INJURIES to a swathe of senior players didn’t stop Finley putting Tongala to the sword a 13.18 (96) to 7.7 (49) win that keeps them top of the Murray League table.
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Missing captain Tim Robertson, talented on-baller Reid Crowe and Levi Middleton (TAC Cup) among others, the Cats showed there was still plenty of depth at the club.
“We’ve got a few injuries at the moment but it was a really good effort by the boys that came into the side,” coach Damian Sexton said.
“It’s always a bit of a concern when you’ve got a few of your more senior players out but to their credit the boys who up came played bloody well.
“And that was the most pleasing thing — at this time of year you’ve got to be careful not to drop one, which we did to Deniliquin Rams (last week).
“We don’t want to do that again and it was a 100 per cent effort from all the blokes.
“The boys that came up deserved their spot from the thirds and we were rapt to see them play their role.”
It also shows that the Cats live by Sexton’s mantra that there are “no superstars” at the club.
“Jordan Daniel and Ned Morrison played well,” he said.
“But really it’s a pretty even group every week and you can’t say who’s your better player — everyone contributed.”
The Cats had 10 individual goal scorers, with Tom Seccull kicking three. The only cause for concern from the game was the Cats’ wayward kicking.
“I’m not saying Tongala’s not a good side but against the top teams you’ve got to make sure you kick those goals,” Sexton said.
“It’s something we’re concerned about but at the end of the day we had a fair few shots.
“It should be 18.13 but we’re winning games, and the big picture is these are all good games to get things right for when we need to be playing well at the end of the year.”
The Cats will now look to work to manage their list as finals loom.
“We should have them all coming back in the next three weeks,” Sexton said.
Shannon Tucker and Jordan Souter were named as Tongala’s best, while Andrew Reid bagged four goals for the Blues.