A BIG second half performance helped Mangoplah-Cookardinia United-Eastlakes to a 28-point victory over Collingullie-Glenfield Park on Saturday.
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The Goannas, without a bench in the second half, came from nine points down at the main break to run out convincing winners, 13.9 (87) to 9.5 (59) at Mangoplah Sportsground.
Up against the wall, it was the young Goannas that stood up to be counted to steer MCUE home.
Zac Walgers kicked two third-quarter goals in a best-on-ground performance to inspire the Goannas comeback.
Walgers and fellow 17-year-olds Will Keogh and Sam McLay combined to kick all four of MCUE’s third-term goals to take a nine-point lead of their own into three-quarter-time.
From there, MCUE kicked three unanswered goals in the final term to grab the four points that cements their spot in the top three.
MCUE co-coach Travis Cohalan said his group deserved all the praise that came their way on Saturday.
“To be honest, we were really proud with the way the boys stood up after half-time,” Cohalan said.
“We didn’t have a bench and Gullie were coming at us pretty hard but the boys rose to the challenge and it was good to see them stand up.”
The Demons kicked the first three goals of the game to open up an early buffer.
The Goannas had more scoring shots in the opening half but inaccuracy saw Collingullie-GP go into half-time in front.
Cohalan said the Goannas were much cleaner with the football in the second half and were able to limit their turnovers.
There pressure was also strong and they had a season-high 83 tackles.
But he was still most impressed by the character his team showed.
"Just the resilience, to be honest,” he said.
“We had a bit of a discussion after the Griffith game where we were two goals down at three-quarter-time and lost by 40 points. It was not good enough.
“We spoke how we can’t have those blowouts and we have got to be able to finish a lot stronger than that.
“So in really difficult circumstances, it was good to see them respond.”
Cohalan was also rapt to see MCUE teenagers lead the charge in the third term.
“They really led the way when it counted so we were really happy with that.”
Others to shine for MCUE were Andrew Dickins and Stace Creasy, while Tom Keogh performed a solid tagging job on Matt Beckmans.
For Collingullie-GP, Tom Byrnes did a good job on MCUE forward Ryan Price, while James Morris was good in the ruck.
Theo Metcalfe, Ethan Schiller and Connor Huthwaite were the injured trio for MCUE.