Boy oh Boyer: Congupna’s Charles Boyer.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
One look at the quarter by quarter breakdown of Congupna’s drought-breaking win over Deniliquin tells you all you need to know about the conditions.
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After slotting five goals in the opening term, The Road managed just a sole point in the second quarter while up against “some of the worst conditions I’ve ever seen” in the words of coach Kevin O’Donoghue.
Kicking into a blustery headwind was near-on impossible as the gale pushed rain sideways into Congupna’s face, allowing the Rams to nullify the margin by the main break.
Congupna was able to build the lead back out to 16 points to set up a nervy final quarter, but Deniliquin couldn’t utilise the strong breeze quite like the host and bowed out of the race 10.9 (69) to 7.7 (49) at the death.
Smother attempt: Deniliquin’s Ryan MacDonald shuts down Congupna’s Jack Norman.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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In the thick of it: Deniliquin’s Jayden Pitts.
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Megan Fisher
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Ruck duel: Deniliquin’s Zachary Lauritsen and Congupna’s Samuel Buxton.
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Megan Fisher
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Low gather: Deniliquin’s Zachary Lauritsen.
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Megan Fisher
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Stormin’ Norman: Deniliquin’s Ricky Gittens is wrapped up by Congupna’s Wil Norman.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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Dead eye Durnan: Deniliquin’s Angus Durnan.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
O’Donogue chuckled when referencing the tempestuous conditions, hinting the correct call at the toss had more influence than usual in the grand scheme of the match.
“It was tough conditions and the breeze favoured one end, so it was a good toss to win,” he said.
“We knew it was probably a good three or four-goal breeze, but it blew up and the rain came down in the second quarter which made it hard to score for either side.
“It was some of the worst conditions I’ve ever seen in that second quarter. It was unbelievable ― kicking into the wind, it was lucky to go 20m.”
Windy or not, The Road’s character-building triumph has it bolted on inside a top six starved of breathing room.
Congupna had registered one win from five games since May 20 before Saturday, with a loss to the Rams surely barrelling O’Donogue’s side out of a current finals spot.
“Four points was a big thing we were after, whether it was by one point or 20 points, we just needed four points,” he said.
“I know we lost four in a row, but we lost them to good sides and by close margins, so that was an area we really needed to work on.
“It was going to be another close game, so it was great to get the reward for effort.
“We set out some goals after our game, where we want to be after the next five weeks and it’s to finish as high on the ladder as we can.”
Congupna was well served by a number of contributors, with O’Donogue stating The Road “probably could have had 12 blokes or more in our best six”.
“What I really loved is we had contribution from lots of players, that’s something we haven’t had for quite a while,” he said.
“The likes of Jimmy Boyer, (Daniel) Schaper, Jack Norman, BJ (Squire), those guys have been playing well all the time, but it was great to have some other guys really step up.
“The likes of Jordy Gee, Sam Buxton and Wil Norman played some really good football and that was probably the difference how we got the result compared to other weeks.”
Boyer was best afield for Congupna, with Schaper and Elliot Cavallaro combining for six majors.
Deniliquin forwards Darcy Pogue and Angus Durnan finished with three goals apiece in the loss.
Meanwhile, Nathalia came away with a 7.8 (50) to 5.7 (37) win to enter the top four.
Seeing off the third-placed Moama has the Purples join the conversation alongside Numurkah and Mulwala, which earned big wins over Rumbalara and Echuca United respectively.
Finally, Cobram ousted Tongala by three goals, while Finley notched its eighth victory of the season, beating Barooga 8.8 (56) to 7.5 (47).
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