Border Mail | IT can be a cruel game, and from an arm-wrestle, the wind was knocked out of Rutherglen’s sails with the loss of forward Tom Marlow in the third term.
And Barnawartha took full advantage as they went on to seal another important victory, the game ending 16.11 (107) to 9.10 (64).
Tigers coach Mark Sarau said Marlow’s absence was the turning point in an otherwise close encounter, having notched up three goals and looking dangerous.
“That certainly took a lot out of them,” he said.
“And up to that point he was certainly providing them with all the direction they needed.
“When he went off, that had a real impact on the game.”
Up to that point, Sarau said, it was anyone’s game in a scrappy affair.
“From a viewing perspective, it was probably a very ordinary game,” he said.
“It was a game that was full of packs, a rolling maul, really, which really doesn’t suit us — we like to get out and create and run.
“I don’t know if it was a coaching directive of theirs but, if it was, it was very well done.
“But we knew if we could get a gain we’d be all right.
“We knew if we could be patient that the opportunities would arrive and when they did we would be able to get going.”
Ryan Jones and Ian Kay were both best for the Cats.
Meanwhile the Tigers’ Nathan McKendrick had an important impact on the game, while Josh Star also shone.
“Josh has been very good, he’s had an impressive start to his senior career,” Sarau said.
“It was a good effort from quite a few players.”
Paul Harrington bagged three goals in his first game back after suffering bruised ribs.
The win puts the Tigers back on track after their 106-point loss to Kiewa Sandy Creek earlier in the season.
“With such a young side sometimes you have to go through those games to appreciate how good the good games are,” Sarau said.
But Sarau said that although the Cats had just one game under their belt so far, they could still pose problems.
“Their ladder position doesn’t really match the way they go about it,” he said.
