A SEVEN-goal haul from Mangoplah-Cookardinia United-Eastlakes forward Jordan Foster helped the Goannas to a 29-point win over Griffith on Saturday.
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The Goannas bounced back from their first loss of the year last week with an important win on the road, defeating the Swans 14.9 (93) to 9.10 (64) at Exies Oval.
The Swans held a narrow advantage at the first two breaks before MCUE broke the game open with a five-goal third term to lead by 16 points at the final change.
Griffith never went away but another five-goal quarter from the visitors ensured the longest road trip in the Riverina League proved a successful won for the Goannas.
Foster was the star of the show for MCUE in a high-quality contest, boosting seven goals in a match-winning performance.
MCUE assistant Wayne de Britt coached the Goannas in Travis Cohalan’s absence and he was pleased to come away with the four points after a tough battle.
“It’s one of the toughest trips in the league and they were desperate,” de Britt said.
“It was a real arm wrestle and a good game of footy. Even the crowd said it was a good game to watch.
“We were down at quarter-time, just, and down at half-time, and every time we would try to get away from them, they would claw their way back.
“It was a real arm wrestle.”
de Britt said the Goannas’ ability to get their running game going was one of major factors behind MCUE’s big second half.
“They were very good in close, they’ve got an excellent midfield and we were matching it with them there, but just weren’t getting the spread,” he said.
“We tweaked a few little things and were able to get a bit more run out wide. Once we got that run, we opened it up a bit.”
Aside from Foster, Tom Keogh was a standout for MCUE on a wing.
Lachie Kendall made a strong return, while de Britt sung the praises of the Goannas’ back six.
For Griffith, Brent Arho was strong up forward and booted five goals. Will Griggs and Ben King were strong through the middle, while Lucas Conlan performed his role well.
de Britt believes MCUE’s performance was a step back in the right direction after a couple of disappointing weeks.
“I don’t think we’ve really put a good game together yet,” he said.
“This week we certainly got our running game going a lot better. We had a lot more handball recieves, and we had a lot more run from behind.
“Once we got it going, we started to get our run and confidence back.”
