Temora coach Jake Wooden wasted no time declaring their 15-point win over Marrar on Saturday their best performance of the season.
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A flying start, a rock-solid backline and a classy midfield proved too hard to stop as the Kangaroos ended the Bombers run on top of the ladder, with a convincing 12.14 (86) to 11.5 (71) win.
After showing glimpses of what they might be capable of during the year – including wins against North Wagga and The Rock-Yerong Creek – Wooden’s men were up for the contest, and they clicked.
“Definitely (our best performance), by far, really happy,” an elated Wooden said.
“Last week was good (at Coleambally) but today we stepped it up again.
“It felt like finals footy this morning with the weather, and everyone was nervous, everyone was keen. I’m really proud of the boys today.”
Temora got the jump on Marrar, opening up a 26-point lead at quarter-time, including early doubles to Kieren Shea and Matt Harpley.
It was nearly 14 minutes before Marrar had a point on the board as Temora captain Charlie Vallance led a superb defensive effort, effecting turnover after turnover.
And with their midfield on-song, the Kangaroos made a habit of making them count at the other end.
The Bombers had momentum in the second, with four straight goals on the back of some run out of the middle, closing the margin to four.
But when Matt Harpley kicked goals either side of half-time (to bring up four for the game) the Kangaroos were 17 points up, with twice as many scoring shots.
The superb Jack Reynolds tried to lift Marrar, and with the second of his three goals midway through the third term had them within 11 points, but that was as close as it got after half-time.
“We knew Marrar was going to be a four-quarter effort – to their credit, they kept coming at us,” Wooden said.
“And to our boys’ credit, we didn’t give up today so it really sets the standard for the rest of the year and hopefully we’ve proved a point. We know what we can do.”
It completes a trio of wins over teams above them on the ladder, suggesting – confusingly – that the hottest top-three contender right now might just be the team sitting outside the top three.
The class of midfielder Stephen Camp was on display all day and his combination with Sam Jensen and Kieren Shea helped Temora capitalise on their dominance in the middle.
But Vallance was in rare form.
“Great game – he’s got best-on the last two weeks,” Wooden said. “That’s why he’s the captain, he’s a good leader and a good footballer and the boys respect him.”
Camp was one of seven goalkickers for Temora and his goal 11 minutes into the fourth-quarter summed up their game.
It came after the Kangaroos went coast-to-coast again, kicked off by yet another Vallance mark deep in defence. And it put the game virtually beyond doubt, restoring the 26-point lead they’d held at the first break and requiring the Bombers to kick five goals in 15 minutes for victory.
Temora were without their coach for most of the game with Wooden heading to the bench in the second quarter due to tightness in his hamstring.
But Luke Gerhard’s surprise return two weeks after doing ankle ligaments was important to their set-up.
For Marrar, Reynolds was superb while Clint and Mitch Taylor worked hard to limit the damage at the back and Jackson Moye had some key plays.