Is Katamatite the comeback king of Picola District Football League?
A fortnight on from their one-point turnaround victory against flag fancy Strathmerton, the Tigers returned from the bye to beat Katandra by two points courtesy of a rollicking fourth-quarter surge on Saturday.
Katamatite kicked 5.1 in the last to swing a 20-point deficit into the narrowest of leads.
From there James Hazelman’s charges hung on white-knuckled until the siren blared, strutting off their home turf 8.8 (56) to 7.12 (54) victors.
Katandra, unbeaten in the nine games prior, was given a rude awakening after coasting for the first three terms and seeming a lock to make it 10 straight.
A dashing 4.3 effort in the opening quarter showed brazen disregard for a rested Katamatite, which managed just one major in the first 25 or so minutes of football.
Even at half-time, the Tigers had barely fired a shot despite the Kats’ second-quarter latency.
But as the last term loomed, something ignited within Katamatite’s camp.
The home scoreboard ticked over at a rate of knots in the Tigers’ favour and, though it was not for want of trying, Katandra’s 1.3 in the fourth quarter simply wasn’t good enough to counteract Katatamite’s rampage.
Dylan Callard and Mitch Coleman (two goals each) were the Tigers’ most significant scoring contributors in an evenly spread Katamatite showing, while Mark Mills was judged as best afield for the winner.
For Katandra, Mitch Black and Zane Thorne chimed in with three goals apiece, while Mitch McGrath led from the front in another brave captain’s performance.
Following the win, Hazelman recounted how his side flipped a sluggish start into a deafening crescendo.
“We probably started pretty slow and, to their credit, they came out and put us under a lot of pressure,” he said.
“For the first 20 to 30 minutes of that game, I felt that they controlled a lot of it and we had to make some adjustments at quarter-time which slowly but surely got us back in the game.
“I think from quarter-time onwards, the way we defended allowed us to get back in the game.
“We had our opportunities as did they — both teams probably missed at times — but as it went on we were able to take them.
“As it shows on the scoreboard in the last quarter, we kicked pretty straight and that was the difference in the end.”
Katamatite had a lot of ground to make up on Katandra in the last, but Hazleman admitted there was never any doubt his side could achieve it.
He said youngsters like Liam Williams and Lachlan Bray stood up late on, while the likes of Kaeden Talay and Mark Mills shone all day, tying the bow on a memorable win for the Tigers’ books.
“I’ve got a lot of belief in the boys and that was the message, that we’ve proven against better opposition in the last eight or nine weeks,” he said.
“Prime example, Waaia five or six weeks ago, we needed to kick five goals and we were able to do it and run them down.
“Strathmerton started the game really well (too) and we were able to peg them back.
“I think the inner belief was there, but we knew it was going to take something pretty special.”
Thirty kilometres north west of Katamatite Recreation Reserve, Strathmerton’s Tim Looby was busy putting a beat down on Tocumwal.
The Bulldogs’ key forward booted a staggering 15 majors as Strathmerton clotted the Bloods to the tune of a 30.15 (195) to 4.3 (27) result.
Looby’s monster bag lifts him to 72 goals in 11 games and keeps Strathmerton level on points with Katandra despite the Kats holding a game in hand.
Elsewhere, Katunga scored a 119-point victory against Rennie as Bayley Thomas and Sam Arho combined for 10 goals in the 22.13 (145) to 4.2 (26) win.
Waaia made it three wins on the bounce by beating Jerilderie 18.12 (120) to 5.8 (38), while Picola United cruised past Mathoura by 49 points.
Around the grounds, Deni Rovers held firm at home to oust Berrigan by 80 points and Blighty scored its second win of the season, defeating Yarroweyah 22.14 (146) to 1.9 (15).
Like the football, the round 12 PDL netball round was underscored by an epic meeting between Katamatite and Katandra.
The two sides held identical 8-1 records entering the clash, but the Tigers emerged victorious following a commanding 47-35 performance on home asphalt.
Around the courts, Katunga trumped Rennie by a goal in a 43-42 thriller, Strathmerton claimed a 45-40 win against Tocumwal, while Deni Rovers remains on top thanks to a 53-goal belting of Berrigan.
Finally, Waaia overcame Jerilderie 54-24, Picola United took a 36-28 win against Mathoura and Blighty dealt to Yarroweyah by 33 goals.