Lions co-coach Matt Gorman said, while some may have been surprised by the result, the group had gone in confident.
“Probably externally, it was seen as a big win and maybe a bit of a surprise,” Gorman said.
“But internally, we were pretty confident that if we stuck to our game style and gave attention to a few key individuals, we’d put ourselves in a good position. That’s exactly what the boys did.”
The Lions’ winning streak has come on the back of a one-point loss to Moama and Gorman admitted the season had been shaped by significant setbacks.
“We’ve had a season which probably no-one would have predicted,” he said.
“We’ve got nine season-ending injuries on our list to probably nine of your top 12 players. It’s been difficult.
“We’ve had to adjust and adapt our game style and look at what individuals in our side do well.
“But we always said we wanted to hit our straps in the back half of the year regardless of what our squad looks like. I feel like we are slowly starting to get the ball rolling in the right direction.”
Mulwala’s accuracy in front of goal proved crucial, finishing with 10.4 (64) to Cobram’s 6.12 (48).
Gorman said the numbers reflected his side’s composure and the defensive effort applied at the other end.
“Our back six are just dour defenders who hate losing,” he said.
“We probably pressured them into the way they kicked, to be fair. And then we we really focused on making sure we made the best of our opportunities, rather than having long goals and kicking long points.”
Up forward, Beau Seymour stood out with four goals and his coach was quick to praise the veteran.
“He’s been brilliant all year,” Gorman said.
“He’s such a good on-field leader and one of the older heads at the club. With the young group we’ve got, we’re so lucky to have him. He’s selfless, he works hard and it’s good to see him get a little bit of reward for effort.”
Attention now shifts to this weekend’s clash with Tongala, with third spot still up for grabs.
Mulwala beat Tongala by 134 points earlier in the year, but Gorman insisted the mindset wouldn’t change.
“You’d be mad not to look at who plays who, but ultimately if you don’t take care of your own, it doesn’t matter,” he said.
“We’re treating it like our first final. For Tongala, it’s their last game of the year. They’ll be tough to beat at home.
“If we get ourselves in a position on the weekend where we’re winning, we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing and keep working on things that flow into the following week.
“We’re banged up, so there might be a chance to manage a few boys, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
In other games, Rumbalara netted a must-win result to keep its finals hopes alive, beating Deniliquin by four goals, while Nathalia suffered a shock five-point loss to Echuca United.
Kyle Mueller booted 11 goals in Congupna’s 129-point destruction of Tongala, Numurkah belted Finley by 120 points and Moama saw off Barooga 16.21 (117) to 5.1 (31).
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