MVCA wrap | Battle of Tigers locked in for title decider

These two sides have been the benchmark all year, with Cobram finishing the regular season in first and Katamatite second.

For Cobram, a win would cap an undefeated season, with the side’s dominance on full show again at the weekend.

The Tigers cruised to victory against Deniliquin, chasing down the required total in a little more than 25 overs and with seven wickets in hand.

A big Bradley Todd 62 for Deniliquin, supported by Andrew Hogan (29) got the Rhinos to a decent total of 134, with three-wicket hauls to Cobram’s Tyron Baden (3-21) and Jack Beasley (3-39) helping keep the total down.

When Cobram hit the crease, Deniliquin got off to a dream start, with Charlie Hillier picking up an early wicket.

However, this joy was short lived, with Cobram cruising to victory.

The top of the order stood strong, with Shaun Downie (62) and Lewis McShane (23) helping the side across the line.

Cobram coach Adam Harwood said it was a good win.

“It gives us a pretty good platform,” he said.

“We saved 40-odd runs in the field, which kept the score low.

“Bowling-wise it was a pretty good team effort, three-fors to Jack Beasley and Tyron Baden and James Daniel bowled 10 overs for six runs which was pretty good.”

Harwood said his side was not feeling any added pressure after an undefeated season.

“We’ve been in this position before, there is no added pressure, we just aim to do what we do best,” he said.

“It will be a good contest, two rivals, each side will probably lead for a bit.

“It will be a topsy-turvy game.”

At Katamatite Recreation Reserve, the other finalist was locked in, with Katamatite defeating Nathalia convincingly.

The Tigers chose to bat first and with Damian Cupido (63) and Brayden Beaton (29) in fine form, the side was rewarded with a big 165 total.

For the bowling side Dale James put up an impressive 2-11, while Ewan Congues managed 2-30.

With a big target to chase, Nathalia was up against it, but a solid start from openers Samuel Boyd (36) and Brayden Summerville (21) gave the side some hope.

However, some great bowling from the home side saw the visitors come unstuck.

Incredible bowling performances from Harry Paterson (5-22) and Kepler Lukies (4-17) had Nathalia bowled out for 114, well short of the Tigers’ 5-165.

Katamatite coach Beaton was confident his side could get over the line in the final this weekend.

“On paper we’re just as good as Cobram,” he said.

“It was obviously good to get a win, it was our third semi-final in the past few years and our first win, it’s the club’s first A-grade final in a while.”

Beaton was full of praise after his side’s big win over Nathalia, with young spinners Lukies and Paterson putting on a show.

“As I told my boys, it’s not a bad thing to start as the underdog,” he said.

This big win sets up a mouth-watering clash on Saturday, with Cobram hosting Katamatite at 12.30pm at Cobram Showgrounds.