Senior SCORES
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Mulwala 3.8 11.10 15.11 19.14 128Congupna 2.2 7.4 8.7 11.8 74
Goals: Mulwala: D. McNamara 6, S. Robinson 5, J. Hammond 2, J. Gash 2, L. Davis 1, H. Crossley 1, B. Wilson 1, H. Hosking 1. Congupna: D. Schaper 2, D. Hammer 2, D. Campbell 2, D. Gleeson 2, J. Dwyer 2, B. Squire 1.
Best: Mulwala: D. McNamara, H. Crossley, B. Wilson, J. Walker, D. Cook, J. Hammond.
Congupna: B. Squire, T. Mifka, B. Poole, S. Ferguson, L. Baldwin, D. Schaper.
The feast of country football began with Mulwala taking on a much improved Congupna outfit on Good Friday at Lonsdale Reserve and an exciting clash was expected by the strong crowd of locals and visitors.
Congupna has one of the special talents in Murray League Football in ball magnet BJ Squires and the addition of the likes of Ferguson, Mifka, Schaper, O’Dwyer and coach Chapman has given them a much more competitive outfit.
Mulwala rushed back international traveller Beau Clarke fresh from a stint wandering the wilds of South America and the addition of his height was a welcome addition to the team structure.
The Mulwala back six has been combining well and Beau certainly complemented the likes of Shand, Doyle, Dominick, Cook, Flanagan and Lachie Rouel.
Hamish Hosking’s had a better run up the highway with Hannah in the drivers seat and he was on his game from the opening bounce.
He won the tap and followed up his good work to win the ball and smash the first goal of the game from well outside the fifty.
The positive opening was a promising sign for the Mulwala crowd with the on ballers winning plenty of the ball from Hamish’s ruck dominance.
Harry Crossley was on song early winning clearances and driving the ball long into the forward fifty to set up scoring opportunities.
Mulwala was in control of the contest for the majority of the first term but a return of three goals eight behinds wasn’t very efficient and Congupna’s two goals two from limited chances meant that the game was in the balance when it could well have been in Mulwala’s control by the first break.
After a scrappy first term both teams were able to get their running game going and a scoring feast was the result with thirteen majors for the term entertaining the large crowd.
Dylan McNamara was leading well from deep in the forward fifty and his good work was capped off with some excellent set shot conversion.
Adam Rouel was also working overtime in the forward half putting pressure on the ball carrier trying to exit the danger zone and his good work lead to Mulwala goals.
The battle between Jackson Gash and BJ Squires was very entertaining with both players winning plenty of the ball and breaking the lines with attacking runs.
Hamish Hosking’s continued to win the ball at the stoppages which was a huge advantage to the mid field group and the explosive runs by Lachie Davis were opening up the game for Mulwala.
Mulwala went to the long break with a handy lead and once again a very productive third term with seven goals added had them out to a match winning lead.
The back line was well in control making it hard for the Congupna forwards to score and their run and spread from defence was setting up players inside the forward fifty.
Sean Robinson had plenty of the ball and showed he still has the capacity to do magical things with the ball when he snapped an amazing goal under pressure.
The addition of Josh Ednie for his first run at senior level was an exciting aspect of the third term. Josh was into the action early and showed he wasn’t daunted at the prospect of going up against the senior players, tackling hard and winning possessions which he used to advantage.
There was a clear improvement in Mulwala’s capacity to hit targets with the likes of Harry Crossley, Sean Johns and Tommy Dow using the ball well to the leading forwards.
Dylan McNamara’s kick at goal from set shots set the example for the rest of the playing group and hopefully it is a sign of thing to come in next week’s game against last year’s runner up Barooga. Mulwala will need to ensure they make the most of opportunities on the big Barooga ground as turn overs can prove costly.
Mulwala have managed to get two wins on the board and will look to continue on their winning run in what looms as a very even MFL season.
Reserves
Mulwala 8.11.59 def Congupna 7.7.49
The Easter break impacted the selection table with many changes being made to the makeup of the reserves team.
Reigning premiers Mulwala were in desperate need of a win having come up short in the first two rounds and started well doing most of the early attacking.
Congupna in contrast to Mulwala were managing to score goals from their forward thrusts which helped them to an early lead and had Mulwala looking at the possibility of another defeat.
Nathan Beasley and Charlie Magro were under the pump in the back half but were standing up under the pressure.
Cam Magher was a focal point with his strong marking and he was gaining good support from the likes of Liam Russell, Sam Willett, Josh Bozzola and Aaron Magher.
Mulwala started to make some more positive attacking moves but points were the results when goals were needed.
A five goal third term got Mulwala back into the game and with a genuine chance to get a win on the board.
Cam Nye was an excellent target inside the forward fifty with well-timed leads and strong marks under close attention from his opponent.
Having the combination of the two talented Scott brothers on the ground together for the first time was working well for Mulwala.
Zac was in everything winning the ball with determination against much bigger opponents, his tackling and his ability to hit his targets was a feature of his game.
Bailey was super dangerous inside the forward fifty but the conversion rate was a real worry for Mulwala.
The Mulwala boys controlled the game but the poor conversion rate from opportunities in the first half they managed to keep the Congupna boys in control of the game.
Nathan Beasley was a rock in charge of defence, shutting down the Congupna attacking moves and turning attack into defence with excellent kicks to advantage going forward.
The run of Mulwala’s younger players like Aaron Magher and the thirds boys who had stepped up to help coach Fletcher out started to open things up for Mulwala.
Their good work helped to keep their team in front on the score board and when Bailey Scott got his radar on target the win was secured.
Corey Lindsay was in everything, winning the contested ball in the packs and running the ball clear from half back which halted any of Congupna’s scoring chances.
It was off the good work of Cook in the ruck that Mulwala was able to get the game flowing their way and with the onballers winning the clearances a much needed win was secured.
The warm conditions had tested many of the players and there was a clear indication that some training would benefit many of the boys.
Goals: Mulwala: B. Scott 4, C. Nye 2, C. Chung 1, C. Magher 1. Congupna: S. Marshall 2, A. Wood 1, L. Thorne 1, A. Dowell 1, N. Jacobson 1, C. Saron 1.
Best: Mulwala: L. Russell, J. Bland, J. Cook, M. Dunstan, Z. Scott, F. Fletcher. Congupna: M. Beck, M. Barclay, A. Dowell, A. Wood, L. Thorne, N. Jacobson.
Thirds
Mulwala 10.10.70 def Congupna 3.4.22
Goals: Mulwala: L. Martin 3, J. Ednie 2, D. Psaltiras 2, A. Psaltiras 2, J. Lappin 1. Congupna: B. Austin 2, B. Gee 1.
BEST: Mulwala: R. Norman, F. Fletcher, K. Fisher, D. Psaltiras, B. Conway, I. Pitches. Congupna: J. Hall, B. Austin, B. Gee, H. Hallahan, L. Bartels, J. Zausa.
No report submitted.
Fourths
Mulwala 3.9.27 def Congupna 1.6.12
Goals: Mulwala: V. Kreeck 1, R. Mitchell 1, X. Watson 1 Congupna: J. Ring 1.
Best: Mulwala: D. Kirchen, J. Eder, R. Mitchell, O. Watson, P. Lappin, B. Johnson. Congupna: T. Webber, J. Fleming, C. Hall, S. Jones, B. McKay, J. Ring.