Kingston won the battle of the top two teams in the Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara football League on Saturday, which headlined the league’s ninth round.
Both teams had been in great form recently before they faced off at Keith on Saturday. The Crows had the aid of the breeze in the first quarter and did lots of attacking, but could only kick 2-5 to Kingston’s 1-2. The Saints held up defensively as the Crows attacked hard early. Kingston swung the game around in the second quarter and held the Crows scoreless while adding 5-4 to their score. The Saints went into halftime ahead by 25 points. The second half was a hard slog for both teams as the rain fell, and the Saints were able to do enough to record the victory by 24 points. Kingston is now two games clear at the top of the ladder after the victory. Kingston had a good spread of goal kickers with nine goalkickers. Kingston coach Alex Barns was the only multiple-goal kicker in the victory with two goals. The Saints’ best players were Thomas Matsouliadis, Harry Tunkin and Alex Barns. The Crows’ leading goal kickers were Ben Simounds and Max Thring with two goals each. Keith’s best players were Aydon Innes, Maximilian Thring and Cameron Craig.
Mundulla put together their best team line-up and performance of the season when they beat Kybybolite by 30 points on Saturday. Mundulla welcomed back Nick Mosey and James Hinge into the team line-up for their first game of 2025, and it showed why they are important players in the line-up. James led Mundulla’s scoring with four goals, and Nick was named fourth best in the victory. Darcy King added three goals to be another strong contributor for Mundulla. Mundulla’s best three players named were Nathan Studham, Jake McGrice and Jacob Pedler. William Shepherd led Kybybolite’s scoring with two goals. Kybybolite’s best players were Billy Laurie, Henry Crauford and Jared Deep.
Border Districts won their second game in a row when they defeated Naracoorte by 126 points. The Eagles shook off a hard-fighting Demons team after quarter time to run away and record the big win. The Eagles recorded ten individual goal kickers for the match. Harrison Prelove led the way for the Eagles with five goals. Joshua Mothersole (four goals), Zac Richards (Three goals), Chase Bower (two goals), and Joshua Richards (two goals) were others to contribute to the Eagles’ winning score. Border Districts best players were Gabriel Burden, Sam Pridham and Fraser Adams. Naracoorte couldn’t find any multiple goal scorers during the game, as they recorded three individual scorers in Lucas Leehane, Dylan Ridding and George White. Naracoorte’s best players were Dylan Ridding, Joshua Koennecke and Nicholas Lacey.
Padthaway kept their finals hopes alive with a gritty 19-point victory over Bordertown. The Lions jumped out of the blocks in the first quarter to lead by 26 points at quarter time. The Roosters fought back in the second quarter to cut the lead to just four points by halftime. The Lions’ accuracy proved to be the major difference in the game in the second half. The Lions kicked 5-5 to the Roosters 2-8 to get the home team across the line. Padthaway shared the goals around with Samuel Buick, Riley Faehrmann and Brad Ficken, putting through two goals to lead the scoring. The Lions’ best players were Riley Faehrmann, Nathan McCarthy and Nathan Jones. Bordertown’s Thomas Worthley was a lone multiple-scoring player for the Roosters with three goals. The Roosters’ best players were Lachlan Murch, Joshua Dodd and Thomas Whittlesea.
Round ten this weekend, and the Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara are back to the start again after everyone has played each other once.
Keith (3rd) visits Lucindale (2nd) for the game of the round. The Crows will be looking to bounce back after their loss to Kingston last weekend. The Roos should be nice and fresh and ready to go after having the bye on the weekend. The last time the two teams faced each other, it was a close contest with the Crows getting over the line by eleven points. This time around, it should be another great contest. Will Gould didn’t play for the Roos in the first game, and having him back in the Lucindale team will make the Roos much stronger this time around. Ryan Kemp, Henry Tregoweth and Tom Logan (if he plays) form a strong scoring presence for Lucindale. The Crows’ back line with players like Cameron Craig, Ryan Bartlett, Aydon Inness and Seb Schreiber will be looking to lock down the danger of the Roos’ scoring power. The Crows’ midfield will be weakened if Aaron Young isn’t fit to play after getting hurt against Kingston. Daniel Bibby, Will Schreiber and Lewis Hender will need to lift the work rate around the ground. Keith still has enough scoring power to win this game with Ben Simounds and Riley Wilsdon leading the way, but at home and with fresh legs, the Roos might get the win.
Mundulla (5th) hosts Naracoorte (9th) at Tigerland, and the home team would be very keen on getting a percentage-boosting victory. Mundulla would be very happy that they are at near full strength for the second half of the season after Nick Mosey and James Hinge returned to the team on Saturday. The Tigers will now be determined to get on a run and challenge for a double chance by the time the finals start. Naracoorte will try their best to limit the Tigers and will give it a red-hot crack. Naracoorte players such as Nicolas Lacey, Jack DuRand, Lucas Leehane, Blake East and Matthew Maney compete every week. They just need a few more experienced players around them. Mundulla is full of premiership experience, and it looks like they will notch up a big win over Naracoorte on Saturday.
Kingston (1st) is at home against Padthaway (7th) on Saturday, and the Saints are flying along and taking all before them so far in 2025. The Lions have won two of the last three games to bring some form into this contest. Padthaway coach Mitch Minns would be pleased to see the Lions get a few more wins on the board and be more competitive as the season goes along. Troy Menzel and Tobin Cox are a good duo in the forward line for the Lions, but they will need a more spread of goal kickers to trouble the Saints on their home ground. The Lions have got great play from Nathan Jones, Riley Faehrmann, Jordan Hooper and Cody Marshall. All four have had a consistent first half of the season so far. Kingston, on the other hand, has had a great spread with the midfield work and the goal scoring. Kingston will be looking to recent signing Hugo Fahlbush-Moore to add some dynamic forward play to cover for gun forward James Siviour, who is out for the season with an injury. Hugo played some games for the Saints in 2023 and has been welcomed back with open arms. Saints Coach Alex Barns has had a consistent year, and he has fitted in well, connecting with other recruits in Harry Tunkin and Ben Kennedy. Padthaway will need to put a hard tag on Hagan Wright, who is in a purple patch of form at the moment. On paper, the Saints look like a strong and consistent unit that the Lions will have a hard time stopping. At home, Kingston should prove to be too strong for Padthaway.
Border Districts (6th) hosts Bordertown (8th) at Goroke this weekend, and the Eagles will be looking at this game as a must-win in their charge to try and make the finals. Two wins in a row have seen the Eagles square their season record at 4-4 and can set themself up for a run in the second half of the season with a victory on Saturday. Coach Zac Richards is back in the team after missing a few games and will have the boys fired up to continue their momentum. Joshua Richards, Fraser Adams, Gabriel Burden, Sam Pridham and Grant Cother have been great for the Eagles in the first half of the season. Joshua Richards and Samuel Smith have provided focal points for the Eagles. The Roosters will look to Coach Tom Whittlesea for guidance in the midfield. Tom can also go forward and kick a bag of goals. Thomas Worthley, Joshua Dodd, Troy Blackwell and Ben Jarrett will be central figures for the Roosters if they do get across the line. Sebastian Trenordan is another Roosters player who has had a great season as well. If he plays, he always gives his best in any contest. The Eagles look like they have too much to lose to drop this one and will be desperate to make sure they don’t. I think Border Districts are going to get the win in a tight game.
Photo provided by https://www.acecootephotography.com
