Deniliquin Rams continued their barnstorming start to the Murray Football League season on Saturday, handing Moama a lesson in wet weather football to win by 42-points at the Hardinge St Oval on Saturday.
The Rams were lower and harder at the ball, and coach Gary Parsons praised his side’s relentless attack.
‘‘The conditions really suited some of our bigger bodies like Tom Draffin, Frog (Troy Bartlett) and Eggy (Ryan Chadderton),’’ Parsons said.
‘‘But it was a really good team effort and I reckon no one really stood out.’’
The win was the Rams’ seventh in a row, making it their longest winning streak since 2011, when they won the premiership.
Final score: Deniliquin Rams 9.17 (71) def. Moama 4.5 (29).
Both teams kicked three goals in the opening term and Moama led by one point, but the Rams slowly wrestled back control of the match.
The Rams kicked 2.5, 2.5 and 2.4 in the remaining three quarters of the match — during which time the visitors only managed 1.1.
‘‘We were pretty good in the first quarter, but the next two terms Deniliquin got on top and then in the fourth quarter we fell away, which was probably the most disappointing part,’’ Moama coach Simon Maddox said.
Deniliquin is well-known for its contested football and the wet conditions only complemented the home side’s style.
‘‘They probably had six or seven blokes of a size in which we had one or two and it really showed in the end,’’ Maddox said.
‘‘They pushed our little bodies aside the longer the game went on, but credit to Deniliquin.
‘‘They were lower and harder and wanted the footy.’’
Murray interleague star Ash Morris was the game’s highest goal-kicker with four majors, while skipper Nick Howe was good down back, Anthony Bull was superb in the ruck and Ricky Gittens dominated around the stoppages.
‘‘Daniel Jordan did a reasonable job on (league leading goal-kicker) Tyler Jones, but he (Jones) was really starved of opportunities,’’ Parsons said.
‘‘We dominated in the middle so he didn’t get many chances.’’
The Rams moved equal on points with ladder-leader Mulwala after Saturday’s win, while Moama dropped out of the top six.
Deni has the bye this week but plays the Lions in round 11.
Moama’s reserves team fought out a 19-point win against Deniliquin in a low-scoring affair.
The Magpies, who have only lost two games this year, were held scoreless in the opening term, but had levelled the scores by half-time.
The visitors then kicked three goals to none in the second half to secure the victory.
Quade Albert, Glen Paterson and Riley Murphy were the team’s best players, while five players kicked one goal each.
Mark Panton starred in the ruck for the Rams, while Brenton Hussey, Eddie Draffin and Jake Barnett were among the better players.
