Facing a red-hot Tungamah that had won five of its past six matches, the Blues held their nerve in the dying seconds at home to clinch a dramatic five-point victory — and keep themselves firmly in the mix for a double chance at the pointy end of the season.
Saturday’s nail-biting 12.10 (82) to 10.17 (77) win sees Picola United climb to sixth, joining a logjam of sides — Tungamah, Berrigan and Deniliquin Rovers — all tied on premiership points.
Picola coach Rhys Woodland was full of praise for his side’s composure under pressure.
“Very proud of the way the boys went about it,” Woodland said.
“Obviously a great side like Tungamah, you’ve gotta play every second of the game and right to the final siren. It took until the last two seconds for us to hit the front and we were lucky enough to be in front at the end.”
After a tight and low-scoring opening half, the Blues’ third term proved the difference. Picola piled on 4.3 to Tungamah’s 1.5 to set up the nail-biting finale.
It was a stark contrast to the team’s last clash with a premiership contender — a 69-point loss to ladder leader Waaia a fortnight earlier.
“We spoke at half-time about a game we had against Waaia a couple of weeks ago — it was very close, we were right in it, right in and amongst it. After half-time, we ended up losing by 10 or 11 goals, they really got their game going,” Woodland said.
“So we really focused on not getting content, just sticking to our plan. The boys dug in and gave us a really strong third quarter that put us in good stead heading into the last.”
The Blues had six individual goal-kickers for the day, led by Hayden Brown with four.
The key forward was a handful all game, often bringing smaller teammates into the contest even when he didn’t mark it himself.
“Brown had a great game up forward and gave us a contest,” Woodland said.
“He’s rarely outmarked and brings our smalls into the game. Cody Haub up at centre half-forward had an awesome game as well, had a mountainous effort, giving a target across half-forward.”
The win keeps Picola United in the hunt for a coveted top-four spot, with Woodland optimistic about what’s to come.
“We’re getting a few back from injury, which is helping. We probably let one slip against Berrigan a few weeks back, but the group is starting to build at the right time.
“The game plan is taking shape, the ball movement’s coming along and, hopefully, we can compound a few wins.”
Next up for United is another critical clash — a visit to Tocumwal, which is coming off a disappointing 57-point loss at the hands of Berrigan.
But that isn’t what Woodlands wants his team worrying about.
“We just need to focus on our own backyard,” Woodland said.
“If we get the game on our terms and going our way, we should be fine, we’ve got the firepower up forward, but if they get going their way it’ll be tough old day.”
It was one-way traffic at the top of the table, with Waaia and Katamatite again flexing their muscle in big wins over Dookie United and Deniliquin Rovers respectively.
Katunga dominated Mathoura with a 133-point demolition, while Strathmerton returned to the winner’s list with a 63-point triumph over Blighty, while Katandra pushed deeper into the top two with a 27-point win away at Jerilderie.
In the netball, Strathmerton produced the A-grade performance of the round with a commanding 70-27 win over Blighty, while Dookie (54-34) and Katunga (44-24) cruised to victories over Waaia and Mathoura respectively.
Elsewhere, Katamatite edged out the Rovers in a tight one 37-31, while Katandra comfortably accounted for Jerilderie by 50.
Tocumwal’s 62-32 win over Berrigan and Tungamah’s 56-29 victory away at Picola capped a dominant weekend for the top sides.
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