PDL | Katunga, Strathmerton book place in final four

For Katunga, the result puts the side one win away from a home grand final, with it simply too strong for Katandra at Yarroweyah.

The 10.10 (70) to 7.11 (53) victory was sparked by a five-goal opening quarter, with the Swans hitting their targets, while the Kats could not find a major in the first term.

Katunga coach Damian Kennedy said it was a serious contest all day.

“We had a good start and had a lot of the footy in the second quarter as well and probably didn’t convert as well as we should’ve,” Kennedy said.

“We played with 17 men for most of the third quarter and outscored them for the quarter and played quite well.

“Our resilience was really good on Saturday, we stood up to the challenge, it was probably their opportunity to get into the game, but we dug in and played really well.”

Playing briefly with a man down due to a yellow card, the Swans continued their bright start in the third quarter, with the Kats’ last term fightback not enough.

The win was particularly impressive for the Swans after an extra time defeat to Tungamah the previous week and Kennedy said the side took plenty away from the loss.

“It’s a pretty big learning curve to believe that we are good enough,” he said.

“We had winners all over the ground yesterday and then something like last week just taught them they’ve got to work a bit harder and hopefully we can carry that through the next couple of weeks.”

Braydon Kearns was named Katunga’s best player for his four-goal haul, with Samuel Arho and Cameron Bishop also standing out.

For Katandra, Mitchell McGrath had a great game, while Luke Smith and Clayton Simpson also put in a good shift.

While Katunga led all day at Yarroweyah, Sunday’s game at Picola was a different story, with Strathmerton coming from behind to pick up the win.

The Bulldogs, who trailed throughout the third quarter, flicked a switch with the game on the line, running out 10.8 (68) to 8.9 (57) winners.

Co-coach Tim Looby stood up with a strong performance in the forward line, with Strathmerton overrunning a fatigued Tigers outfit at the death.

Speaking post game, Looby said he was proud of the way his side could claw its way back into the contest in a do-or-die encounter.

“It was a real cut-throat, backs against the wall final,” Looby said.

“They’re a big, contested side, a bit like us, that probably helped us, we knew we had to bring our game or the season’s over.

“We couldn’t be happier and it keeps our season alive.”

Following a heavy defeat to Waaia, the Bulldogs coach said his side had gone back to basics for its Katamatite match-up.

“We just really stripped it back today, back to enjoying our footy,” Looby said.

“Doing the absolute basics is what wins you finals, we didn’t change too much tactically, we just all bought in and got the result, but it gets even harder next week.”

The result sets up a mouth-watering preliminary final against Tungamah, while Katunga will face off with Waaia.