Kiewa-Sandy Creek win by 29 points away to Barnawartha

Senior coach Adam Mudra watched his side prevail 10.8 (68) to 6.3 (39) and then declared the Hawks had drawn a line in the sand after an indifferent start to the campaign.

Narrow defeats to Tallangatta and Chiltern had raised a few eyebrows but KSC really flexed their muscles here.

"This is huge," said Mudra. "We had two tests in the first three rounds and we failed on both occasions.

"Today was a marker for us as to how much improvement we've made. It was that 'line in the sand' moment and our actions showed that we've got really good momentum.

"I was pleased we were able to invest in the contest for 120 minutes. Barny, historically, generate all the offense at the contest, they've got great ball-winners in there and a good inside-outside connection. But I loved our midfielders' ability to scrap and cause a 50-50 until we won the footy and were able to exit from those contests. If you don't do that, good sides will hurt you on the scoreboard.

"We were able to nullify their momentum when they kicked a couple of quick goals and get the game back on our terms."

Mitch Exton struck early for the Tigers but three unanswered goals from Jack Di Mizio had the Hawks in control at the end of a scrappy first quarter.

KSC kicked away in the second term, with Jason Bartel and Tom Ross kicking two apiece. Bartel, playing his 200^th senior game for the Hawks, was able to find space time and again as the Tigers simply made things too easy for their visitors.

With defences on top, a 32-point half-time lead for the Hawks looked imposing although quickfire goals for Daryl Webb and Exton gave Barnawartha some hope at the start of the third.

However, play stopped for several minutes while Tigers co-captain Josh Spence received treatment for a head knock. Spence lay prone for a couple of minutes but was able to get to his feet and walk off the ground with some assistance.

The stoppage disrupted the flow of the game, though, and KSC were able to keep their hosts at bay in the final term with Di Mizio kicking his fourth to finish the job.

"In the first half we were outplayed by Kiewa," admitted Tigers co-coach Danny De Marte. "We were a bit responsive and we didn't get after the ball first. They're a good side and they use the ball well so they were able to shift the play around a lot and made us defend.

"They were up by a few goals at half-time and deservedly so but after half-time, we worked a lot harder. We were able to get a lot more of the play on our terms, controlled the footy a bit more and improved our work around the stoppages, which gave us more of a chance.

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"But we still hurt ourselves with turnovers going forward. In the third quarter, when I felt like we were in control, we just didn't put it on the scoreboard. It just didn't happen for us today."

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