Round four of the Kowree Naracoorte-Tatiara provided some close games and also a clear favourite has emerged as the team to beat in 2023.
Mundulla has emerged as the clear favourite for the 2023 premiership after the Tigers dismantled the Kingston Saints on Saturday.
The Game was close and tight for a half until Mundulla went on a big run in the third quarter to set up enough of a break to eventually run out the winners by 29 points.
The Tigers played great team football and gave their forwards great delivery to set up top-quality shots on goal.
James Hinge proved hard to stop for the Saints as he put through five goals for the Tigers.
Jake McGrice, Daniel Noll and Reagan Tink were also damaging in front of the goals with three majors apiece.
James Hinge, Nick Mosey, and Jake McGrice were the Tigers’ best players.
Kingston found it hard to find multiple constant threats in the forward line outside of Jarryd Hill who kicked five goals in an amazing effort.
Jack Harding, Jarryd Hill and William Watts were players who played four strong quarters for the Saints to be named as their best players.
Rory Taggert led Naracoorte to a big victory over Lucindale with six goals on the weekend.
The Demons had a fight on their hands in the first half as the Roos pushed them all the way.
The inaccurate kicking stopped either side from gaining an advantage at the halftime break.
The Demons found their kicking boots in the second half and straightened up in front of the goals to eventually pull away and win by 51 points.
Sam Willson added three goals to the Demons tally and Zac Peake kicked two to also help the visitors get across the line.
Rory Taggert, Matt Willson and Josh Gregg were the Demons’ best players.
Lucindale could not find consistent threats in the forward line as they only had one player able to get more than one goal.
Josh Trembath was the Roos’ only player able to kick multiple goals with two majors for the game.
Riley McFarlane, Bradley Agnew and Thomas Gould were Lucindale’s best players.
Border Districts kicked their highest score of the season when they put through 19 goals against Penola on the weekend.
In the battle of the Eagles, Borders proved to be far too strong for Penola across the four quarters and win by enough to put them into second place on the ladder.
Penola took it right up to Borders in the first quarter and led by four points at the first change of ends.
Borders put their foot down in the second quarter and put through seven goals to grab the lead and never let Penola back into the game.
Border Districts won by 56 points in the end.
Mackenzie Bower had a day out with 10 goals for Border Districts in the victory.
Dylan Schoenmakers put through four of his own to help Borders get across the line.
Luke Nicholas, Mackenzie Bower and Zac Richards were great all game for Border Districts.
Brodie Foster battled hard in front of the goals for Penola with three goals.
Brodie proved to be Penola’s only multiple-goal kicker for the day.
Bradley Bryant, Jayden Eldridge and Jordan Galpin were the Eagles’ best players.
Padthaway recorded their first victory for the season after they accounted for Kybybolite in a hard close contest by 19 points Saturday.
The Lions led at every change to get across the line and get a much-needed victory.
Tom McLennan starred for Padthaway in front of the big sticks with five majors for the afternoon.
Mitchell Minns had a great game and added two goals to help get the Lions the points.
Mitchell Cotter, Tarquin Brown and Mitchell Minns were Padthaway’s leading players in the victory.
Kybybolite got great service in the forward lines from Stephen Craig again as he kicked three goals.
Dylan Brodie also helped out with two goals for the Tigers.
Billy Laurie, Mackenzie Ryan and William Shepherd were the Tigers’ best players.
Keith won a nail-biting one-point game against Bordertown on Saturday.
The game was close at every change and the Crows did well to be in front by the end of it.
Lewis Hender and Blake Read kicked three goals each in the victory.
Riley Wilsdon added two goals as well for the Crows.
Max Cunningham, George Johnson and Blake Read were the Crows’ best players.
Jacob Eats and Thomas Whittlesea had a day out for the Roosters as they kicked five goals apiece to keep them in the game all day.
Tyson Hoffmann, Harrison Fromm and Ben Jarrett were the Roosters’ best players.
Keith v Naracoorte
Round five this weekend and the season is flying as we look towards this weekend’s games.
The game of the round is the clash between Keith and Naracoorte.
Both sides come into this clash after wins on the weekend.
The Crows got a close win against the Roosters and Naracoorte got the job done against Lucindale.
Both teams have probably not been at their best form yet and still both have a record of 3-1.
Wins this time of the year are great to bank if you can get them and still not hit your straps.
The Crows must be pleased with how Seb has fitted into the midfield group.
Lewis Hender, Billy Wade and Blake Read will be a handful for the Demon’s defenders.
Naracoorte has guns of their own which are hard to curb as well.
Rory Taggert has started the season as he played last year when he won the league medal. Rory leads the league goal-kicking again as he sits four goals clear of the chasing pack.
Matt Willson continues to be a running beast and is hard to tag.
Josh Gregg, Josh Cother and Nath Davey add different elements to the Demons’ side and on their day can be the reason why the Demons get across the line.
The Taggert vs Hender goal-kicking match-up might be the contest that decides the winner of this game.
The Demons might be a little bit too strong for the Crows.
Border Districts v Padthaway
Border Districts host Padthaway and the Eagles are flying along and starting to get their side settled and ready before the cold winter months come and make everything harder.
The Eagles have recorded big strong wins the past two rounds and will fancy recording another against the Lions.
Norwood recruit Mackenzie Bower has started to find form for the Eagles as he slotted 10 goals on Saturday.
Luke Nicholas has started the season well for Border Districts, controlling the ruck and giving his on-ballers first use most weeks.
Padthaway’s recruits have been good as well.
Mitchell Cotter and Mitch Minns have fitted right in and are starting to help the Lions be ultra-competitive.
The Lions got their first win of the season on Saturday and they will be confident they can back it up against Border Districts.
The Eagles deserve to start favourite and are at home and they should win by 4-5 goals.
Penola v Kybybolite
Penola host Kybybolite and the home side will confident of getting their second win of the season.
The Eagles put in a good first quarter last week against Border Districts but they could not stay with them for the rest of the game.
Penola’s coach will be pushing the point that a four-quarter effort will be needed to get across the line again the Tigers.
Jayden Eldridge continues to be a constant star for the Eagles at his new club.
Bradley Bryant and Jordan Galpin have been the other two stars to start the season in good form.
Kybybolite go into this game winless and a bit inconsistent in their results.
The Tigers have shown they can have quarters where they get on a run and win the quarter and in others they let the other team kick multiple goals and open up a margin the Tigers cannot chase down.
I think Penola at home will start as the favourite, but I would not be surprised if Kybybolite gets up and win.
Mundulla v Lucindale
Mundulla host Lucindale and the Tigers are the clear favourite in this game and a game clear on top of the ladder after defeating Kingston on the weekend.
The Tigers are humming along and playing some good football as they look to rack up the wins.
Jake McGrice, Elliott Jaeschke and James Hinge are in some great form early in the season.
James Hinge has been providing a strong focal point in front of the goals.
The Roos will need to find their absolute best form if they are to get near the Tigers.
The reigning premiers have been patchy to start the season, but this was to be expected when they lost multiple premiership players in the off-season.
Mundulla should win this contest by a comfortable margin, but the Roos will put up a fight and try to make it a close contest.
Kingston v Bordertown
Kingston is at home against Bordertown and both sides will be looking to rebound after last rounds losses.
The Saints were going along in a nice fashion as an undefeated team until they ran into the Mundulla juggernaut and could not quite stick with the league leaders.
The Saints played some good football in patches, but not enough to get the job done against the Tigers.
Bordertown has been a bit unlucky on the other hand as they have a record of 0-4, but could easily have been 2-2 with a bit of luck.
A one-point loss to Keith on the weekend and an 8 point loss in round one to Border Districts have hurt the Roosters in the opening month.
Thomas Whittlesea finally got some help in front of the goals on the weekend with teammate Jacob Eats kicking five goals.
The Roosters will need more of this if they are to take it up to the Saints at Gall Park.
Tyson Hoffmann and new recruit Kyle Emery were in good form on the weekend and will be looking to carry that into this week.
Kingston will be looking to bounce back and get some players back into the team from injuries.
Thomas Matsouliades will miss with a hamstring injury, but Campbell Watts could be back to help cover the loss.
The Saints will look for bounce-back games from forwards James Siviour and Todd Lockwood after they had uncharacteristic quiet games against Mundulla.
Neither could find their way into the contest on Saturday and they will be determined to bounce back into form this week.
Kingston will be warm favourites to get the four points as the Roosters might find it hard to stop the Siviour-Lockwood-Hill combination in the forward line.
