Blues fire warning shot

The Rams, in their first finals series since 2014, were held goalless until well into the fourth quarter, and the Blues’ 14.13 (97) to 2.7 (19) win ensures they will face either Moama or Congupna in next week’s semi-final.

The Blues capitalised on a strong wind favouring the scoreboard end, booting four goals in the first quarter to the Rams’ single behind.

Tongala tightened the screws further with a five-goal second term as Ewing ticked over the five-goal mark. Deni was still without a goal as the Blues took a 57-point lead into half-time.

John Anstee and Ricky Gittens toiled hard in the third term, but the superior tap work of Kyle Fitzgerald and midfield dominance of Coby McCarthy and Jack Hammond was too much for the Rams to handle.

With a 69-point lead at three-quarter time, Tongala had all but assured its continued presence in the MFL flag race. Caleb Fitzpatrick and Riley Hamilton snared late goals for Deniliquin to avoid a goalless final.

Blues coach Jordan Souter said it was pleasing to see such an even spread of contributors but admitted the result didn’t come without cost.

“We had a couple of injuries out of it but it was a good team effort,” Souter said.

“We’ve prided ourselves on 22 blokes getting stuck in and playing their role and it happened again today.

“We’re happy with the result but it’s only the start for us. We’ll recover hard this week. Finals footy can take its toll on the body.

“We’ll go in this week confident against either Moama or Congupna, who are playing good footy, so we’ll need to lift to that standard again.”

Ewing was once again a dominant force down forward, booting 11 out of Tongala’s 14 goals to take his season tally to 55 from seven games.

Ewing arguably holds the key for the Blues in their flag aspirations, but Tongala could be without another Top End star for the crucial semi-final, with Ryan Nyhuis suffering a dislocated shoulder in the first quarter.

“(Nyhuis) didn’t play much after quarter-time,” Souter said.

“He’ll get it checked out but I reckon it would be a miracle for him to play, to be honest.”

Tongala will meet the Magpies or the Road in the semi-final, with Mulwala and Cobram set to do battle this Saturday at Finley Reserve to determine the first grand finalist.

The Rams didn’t walk away empty-handed over the weekend, with their reserves’ side grinding out a 15-point win over Congupna.

Cobram’s under-17s claimed a thrilling one-point win over Rumbalara despite the latter’s unblemished goal-kicking, booting 7.0.

The Tigers’ under-14 outfit rounded out a positive day for the club with a big win over Nathalia.