A dramatic fourth-quarter turnaround has helped Cobram pull off a “great escape” against Finley, earning a vital win that could prove invaluable come the end of the season.
After trailing all day and down by 18 points at three-quarter time, the Tigers kicked five unanswered goals to steal a 11.8 (74) to 9.12 (66) victory over the Cats.
With a top-six spot on the line, the eight-point victory banked a crucial four points for Cobram, four points that coach John Brunskill admitted his side was fortunate to come away with.
“It is probably one of the great escapes, we got pretty lucky at the end,” Brunskill said.
“We kicked pretty poorly in the first three quarters, but we kicked five goals in the last and Finley kicked five points.
“We were able to capitalise in that last quarter through our work ethic.”
The Tigers headed into Saturday’s clash at Finley Recreation Reserve level on points with the Cats, with the two sides in the thick of an ever-tightening battle for the top six.
A four-goal-to-one opening term saw Finley hold a 20-point lead early, while five goals apiece across quarters two and three saw that margin hold steady heading into the fourth quarter.
The Tigers needed things to change dramatically in order to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, and that is exactly what happened.
Cobram booted 5.1 to Finley’s 0.5, swinging the tide of the match the yellow and black’s way.
Brunskill said the fourth-quarter turnaround came down to one thing in particular for the Tigers: limiting turnovers.
“The boys played well in the last quarter, turnovers just cost us throughout the day,” he said.
“We spoke about it at quarter time, spoke about it half time and certainly spoke about it three-quarter time. We were able to lift our efficiency and limit our turnovers and that is probably what got us over the line in the end.”
Luca Allen, Matteo Allen, Matthew DeMaio and Bailey Roberts all kicked two goals each for the Tigers, while ruckman Kyle Coates earned Brunskill’s praise.
“Coatsey rucked all day again by himself. He rucks all day, every day without a break. His work ethic for the side is hard to measure,” the Cobram coach said.
“He will ruck against blokes bigger than him all day, every day and it takes its toll, but he just keeps backing up and keeping on going.”
With 12 rounds of Murray League football in the books, Cobram finds itself sitting in fifth spot on the ladder on 28 points, level with fourth-placed Congupna and sixth-placed Nathalia.
“I have said it from day dot about how close the season is going to be,” Brunskill said.
“There are three sides now that are on the same points: Congupna, Nathalia and us. It is going to be pretty tight, so you have to be able to take those wins and bank them when you can.
“The game against Barooga was like a final, Finley was like a final and Deni will be the same this week.”
Meanwhile, Barooga stayed within touching distance of the top six thanks to a smashing 163-point win over Rumbalara.
Riley Gow booted seven for the Hawks and Callum Leighton Daly slotted six majors of his own, as the maroon and gold triumphed 30.10 (190) to 4.3 (27).
The result was Barooga’s largest victory since 2017 and means the eighth-placed Hawks are just four points behind Congupna, Cobram and Nathalia.