Whirlwind final day of Murray football features a do-or-die dogfight and century watch

It wasn’t just about scorelines, either, with observers at minor premier Congupna keen to see if leading goal-kicker Kyle Mueller had it in him to notch a remarkable century against Echuca United.

There were few other surprises to be found, with The Road putting the foot to the Eagles’ throat and never looking back.

Well and truly assured of top spot, Congupna scored the last 84 points of the match unanswered with more than 40 scoring shots on the board in a 23.20 (158) to 2.0 (12) shellacking.

Unfortunately, though, Mueller’s late charge fell five goals short, claiming eight on the day to nonetheless finish well clear on 95 for the season.

For most everyone else in the finals race, though, scorelines were at the top of the day’s priorities — their own and those of others around them.

For Mulwala and Cobram, there was no greater task than their own, with only a win assuring one side of a place in September.

In the early going, there felt no true indication at all of where things were headed across the afternoon as the affair started out cagey in patches.

Rest assured, that didn’t last.

It wasn’t that the contest became openly free-scoring or anything, but the physical nature of the game intensified seemingly in an instant.

The cream was rising to the top in terms of skills, though, with reigning O’Dwyer medallist Jackson Gash shining around the goals for the two-time defending champions, while Jackson Trengove chipped in on a couple of handy occasions for Cobram.

It was a game that threatened to become outright ill-tempered, with a total of two yellow cards and one red displayed — all towards Mulwala players.

The Lions were forced to collectively power on at a man disadvantage for large parts of the second half in particular, holding only a one-goal advantage at the long break.

Cobram had its last sniff of the top six when it briefly jumped in on the live table after Trengove fired in first out of the rooms, but once Jack Sutherland answered back three minutes later, the Lions ultimately withstood from there.

Jackson Meade’s long set shot coinciding with the three-quarter time siren felt like a would-be dagger as morale surged around Lonsdale Oval and, despite working a man down late with Nathan McNair sent off — which caused a double Cobram goal in the process — there was elation as Mulwala secured its ticket back to the finals.

It was never easy, but the Lions prevailed 10.8 (68) to 7.8 (50) to the delight of co-coach Kade Rowe.

“I just said to the boys that I’m very, very proud,” Rowe said.

“We had 17 men on the field for 45 minutes of that game and, internally, we probably need to toe the line a bit more, but there was so much to play for today.

“Everyone dug deep and we’re going to enjoy the win and have a couple of beers and enjoy each other’s company, but it’s back to work tomorrow.

“Brodie Tyson was incredible in the ruck today and Jackson Meade was strong across centre half-forward, but it was all 22 blokes out there; everyone played their role.

“Deni have some good players, but frankly, so do we and we’ll back ourselves to get that job done.”

Of course, you could hardly tell as positions changed by the minute exactly what Mulwala’s job was going to be in week one of finals.

Deniliquin flirted with third place for much of the day as Moama struggled, but eventually had to settle for fourth despite throttling Barooga 18.9 (117) to 5.4 (34).

As the Lions and Tigers tussled, Nathalia looked highly ominous lurking from beneath as the Purples took the fight to second-placed Finley.

They simply could not sustain it for all four quarters, however, as the Cats sauntered home to put a lock on the double chance, winning 19.8 (122) to 12.5 (77).

Moama and Numurkah embarked on a titanic clash that saw positions three to six flip over like pancakes throughout a chaotic afternoon.

The Magpies seemed ever so close to kicking themselves out of the contest, but Tom Holman was a picture of consistency, finding a goal in every quarter to hoist the Magpies back up to third with a 7.16 (58) to 7.7 (49) triumph.

Their reward? Doing the exact same thing again this week as the Pies and Blues collide once more in an elimination final, while the Rams and Lions will contest the other knockout clash.

Congupna and Finley will meet with the benefit of a double chance in their qualifying final.

In Saturday’s only meeting between eliminated teams, Rumbalara walked away with some pride after a 14.11 (95) to 11.10 (76) win over Tongala, its third of the year.