Travelling to the Rams’ home ground at Hardinge St, the Hawks were on the back foot early, as a ruthless Deniliquin outfit set about dismantling its opponents.
The high-scoring opening term saw 10 goals kicked, eight of them by Deniliquin, which took a 39-point lead into the first break.
That margin was extended beyond 10 goals by half time, as Barooga was again unable to find an answer for the onslaught that was being delivered by the finals-bound Rams, who slammed home five goals to one to lead by 65 at the half.
While they were able to stem the bleeding somewhat in the second half, the Hawks were unable to find a way back into the contest, as Deniliquin again restricted them to just one goal in the third quarter while piling on three itself to be 78 points to the good at the final change.
Scoring slowed in the final term, with the Rams enjoying a two-goal-to-one quarter to extend the lead to the eventual margin of 83 points, and hand Barooga a rather harsh end to the season.
Charlie Ingham led the way on a tough day for the Hawks as his side’s best-on, while Angus Cameron, Lachlan Harris, James Hooper, Jae Bowden and Samuel Macheda were all solid contributors.
Ingham, Bowden and Macheda were all among the goalkickers, as were Lachlan Sykes and Cooper Trembath, all of whom contributed a major each.
For Deniliquin, Todd Gallagher, Angus Durnan and Will Shaw kicked four goals apiece, while Gallagher was named best afield.
The loss means Barooga winds up the season in 11th spot on the ladder with just two wins, a far cry from the hopes the Hawks would have set out with in round one.
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