The opening quarter finished 9-8 in the home side Katunga’s favour as the low-scoring first term gave an indication of the arm wrestle that was to follow.
For the Swans, forward Oliver Small presented all day and finished the game with three goals, while Sam Sleigh and Kane Hawkins kicked four and three goals, respectively, for the Demons.
Heading into the final change Jerilderie led the match by 11 points, with the score sat on 44-55.
However, the Swans were not going down without a fight, and with the added bonus of one of Jerilderie’s players being sent off with a yellow card, Katunga came charging home to claim victory, winning the match 10.8 (68) to 9.10 (64).
Katunga co-coach Nick Flanagan said he was proud of how his team responded after facing a two-goal deficit at three-quarter time.
“We needed to respond as a group,” he said.
“We had some of our better players down and I think we made some poorer decisions going forward into our forward 50.
“We needed to iron out some issues there and some decision making with how we were using the ball forward of centre.
“We were probably trying to be a bit too precise going forward.
“Once we did that, we were able to score a bit more efficiently.”
In a match against one of the Swans’ fellow finals contenders, Flanagan knew how important it was for Katunga to find a way to win, and in times like those, the co-coach turned to his senior players to stand up.
“They (the players) were challenged, and I asked them to respond, and they did,” he said.
“Our co-coach Brad Crowther was fantastic all day and he went back to half-back in the second half to give us some stability down there.
“Young Sam Boyd, who has come across from Waaia, he has had a brilliant start to the season.
“He (Boyd) played on (former AFL player) Jeff Garlett and did a really good job on him and was able to blanket him while also giving us some offensive run.”
Katunga now sits in seventh place on the ladder with three wins and two losses, while Jerilderie is down in 10th with two wins and three losses.
In other Picola District League football matches, Strathmerton continued its imposing start to the season with a 113-point victory over Berrigan, winning 22.13 (145) to 5.2 (32).
Bulldogs forward Tim Looby was up to his usual tricks, booting seven goals for the home side to take his tally up to 28 for the season.
Katamatite now sits in third place on the ladder after it defeated Picola United by 36 points, 4.8 (32) to 10.8 (68).
After trailing by four points at quarter-time, the Tigers took control of the match, with Toby Kopa claiming best-on-ground honours for Katamatite.
Tungamah bounced back from last weekend’s defeat to Waaia with a convincing 44-point win over Deniliquin, the match finishing 9.15 (69) to 17.11 (113).
Katandra continued its unbeaten start to the season with a monster 132-point win over Rennie.
The Kats were in control from start to finish, with co-captain Tom Jeffery booting four goals as the score finished 20.18 (138) to 1.0 (6).
Tocumwal secured its first win of the season with a 71-point victory over Blighty, with the final score finishing 6.9 (45) to 17.14 (116).
Mathoura secured its biggest victory for the season with a 192-point mauling of Yarroweyah.
Timbercutters forward Aron Burns had a day to remember, booting 15 goals as the scoreline finished 34.9 (213) to 3.3 (21).
In the Picola District Netball League, Katunga kicked off the round six action with a 31-goal victory over Jerilderie, with the scores finishing 59-28.
Katandra secured its spot on the top half of the ladder by defeating Rennie 46-32.
Katamatite continued its undefeated streak by doubling Picola United’s score, the match finishing 32-64.
Deniliquin got revenge for its footballing brothers with a nine-goal victory over Tungamah.
The scores finished 39-30.
Blighty and Tocumwal couldn’t be split after four quarters, with the match finishing in a draw, 44 apiece.
Strathmerton kept its clean win streak going with a 54-35 win over Berrigan.
Last but not least, Mathoura defeated Yarroweyah by 31 goals at home.
The scores finished 53-22.
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