The Kowree Naracoorte-Tatiara Round four saw some pretty straight forward contests with most of the favourite teams getting the wins as expected.
Naracoorte and Keith proved to be the match of the round as Naracoorte came away with the victory by six points to move inside the top five. The quarter-by-quarter scores had neither team more than a goal ahead and the fans were treated to a great close contest. Both these teams played out a thrilling extra time final last year and this game was just as good. Naracoorte got some revenge on that result by getting up this time. Rory Taggert and Sam Willson bagged three goals each for the Demons. Matt Willson, Aaron Slorach and Josh Gregg were strong in the victory. Lewis Hender kicked four goals for the Crows. Jack Jones, Ryan Bartlett and Seb Schreiber were the Crows best players.
Bordertown pulled away in the final quarter from Penola in a tough contest. The Eagles stuck with Bordertown for three quarters and were only down by a goal at the last change. The Roosters got right on top in the final quarter as they kicked 6-8 to 2-0 to pull away for a 38-point win and consolidate their place in the top five. Thomas Whittlesea continued his strong start to the season kicking another seven goals. That takes his tally to 15 for the season already. Lochie Eats, Thomas Whittlesea and Mitchell Dahlitz were the Roosters best players. Bradley Bryant and Drew Clayfied were the only multiple goal kickers for Penola as they kicked two goals each. Bradley Bryant, Bradley Merrett and Brock Egan were the Eagles best players.
Lucindale continued their unbeaten run to start the season with a 37-point win against a hard fighting Border Districts team. The Roos were had a hard time shaking the Eagles off in the first half, but a big third quarter opened the game up for them to get the distance needed to come away with the win. Hamish Gordon bagged four majors in the win. Henry Tregoweth and Travis Ware kicked two each in the victory as well. Anthony McCarthy, Duncan Ogilvie and Hamish Gordon were Lucindale's best players. Mark Quinn and Nick Schild kicked two goals each for the Eagles. Dre Stirling, Dylan Auciello and Mark Quinn were the Eagles best players.
Kingston recorded their third straight win after beating Padthaway by 54-points at Kingston last week. In a very scrappy game, the Saints pulled away in the last quarter to get the four points and stay in the top three. James Siviour was again strong in front of goal for the Saints with four. Todd Lockwood and Ethan Murdock kicked two goals each to help get Kingston across the line. Campbell Watts, Henry Lawrie and James Siviour were strong contributors in the win for the saints. Padthaway had a hard time finding a consistent winner in the forward line all game long. The Lions had just the three goal kickers in Cody Marshall, Nathan McCarthy and Joe Teakle. Thomas Edwards, Thomas Cooper and Darcy Boyanton were good players for the Lions all game long.
Mundulla won the Tiger Cup after they comfortably beat Kybybolite by 56-points at Mundulla. Kybybolite fought hard all game long but Mundulla flexed their muscles when needed to get across the line and bank another four points. Tom Gaden kicked six goals in the victory. Dylan Mosey, Travis Wagenknecht and Tom Gaden were the best players for Mundulla. Stephen Craig fought hard to get three goals for Kyby. William Russell, Joseph Schultz and James Bittner were Kybybolite's better players.
Another week of KNTFL games this week and there are again some very interesting match ups. Round five will see the battle of the Eagles when Border Districts host Penola. Borders will go in as favourites on their home deck. Borders have been playing some good football recently and will be looking to put in a four-quarter effort to get across the line. Penola fight hard and are in games, but it is usually a quarter that costs them and the other team pulls away enough to get a winning break. Penola will look to fix that this week when they are on the road.
Padthaway host Mundulla in the Grand Final rematch. Mundulla will be very strong favourites as Padthaway don't have the same kind of line up that saw them get to the Grand Final last year. Funny things happen in country football and the Lions no doubt will be fired up to get one back on the Tigers.
Kybybolite host Lucindale and the Tigers will be up against it against the undefeated Roos. Lucindale have just been taking all before them so far this year and will go in to this game full of confidence. The Tigers are rebuilding and they fight hard every week. Lucindale should win comfortably, but i wouldn't count out the Tigers who will make the Roos fight for every possession they get.
Bordertown host Keith in a game that should be a close game. The Roosters have hardly put a foot wrong this season. They have had just the one loss and had a draw against Mundulla. Keith on the other hand have been up and down as they try to find their best line up. The Crows will be looking to bounce back after the close loss vs Naracoorte last week. Bordertown will start slight favourites, only because it is at home.
Naracoorte host a Kingston team that has been banking wins despite not really finding their best form yet. The Demons have been inconsistent so far, but they are 2-2 and that is not too bad at this early part of the season. Kingston since their first-round loss, have been running games out strongly and a trademark of theirs has been the fourth quarter where they have kicked 13-12 to 1-5 in the last three weeks. The Demons have the talent to take it right up to the Saints, but the visitors will start favourites on the road.