Katandra has shot back into winning form in Picola District Football League, beating Picola United 12.17 (89) to 11.8 (74) on Saturday.
Despite kicking 17 behinds, the Kats relished in plenty of ball possession as the side overturned a recent slump to jump into fifth on the ladder.
Coach Jason Whittaker stressed the importance of second-half performance to his side at the main break, helping his outfit along to a key win in the competition’s grand scheme.
“The two weeks prior we had a couple of losses where we were right in the game up until half-time, but we couldn’t sustain that level for the second half and the opposition rolled over the top of us,” he said.
“There was a real focus on trying to maintain a sustainable level of football for four quarters, which we did for the most part.
“We needed to remind ourselves of what we did in the second half for the previous two weeks ― our intensity dropped, our attack on the football dropped, our accountability dropped.
“We needed to make sure we concentrated really hard and focused on those couple of areas, because if we create enough pressure on the opposition, we are going to get a look at the footy.”
Led by captains Mitch McGrath and Thomas Jeffery, Katandra bolted to a 14-point lead in the first quarter and built it further to 21 at the half.
With losses to Waaia and Katamatite in the past two games front of mind following second-half drop-offs, the Kats were ferocious in the third quarter as they attacked United going forward.
Though Katandra mustered 3.7 in the term while United slotted 5.2, the Kats weren’t made to pay as another two goals in the last propelled Whittaker’s side to its first win in close to a month.
“It was an interesting game, we had patches where we were really dominant then we lost our concentration and momentum and allowed Picola back into it,” Whittaker said.
“They got within a couple of kicks on a couple of occasions, but we had to keep plodding along and got the result in the end.”
Whittaker praised McGrath and Jeffery for their leadership, while Corey Pickford (four goals) starred.
For United, Taylor Beard also slotted four, while Matthew Here was impressive.
Elsewhere, Jerilderie and Katunga snared huge wins over Berrigan and Yarroweyah respectively, Strathmerton scraped past Mathoura by seven points and Deniliquin Rovers ousted Katamatite 10.11 (71) to 9.13 (67).
On the netball courts, Strathmerton earned a hard-fought 39-23 goal win over Mathoura to sit fifth with a game in hand over its surrounding opposites.
It remedies a patchy run for the Bulldogs, with a catch up win possibly elevating the side as high as second.
Katandra saw off Picola United 53-30, while Jerilderie beat Berrigan 56-49 and Deni Rovers made it 10 straight wins in emphatic fashion, downing Katamatite 71-9.
The results for Yarroweyah versus Katunga were not available at the time of print.