It was a day of celebration at the Katamatite Recreation Reserve on Saturday and the home fans were treated to a cracking game of football.
With perfect conditions and a healthy crowd to celebrate the club’s 125th anniversary, Katamatite welcomed Katunga for round four Picola District Football League action.
The Swans started strong before a big second term for the Tigers swung the game’s momentum.
At half time the Tigers were up and this was how it remained for the rest of the game, with the home side kicking clear, sending a message to the competition.
Katamatite coach Jedd Wright said the day was a huge occasion for the club.
“We knew that they were going to come out pretty hard. We were up for the occasion but they certainly jumped us in the first quarter, so it was good to see us fight back and get a win in the end,” Wright said.
“We were probably over-awed in the first quarter because everyone knew how much it meant for the club and especially with all the old boys here we really wanted to do them justice.”
Pat Riordan, Trent Steers and Ben Bray were among the Tigers’ best on the day, with four goals from ex-North Melbourne talent Sam Wright helping the side get over the line.
“The leaders of the club stood up when it counted,” the coach said.
“To Katunga’s credit, they never really got away from us. Their back six were pretty good and we managed to grind out a few goals. We kicked pretty poorly and probably should’ve had another six or seven goals.”
Katunga coach Damien Kennedy, who previously coached and captained Katamatite to premiership success, said the game got away from his side in the second quarter.
“We started quite well and thought we’ll just maintain that intensity as a young group, but we probably just struggled against some good, strong bodies and in the second quarter they just killed us in stoppages,” Kennedy said.
“We probably dropped off in effort, I suppose, was the biggest thing, and we struggled with forward entries really after that.
“There’s a lot to learn out of it. We’ve got a lot of improvement as well and a pretty young group.”
The final score at the Katamatite Recreation Reserve was Katamatite 11.13 (79) defeating Katunga 6.4 (40).
In other Picola District Football League games, Tocumwal got over a slow start to win a thriller against the Deni Rovers in Deni.
The Bloods were down at the first break, however a big second term set up a solid 12.9 (81) to 10.11 (71) victory to the visiting side.
In Rennie, Waaia put on a goal-scoring show against the home team, winning by 96 points, while Picola United beat Blighty by 119 points away from home.
Tungamah was in the winners’ column with an 84-point away win over Berrigan and Katandra beat Mathoura by 200 points in Mathoura.
Strathmerton and Jerilderie had the week off.