Leeton-Whitton cemented their finals berth with a 27-point win over Wagga Tigers at Leeton Showground on Saturday.
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A six goal second term did the damage as the Crows ran out comfortable winners, 12.7 (79) to 8.4 (52).
With the Crows winning and the bottom four teams all losing, it cements a finals berth for the reigning premiers and locks in the top five with three rounds remaining.
Tigers jumped the Crows early and led by two goals at quarter-time.
The home team responded with six goals to one in the second term to go into the main break 18 points clear.
The second half was a tight battle as the Crows struggled to break the game open but Tigers were unable to make any serious inroads,
Leeton-Whitton coach Jade Hodge said it was not his team’s best effort of the season but was happy to take the four points.
“It was a little bit frustrating at times, we faded in and out of the game,” Hodge said.
“They rolled a lot of numbers in behind the footy and then tried to slingshot forward.
“We started pretty ordinary but in the second quarter we played some really, really good footy. Probably as good of footy as we’ve played all year.
“Then we faded in and out of it after that.”
The Crows tried to stretch the Tigers’ defence with Hodge, Daniel Muir, Cooper Sharman and Brad Boots all starting in attack.
It proved effective as Hodge bagged four goals, Sharman three and Muir two. Sharman was excellent for the opening three quarters and would have vied for best-on-ground honours.
Matt Rainbird was strong at the contest, while Sam Hooper, Hugh Collins and Tom Meline were others to shine in the Crows’ win.
Tigers coach Shaun Campbell was again his team’s best player, while Sam Schirmer, Lahn Shepherd and Harry Bennett all made strong contributions.
With finals booked, the Crows will turn their attention to next Saturday’s clash against Ganmain-Grong Grong-Matong, where a win can open up the possibility of a top-three finish.
“It’s a massive game for us,” Hodge said.
“I was pretty disappointed with the way we played against them last time. We were pretty ordinary until the last quarter and only got beat by 14 points. Obviously they’re flying, he’s got them going good but these are the teams we need to beat so it’s going to be a good challenge.”
Leeton-Whitton have not ruled out an early return from Bryce O’Garey for Saturday, who is progressing well in his recovery from an ankle injury.
