Loss to Cats leaves it all up to final round for Cobram

That’s what it has come down to for Cobram, with their loss to Finley at the weekend setting up a mouthwatering do-or-die scenario against back-to-back reigning premier Mulwala in round 18, with the victor playing on into September.

The Tigers lined up at Scott Oval with plenty of momentum off the back of a rousing win over Numurkah, and it was momentum that would prove to be the theme of the day against the Cats.

Cobram co-coach Tyron Baden said that despite a strong start and finish, his side was unable to match it with Finley once they managed to kick into gear.

“We started strong, we were in a strong position early,” he said.

“They (Finley) got on a bit of a roll in the second quarter, and we just couldn't nullify them and stop their momentum.

“We bounced back a little bit in the last, but couldn't get the job done.”

Cobram were indeed in a strong position early after they made a blistering start, booting four first-term goals to one and taking the ascendancy into the first break, up 19 points.

But Finley are second on the ladder at this point in the season for a reason, and the Cats soon found their groove in the second quarter.

Powerless to stop the onslaught, Cobram watched on as the visitors slammed home 5.5 for the term, to which they could reply with just one-straight goal themselves, surrendering a 19-point quarter-time lead by the half.

After what looked to be a promising start, the Tigers were on the back foot, and their position continued to worsen after the main break, as once again they were restricted to just 1.0 in the third quarter.

Spearheaded by the likes of Mark Whiley and Tom Lang, the latter of whom kicked four goals for the contest, Finley cruised out to a 17-point advantage by the final break and looked to be surfing a wave of momentum to the final siren.

The Tigers did their best to disrupt that in the final term, kicking three goals to make it uncomfortable for the Cats, however it was too little, too late, as the visitors hung on to claim a 10.9 (69) to 9.5 (59) win and put one hand on a top-two finish.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Tigers though, with Baden optimistic that there weren’t too many things to improve upon from their performance.

“I thought our first quarter and our last quarter were super,” he said.

“We're heavily reliant on pressure around the footy, and when we get that right, we look really good.

“Our ball movement is good, it's just our execution when we go forward that we really need to knuckle down on.”

For Cobram, the loss means that, after 17 gruelling home-and-away rounds, their entire season hangs on the final match.

That match will be against Mulwala at Lonsdale Oval, and with both sides locked on 40 points in sixth and seventh spot on the ladder, the equation for the Tigers is a pretty simple one: knock off the back-to-back reigning premier on their home ground and you’ll be playing finals.

To some that may seem a daunting prospect, but Baden believes his troops are more than up for the fight.

“If we can play the way we want to play and we bring that pressure first of all defensively, and then we execute when we've got ball in hand, we can match it with anyone really,” he said.

“The boys should go in with plenty of confidence.

“I know we didn't get the result on the weekend, but there were plenty of positives to come out of it and we should play with a fair bit of freedom this weekend.”

Despite what’s at stake come Saturday, there won’t be any ranting and raving from the Tigers coach, but instead the simple instruction to embrace the moment.

“Just play with a bit of flair and freedom, and take it on where you can and enjoy the moment,” Baden said when asked what the message would be to the group this week.

“Soak it all in because it's our last real shot at it, winner goes in and loser goes out pretty much.

“Finals pretty much start now for us, and as a young side I think having that confidence and sticking to our game plan can go a long way."