time deficit.
It was a victory that was significant in more ways than one.
The result not only sees Cobram claim local bragging rights over its arch-rival following a surprise loss on Good Friday, it also sees the Tigers take a key step in the ever-tightening race for the Murray Football League’s top six.
“With how close the season is for a lot of teams, it was a pretty important win for us,” Cobram coach John Brunskill said.
“It was certainly a lot different to the first encounter we had. It was their grand final the first time that we played them and they certainly carried on like that.
“The vibe was good, there was a good crowd. The crowd would have been just as big as Easter, it was a massive.”
There was everything to play for on derby day. With the two sides level on points and a top six spot on the line, Saturday’s encounter had all the feeling of an early finals clash.
After getting the jump on Cobram back in round two, Barooga made a fast start as the Hawks shot out to a six-goal-to-one lead in the first term.
“I was a bit worried at the start. At the start we were down six goals to one,” Brunskill said.
“I reckon it is always hard to start after a bye, it always takes a little bit to get going. It certainly took us a bit to get going on Saturday.”
And get going they did. The Tigers clawed their way back — a three-goal burst of their own cut the margin to 11 points at quarter time, with the deficit down to seven points at the main break.
The first two terms had been an arm wrestle, but the second half would belong to Cobram.
The Tigers held Barooga goalless in both the third and fourth terms, kicking 4.7 themselves to hit the front and prevail by 20 points.
Brunskill said some key adjustments helped the Tigers gain the upper hand following Barooga’s fast start.
“We made a few positional changes which helped our structure,” he said.
“A few things weren’t working early, so we changed a couple of things up and it strengthened our lines up.
“Our captain Sam Beasley stood tall. Ryan Mele, Hugh Hyde, Harry Beasley — they all played well. We didn’t have many bad players, they all did their job when they were confronted.”
Shaping the finals race
Saturday’s victory means the Tigers have maintained their place in sixth spot on the ladder with 11 rounds in the books. On the flip side, eighth-placed Barooga has now dropped four points behind both Cobram and Finley.
Hawks coach Luke Jarjoura admitted the loss was a big blow for his side.
“It is a major setback,” he said.
“It makes it extremely difficult now dropping a game like that. It means we are going to have to win one or two of the games against Mulwala and Congupna that probably nobody expects us to win.”
Jarjoura said his side got off to a stellar start, but just couldn’t match it with Cobram across the four quarters.
“I was really impressed with the way we started the game. We blew them out of the water in that first quarter and a half,” he said.
“Then we went away from what worked. We overused the ball a bit and their pressure around the contest created a lot of handball turnovers and in the end, they ran away with it, they were too good.
“I have to give a lot of credit to Cobram. The way they used the ball and their pressure around the ball, they really deserved the four points the way they ran the game out.
“They managed to run and spread, and we just couldn’t go with them. We ran out of gas, and we were exposed by a young, fit, exciting Cobram team in the end.”
A stretch of five finals-like games has taken its toll on the Hawks, who have seen the injury list grow alarmingly in recent weeks.
Jarjoura himself was a recent casualty, suffering a suspected broken leg in a marking contest against the Tigers on Saturday.
The Barooga coach said the Hawks were counting down the days to the league-wide bye in early July.
“The bye needs to come for us quickly because we have a lot of wounded bodies, we are really flat at the moment,” Jarjoura said.
“We have a couple of really winnable games now and then the bye, so we have the opportunity to rest a few blokes who have been playing football over the last month when they really shouldn’t have been.
“There are a lot of blokes carrying serious injuries at the moment. I couldn’t have been prouder of everyone that pulled on the jumper for the club on the weekend, they represented the community really well.
“There were a lot of brave efforts. There would have been half a dozen blokes who defied doctor’s orders and ran out in the maroon-and-gold and I am exceptionally proud of every single one of them.”
The run home
While Saturday’s win banked a significant four points for Cobram, it by no means guarantees the Tigers finals status.
The yellow-and-black will face another big test this weekend when they take on seventh-placed Finley, a team they are level with on points.
Following that, games against tricky sides Deniliquin and Tongala loom, followed by clashes with top-six teams Congupna, Mulwala and Moama.
“We know we still have another tough game against Finley this weekend. We certainly have to be on our straps every week,” Brunskill said.
For Barooga, the path to the top six is not much easier.
While the Hawks still have to play bottom side Rumbalara twice and strugglers Tocumwal, they must also face Finley, Mulwala, Numurkah and Congupna.
As things stand, Nathalia (7-4, 28 points) is in fifth spot. Cobram (6-4, 24 points) is in sixth, ahead of Finley (6-4, 24 points) and Barooga (5-5, 20 points).