Aron Burns is third on the league goal-scoring list with 57 for Mathoura in 2024. Photos: Aidan Briggs
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
With almost all the local teams and leagues either on a bye or split round this coming weekend, it’s the ideal time to assess the situation of sides in our region as they make their run home towards the finals.
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First up, Picola District Football League.
Mathoura (5-7)
It’s been an up-and-down season for the Timbercutters and, while they have already improved on last season’s win total, they will feel they should be in a better position than they are, given the games they’ve played.
It was a far-from-ideal start on Easter Saturday, as the services of ex-St Kilda player Stephen Milne weren’t enough to lift Mathoura over Picola United.
However, from then on the Cutters gave the appearance of a mid-table/fringe finals side, dispatching less competitive sides like Blighty and Yarroweyah.
They also competed with and, at times, defeated, some mid-level opposition, including an impressive 28-point win over Deni Rovers in round seven.
While Mathoura rued a one-point defeat to Berrigan at the siren in round eight, it found itself sitting in a strong position, 5-3, heading into round 11.
Hoping to push into the top six and secure a positive record, but instead, a four-point loss to Rennie started a four-game losing slide that is still ongoing.
Included was another loss, by a similar scoreline, to Picola United and heavy defeats to top sides Katamatite and Katandra.
Aron Burns’ stat line jumps off the page for Mathoura.
The Cutters’ target man has carried the scoring load with 57 majors from 11 appearances in 2024, well clear of the team’s next best, Darcy Robinson (14).
Hope is not lost for the ninth-placed Cutters to make the top eight and a finals appearance, but a run home against Strathmerton (11-2), Tungamah (6-6), Jerilderie (5-7) and Waaia (9-3) offers no easy points.
Picola United (8-4)
Cody Haub has the most goals for Picola United in 2024, kicking 30 in nine appearances.
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
Where Mathoura has slipped in some crucial fixtures, Picola United has responded.
Outside of the two wins directly over the Cutters and crucial victories over mid-table sides like Jerilderie, Rennie and Berrigan to their name, the Blues’ four losses have come against teams in the top five.
An early-season run against those teams skewed the Blues’ fixture list, leaving them looking in dire straights after dropping four of their first six.
Since then, Picola has been perfect, reeling off six wins in a row and putting weaker teams to the sword in search of crucial percentage.
In sixth, the Blues are two games clear of seventh and hold the fourth-best percentage in the league.
Cody Haub leads Picola’s goal-kicking efforts with 30 for the year, while Lachie Collins (19) and Kian Wise (16 from six appearances) have chipped in when needed.
Their remaining fixtures see two tough matches, against Katandra (11-1) and Waaia (9-3), that the Blues will need to take at least some points from if they wish to make the all-important top four, while later games against Deni Rovers (6-6) and Tungamah (6-6) will see them try to fend off their closest chasers.
