MANGOPLAH-Cookardinia United-Eastlakes coach Travis Cohalan believes Coolamon could be a top three contender after the Goannas fought off a brave challenge from the Hoppers on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Goannas got their 2017 campaign off to the perfect start with a hard-fought win over Coolamon, 9.6 (60) to 6.11 (47) at Mangoplah Sportsground.
MCUE were very good early and enjoyed a 26-point lead at half-time before Coolamon fought back and were the better team in the second half.
It could have been much closer than the final 13-point margin if it was not for the Hoppers’ inaccuracy in front of goal.
Cohalan was happy to bank the four points from the opening round and singled out great praise for the Hoppers.
“It’s always good to start the season with a win,” Cohalan said.
“Coolamon are definitely going to be a contender for top five, if not top three. They flew under the radar through the pre-season and are certainly going to surprise a few teams. In the second half they played all over us in patches, particularly in the third quarter.
“We’ve got a lot of new players into our team so it was good to get away with a win but there are a lot of areas to improve on and we know what they are.
“We were probably a little bit lucky in the end but we’re happy to get away with the win.”
Coolamon controlled the third quarter but could only manage five behinds for the term, while keeping the Goannas scoreless.
MCUE only had two scoring shorts for the entire second half, but one was an important last-quarter goal.
While disappointed with the way his team finished the game, Cohalan said there were plenty of positives from the first half.
“We’ve got a different game style or game plan this year, with our structure, and it worked well,” he said.
Trent Cohalan was best-on-ground, kicking two goals from the midfield for MCUE.
New recruit Nathan Byrne dominated in the ruck, while Ryan Price and Pat Killalea were others to shine.
For Coolamon, Luke Redfern and Mitch McKelvie were standouts.
The three Tiwi recruits impressed with their speed and Roy Kantilla was the pick of the bunch with three goals.
Both teams went in undermanned with Matt Collins, Jack Killalea and Ben Foster among those unavailable for MCUE, while Coolamon will hope to get Ryan Chamberlain, Ben Fixter and Bryan Munro back in soon.
