Keith won through to the 2022 Kowree Naracoorte-Tatiara Grand Final after producing a big last quarter effort to end Mundulla's season in the Preliminary Final at Naracoorte on Saturday.
The Crows produced a great performance and were behind at the final change. Keith took confidence from their Qualifying Final win over Mundulla and on that day, they ran over the Tigers in the 4th quarter as well.
The game was a tough and hard-fought contest as expected. Mundulla were riding a wave from their previous week's demolition of Naracoorte and started the game in great fashion. Darcy King looked dangerous early and got the game's first goal. Daniel Burgess soon had the second and the Tigers were full of run and switched on. Jake McGrice, Daniel Noll and Nicholas Mosey had started well. Darcy King was looking dangerous when he could get in the open. Keith hit back hard with the next four goals through Jonathon Wilson, George Ryan, Lewis Hender and Andrew Cousins. Lewis Hender was doing a power of work in the forward line. The Crows were getting reward for their efforts from the midfields work. William McMurray, Daniel Bibby and George Thring were working hard to set up chances inside the forward 50. The Crows went in to quarter time eleven points ahead and full of confidence after converting some of the inside 50's.
Daniel Burgess was providing a deep forward target and was able to get Mundulla and the game's first goal of the second quarter. Billy Wade replied for the Crows as Keith tried to keep that two-goal buffer on the Tigers. Mundulla worked hard in the packs and were able to get two goals in a row through Darcy King and Daniel Burgess to get the lead back and have the Tigers in front by a point entering time on in the second quarter. Thomas Perry, Dylan Mosey and Jake McGrice were having a good patch in the second quarter. Tom Gaden was providing great rebound off half back for the Tigers as well. William McMurray who was having a great game, got himself involved in the play and kicked a great goal to give the Crows back the lead. Seb Schreiber and Ryan Bartlett were doing a power of defensive work for the Crows in the first half. They just had important touches when needed and many rebounds from defence. Mundulla tied things up when Jake McGrice was able to kick a goal late in the second quarter. The Tigers kept attacking before half time and were able to get two behinds to take a two-point lead in to half time.
The Crows came out firing in the third quarter and Lewis Hender was becoming a problem for the Tigers. Hender got the first two goals of the third quarter as the Crows opened up an eleven-point lead. George Thring, George Johnson and William McMurray were involved in many of the plays. The Crows were creating great ball movement to hurt the Tigers. Mundulla lifted and hit back hard as Darcy King was getting free and proving hard to stop. James Hinge kicked two important goals in a row as he started to work his way in to the game. Daniel Burgess kicked a great roving goal after Jake McGrice centred the ball and Burgess was able to finish off the good work by McGrice. The Tigers were able to get the lead and make it more after Darcy King kicked his third goal. The Tigers kicked four goals in a row to get the lead back and looked like they were at the top of their game now. Jake McGrice was having a great quarter gathering touches and giving Mundulla plenty of drive. Daniel Noll, Daniel Burgess, James Hinge and Dylan Mosey were having big third quarters for the Tigers. Mundulla headed in to three quarter time eleven points ahead and with all the momentum.
Keith went in to the fourth quarter with lots of confidence knowing they had the legs to run over Mundulla as they have done in the Qualifying Final and in their last minor rounds match up. The Tigers had a chance to increase the lead early in the fourth quarter, but they could only add a point to the margin as it was 13-points. The Crows struck first in the final quarter when Seb Schreiber was awarded a 50-metre penalty and he was brought within scoring range and slotted the goal. William McMurray was then able to give Keith the lead as he kicked a goal on the run. Daniel Bibby, Aydon Inness, William McMurray and George Thring were giving the Crows lots of drive and they running the game out strong. The Crows went forward again as they had all the momentum and Lewis Hender was able to kick a goal off the ground as the margin was pushed out to nine points and the Crows were in full control. Mundulla kept trying to attack late but Ryan Bartlett and Seb Schreiber stood in the way and were proving hard to get past. The Crows held on until the final siren went and booked their way in to the 2022 Kowree Naracoorte-Tatiara Grand Final.