Moama suffers big blow in finals race

The breeze at the ground ensured the Magpies jumped out to a 26-point lead by quarter-time, restricting their hosts to just one behind for the term.

But Moama went into the half-time break one-point in arrears as Cobram made good use of the strong breeze that heavily favoured one end.

When the two sides emerged after half-time, Moama was unable to replicate its strong first quarter with the wind at its back, being outscored by the Tigers despite holding the advantage.

The margin was extended in the final term as Cobram used the breeze to pile on five goals to one and Moama conceded a 32-point defeat.

“They just out-muscled us and played their ground obviously a fair bit better than we did,” dejected Moama coach Sam Sheldon said after the game.

“We just couldn’t execute. It’s a big ground over there and they play it well.

“We had a bit of a strategy going in and we just couldn’t execute it. There was a fair wind going one way, to one end, which obviously all the scoring was at.

“They just played the conditions and the ground better on the day. They were just a much better side. We just couldn’t get the job done.”

The defeat was further compounded by the loss of Mitch Lake, who suffered a collarbone injury. Already dealing with a dearth of forward targets, the loss of Lake could seriously hamper the side’s run into September.

“Mitch Lake has hurt his collarbone. I’m not too sure the extent of it,” Sheldon said.

“He’s obviously a pretty important player for us. He’s our centre half-forward, so it takes a bit of drive out of our side, and we were also missing a few before the game.

“We’re not making any excuses, we’ve got a bit of work to do as we know, with only a couple of weeks to address those issues before finals start.”

However, there was at least one positive to come out of the loss, with Samuel Hooppell making his senior debut and slotting straight into the best players.

“Young ‘Hoops’ played his first game, he was unreal,” Sheldon said.

“He’s come along in leaps and bounds this season. He’s normally our sub and yesterday played his first full game and he was unreal.

“That was a massive positive out of the game. He’ll be a player for the future for us. If he just keeps improving, he could be anything.”

The loss has seen the Magpies drop to fifth on the ladder, essentially ruling them out of finishing inside the top-two, however Sheldon believes a double chance isn’t as crucial as it may seem for his side.

“For us it’s not a massive issue, I don’t think,” he said.

“Where we’re at as a side, we’ve got a lot to work on. Finishing second obviously is a good result, but also not getting a double chance for us isn’t a bad thing, we’re not that good off a bye.

“To just keep playing doesn’t really hurt our side, I don’t think. We’ve just got to improve a few things, and if we can’t rectify those things, it won’t matter where we finish, we won’t win in the finals.

“The boys know that we’ve got a bit of work to do, and we’ll get to it.”

With two games remaining in the season, against Rumbalara and Mulwala, Sheldon is driving home a message about standards, with the side having suffered from inconsistency all season.

“We need to train well and prepare well and come in and really focus on the way we play and set our standards, and then that carries us into finals,” he said.

“Obviously against Rumba, we’ve just got to play our way and play our best and win the game, get it done.

“Then against Mulwala, same thing. We’ve got to play our best and our best can get it done. It’s just we’ve got to bring it on the day.”