Kowree, Naracoorte and Tatiara

KNTFL news from past seasons

2009 2008 2007 2006

Click here for more from the Naracoorte Herald

For attention Secretaries and administrators,
As the 2010 season is rapidly drawing to a close, it might be time to consider advertising on countryfooty.com.au to get things moving ahead of 2011
You may be looking to advertise for a coach, outside players or trainers and our site is the place to do it.
For just $100 (unchanged since 2006) you can advertise for as long as you like, until you get the result you desire. We're getting around 10,000 unique visitors to the site per month and you are targeting the exact market place.
Please forward the wording to me at lawrie.colliver@gmail.com and the add will be up in minutes!!

Regards - Lawrie Colliver, Editor, countryfooty.com.au

KOWREE, NARACOORTE AND TATIARA FOOTBALL

(Teams: Border Dists, Bordertown, Kaniva/Leeor, Keith, Kingston, Kybybolite, Lucindale, Mundulla, Naracoorte, Padthaway & Penola)

SPONSORS

LEAGUES

Barossa Light and Gawler

Kowree, Naracoorte & Tatiara

Riverland – Independent

SECOND SEMI FINAL PREVIEWS by The Naracoorte Herald

Friday 3 September 2010

Second semi-final - Kybybolite v Naracoorte
ALL roads will lead to Kaniva on Saturday, where reigning premier Naracoorte will meet arch rival Kybybolite in a final for the first time in 13 years.
Not since the elimination final of 1997 have the two fierce rivals faced off in the major round, and in a second semi-final the stakes don't get much higher.
The only way this game will be trumped for public interest this season is if the same two teams play off again in the grand final in a fortnight's time.
Having waited such a long time for this match-up, footy followers are sure not to be disappointed as they have been the best two teams in the competition for the whole season and are capable of turning on some exhilarating football when they're on.
Added to that, Kyby is trying to break a 36-year premiership drought, while Naracoorte wants to continue its rich recent tradition with a third premiership in five years.
Both sides could realistically claim favouritism for the game.
Kyby could be favourites because they have won their last 13 games on the trot, have brushed aside most opposition teams with a stunning brand of running football, have rested up with a week off, and have 36 years of built-up hunger.
But Naracoorte has been here before, has only lost two games for the season, played well enough to win last week's qualifying final and probably has a mental edge over the Tigers.
Naracoorte has consistently beaten Kyby in recent years, and in their only meeting this year on Anzac Day they were far too good, winning by 53 points.
What Kyby learned from that beating and from watching the Demons overcome Mundulla last week will be important in this weekend's outcome.
Kyby will probably start as favourites on the strength of their ultra-impressive season.
The Tigers have added some real class to the top of their list this year, and importantly it now has key position strength which is so vital in finals.
It has powerful forwards in coach Scott Carberry, Jamie Tidy and Sam McCracken, tall defenders in Kelvin Cook, Shaun Price, Tom Pearce and Ray Jaensch, who should be back from injury.
And it has a great variety of on-ballers led by ruckman Dave Arnold, Ryan Woite, Jamie Bittner, Ciaran Buckley, captain Mark Slotegraaf and Tom Cooper.
It also has very good depth, with a strong and flexible support crew.
But Naracoorte supporters needn't worry, as they have a quality side of their own.
Michael Childs up from the reserves and into the ruck has been a late-season masterstroke, and with on-ballers like Robert Jones, Jeff Sellars and Leigh Symons under him, the Demons have a very good engine.
Brett Gould, Sam Logan and James Dixon are quality forwards who work well together, while Mitch Hartree runs the show at centre half back, Kane Donnelly does his job and Nic Boon is an underrated full back.
Kyby has a lot of pace and also a lot of aerial strength now, and it could be these two areas where they find a slight edge although in the likely wet conditions the marking forwards might be negated. The Tigers might get up, but it won't be easy.

First semi-final - Mundulla v Lucindale
Mundulla would be more than a little nervous about this game. The Moots only just missed out last week, but now face a straight sets elimination against a Lucindale side which is running into form at the right time.
Lucindale was excellent in last week's elimination final, playing a brand of quick running football and proving that a small forward (Todd Price) given room to work can succeed.
Against Mundulla it won't have either of those things running as much in its favour. Mundulla is also very quick with runners like Jake McGrice, Jon Mock, Grady Obst, Jason Hillier and Darren Wiese around the middle.
Andrew Rowe is a close-checking full back and will be a good match-up for Price, or Craig Wiese could do the job if needed.
Mundulla's main worries will be the dominance of Lucindale ruckman Mark Snowball, who will feed on-ballers Aaron Smart, Kane McCarthy and Nathan Clarke, as well as the ever-present danger of strong-marking Gerard McGrath at half forward.
If Jason Milligan can break even in the ruck and Lachie Duell or Ben Douglas can negate McGrath, Mundulla will have the edge.
Mundulla does seem to have greater depth across the ground, with the luxury of playing ball-winners like Nick Davis and Tyne Excell on the back flanks.
The Lucindale side is full of goers, but they are inexperienced and against their finals-hardened Mundulla opponents, this could be crucial.

MAIL MEDAL WON BY PENOLA'S LUKE DUNCAN
September 2, 2010

Luke Duncan from Penola has won this seasons Medal, ahead of Naracoorte's Robert Jones. The count was held at the Naracoorte Town Hall on September 1. The Virgo Medal was presented on behalf of the family by Roslyn Virgo with the League Medal presented by League President Kym Hebberman.

Duncan and Jones were also part of the 2010 KNTFL Naracorte Herald team of the year which is produced below:

Naracoorte Herald "Team of the Year"
FF Stuart Cooper Heath Thorpe          Paul Smith
     Kingston          Mundula                  B/Districts
HF Tim Harkness Gerard McGrath     Brad Vallance
     Bordertown      Lucindale               Bordertown
C Ciaran Buckley Luke Duncan           James Dixon
     Kybybolite        Penola                     Naracoorte
HB Mitch Hartree Daniel Pegler         Sam Graetz
      Naracoorte      K/LUnited               Lucindale
FB Grady Obst       Kane Cuthbertson Adam Merrett
     Mundulla         Bordertown             Penola
R Mark Snowball Reece Francis        Robert Jones
    Lucindale          Keith                      Naracoorte
Int Michael Baker Andrew Cheer   Jamie Bittner   Leigh Symonds
      Kingston           Padthaway        Kybybolite         Naracoorte
Coach Scott Carberry Kybybolite
Presented by Barry Bywater.

The Glenelg award presented by Gary Metcalf, President of the Glenelg Football Club to Naracoorte FC on 212 votes accepted by Brad Richardson Naracoorte Coach.

Goal Kicking award was donated by Burley Sekem and Naracoorte Sports Power presented by Georgie Hamlyn to Heath Thorpe, Mundulla on 97 goals for A Grade and Nick Maxted, Naracoorte on 83 goals for Reserves.

Travelworld Footballer of the Year presented by Michael Mourbey to Brad Vallance, Bordertown on 66 votes.

Golden Whistle Award donated by D & T Wagner and A & C Eyles and presented by Arthur Eyles to Peter Martin, Alan Tregoweth accepted on Peter behalf.

Presentation of Player Life Memberships to Peter Ey and Mark Winter both of Penola and playing 300 games, Unfortunally they both were apologies.

Johnson Reserve medal count
Medal donated by Rod Johnson and a voucher from Naracoote Sports Power.
Presented by Georgie Hamlyn to Jacob Pfitzner, Penola on 19 votes.

Rising Star Award Scott McFarlane Memorial Trophy

Presented by Alan McFarlane to Jason Milligan, Mundulla

DEMONS INTO SECOND SEMI FINAL

REPORT FROM THE NARACOORTE HERALD - MONDAY 30 AUGUST 2010

NARACOORTE proved again that it just knows how to win the important games with a grinding 16-point result over Mundulla in Saturday's qualifying final at Frances.
Just as it was when the teams last met in round 16, the game was in the balance at three quarter time, and just as Naracoorte did on that day, they just eased away to a comfortable win.
Conditions on Saturday were excellent but both sides made an unusually high number of errors, and it was Naracoorte's surer handling of the ball and less kicking clangers which got them over the line in the tight last quarter.
In the first quarter, the number of mistakes being made by both sides reached almost comedic proportions.
Usually reliable players like Naracoorte's Robert Jones and James Dixon were getting the ball in their hands, but both kicked out on the full more than once, while at the other end Mundulla couldn't have hit the side of a barn when kicking for goal.
Naracoorte was attempting to put its stamp on the game with a strong physical attack on the ball, which sometimes attracted free kicks but left Mundulla players more often than not coming off second best.
The Demons ran the ball wide and continually turned it over when going towards half forward, although Brett Gould, Angus Bruggeman, Sam Logan and Dixon started to have an influence up forward as the quarter progressed.
Mundulla couldn't get coach Heath Thorpe into the game at all and even when he went into the middle after 20 minutes he couldn't have an impact.
Goals to Logan, Bruggeman and Sellars meant Naracoorte had 3.0 on the board, while Mundulla kicked six straight behinds for the first quarter.
With Michael Childs going well in the ruck and Leigh Symons getting quality touches, Naracoorte was quickly into attack in the second quarter and Bruggeman exposed Mundulla's lack of defensive height with a strong mark and goal.
Darren Wiese finally broke Mundulla's goal drought with a good snap, but Gould was proving clean with his hands at the other end and marked and goaled to restore the balance.
It was then Mundulla's turn to control play for a period and goals came to Boyd Packer and Arthur Mock as the game settled into more of a rhythm with both sides more careful with disposal.
Gould kicked a point on the siren to give Naracoorte a five-point lead at the long break.
Mundulla had the better of the quarter, with Nick Davis and Josh Obst setting up play well from half back, Grady Obst and Jason Hillier doing well around the middle, while for Naracoorte, Gould was very poised, Symons got a heap of the ball and Tyrone Scullion and Nathan Smith built attacks from half back.
There was nothing in it as the second half got underway, and it was Mundulla which came bounding out of the blocks, Arthur Mock goaling from a free to give his side the lead for the first time.
Thorpe finally got on the end of a pass to take a strong mark and kick his 98th goal for the year, then had another chance but missed as Mundulla seemed on top with ruckman Jason Milligan having a purple patch.
But Naracoorte wouldn't lie down, and for the rest of the quarter it was goal-for-goal as Bruggeman got one for Naracoorte, followed in turn by Josh Obst (M), Dixon (N), Packer (M) and finally Pope (N) to have scores locked away at the final change.
With its history of winning the tight ones, Naracoorte would have been favourites to get up, and that's how it panned out, as Scullion snapped a good early goal to get them going.
Tyne Excell won a lot of the ball across half back but the Moots were a little wasteful and it hurt them with Naracoorte able to create turnovers with hard taclking and pressure.
One such tackle earned captain Nathan Smith a free and 50m penalty and he goaled to give the Demons breathing space.
Darren Wiese crumbed a good goal for Mundulla, but Gould marked and goaled at the other end again to restore the margin to 11 points.
Naracoorte seemed to have the edge, but Mundulla wasn't lying down and when Josh Obst was tripped and goaled from the free, the margin was back to within a goal.
Excell and Davis continued to win a lot of constructive touches for Mundulla, but Childs was great in the ruck for Naracoorte and with the ground level support of Symons and Robert Jones, the Demons got the ball forward to a running Gould who kicked a nice goal, then Dixon got on the end of a good passage of play and kicked the sealer.
Naracoorte got up by 16 points but Mundulla certainly had its chances and would be rueing so many misses in the first quarter.
The Demons were best served by Symons and Gould who both handled the ball cleanly when others couldn't manage it, Childs who rucked nearly all day and Mitch Hartree who gathered countless possessions across half back.
Mundulla's better players were its small defenders Davis, Josh Obst and Excell, and on-ballers Grady Obst and Jason Hillier.
Coach Thorpe could kick only one goal and was kept right out of the game, leaving him on 98 for the year.

WEEK ONE OF THE FINALS

WINS FOR NARACOORTE AND LUCINDALE

REPORT FROM TERRY WILLOUGHBY

Poor kicking for goal by Mundulla early in the qualifying final was costly and kept Naracoorte in the contest. The Moots continued to challenge Naracoorte but the Demons kicked goals whenever they went forward. The game was scrappy with many turnovers and poor kicking. At ½ time Naracoorte held an unconvincing 5 pt led. Mundulla had the greater part of play in the 3rd qtr but couldn’t make it count on the scoreboard where Naracoorte’s accuracy kept the scores level at ¾ qtr time. Mundulla needed early goals and a lift from coach Heath Thorpe who had been well contained but it was Naracoorte’s finals experienced players Brett Gould, Nathan Smith and Jeff Sellars who had telling touches in the last qtr. Naracoorte finished strongly with 5 goals to two and won by 16 pts in a hard fought but not high standard game. Leigh Symons, small men Brett Gould and Rob Jones were good for Naracoorte but defenders Nathan Smith and Michael Childs closed down the dangerous Mundulla forwards effectively. Grady and Josh Obst had plenty of touches for Mundulla and veteran defender Jason Hillier stopped many attacks but the lack of an effective forward proved costly. Naracoorte now meet Kybybolite in next weeks 2nd semi final at Kaniva.

In the elimination final Bordertown made a good start to lead by 22 pts but Lucindale took control early in the 2nd term and booted 5 unanswered goals to lead by 11 pts. Todd Price was proving a handful on the forward line and McGrath was also in the thick of things. The 3rd qtr proved decisive when Lucindale rammed on a further 6 goals straight to have the game wrapped up by ¾ time with a 28 pt lead. Bordertown fought on strongly in the last qtr but the margin was too great and although they outscored Lucindale they fell 11 pts short. Todd Price was best for Lucindale and finished with 8 goals, Gerard McGrath was also good for the winners. Bordertown struggled in the middle qtrs and failed to capitalize on their good start.

Qualifying Final - Saturday August 28, 2010

Naracoorte	3.0	5.2	8.5	13.6 (84)
Mundulla	0.6	3.9	7.11	9.14 (68)

BEST, NARACOORTE: Leigh SYMONS, Brett GOULD, Nathan SMITH, Robert JONES, Michael CHILDS, Tyrone SCULLION. MUNDULLA - Grady OBST, Jason HILLIER, Darren WIESE, Joshua OBST, Tyne EXCELL, Jason MILLIGAN. GOALS, NARACOORTE: Brett GOULD 3, Angus BRUGGEMANN 3, James DIXON 2, Tyrone SCULLION 1, Sam LOGAN 1, Brett POPE 1, Nathan SMITH 1, Jeffrey SELLARS 1. MUNDULLA - Arthur MOCK 2, Boyd PACKER 2, Darren WIESE 2, Joshua OBST 1, Heath THORPE 1, Grady OBST 1

Elimination Final - Sunday 29 August, 2010

Lucindale	1.1	6.8	12.8	14.10 (94)
Bordertown	4.5	4.9	7.10	12.11 (83)

BEST, LUCINDALE: Mark SNOWBALL, Alex TREGOWETH, Aaron SMART, Jamie MCCARTHY, Todd PRICE, Travis WARE. Bordertown: Luke EXTON, Jamie GROSSER, Jed JARRETT, Tim HARKNESS, Bradley WARNCKEN, Kane CUTHBERTSON. GOALS, LUCINDALE: Todd PRICE 8, Gerard MCGRATH 3, Kyle PRESS 1, Travis WARE 1, Ben TEAKLE 1. BORDERTOWN: Bradley VALLANCE 3, Jamie GROSSER 3, Tim HARKNESS 2, Clint BARRAS 1, Nicholas HAMPEL 1, Bradley SIMCOCK 1, Kane CUTHBERTSON 1

The Naracoorte Herald previews Week 1 of the Finals

August 26, 2010

THE KNTFL 2010 finals series will start with two cracking games this weekend.

Reigning premiers Naracoorte will take on Mundulla in the qualifying final at Frances on Saturday, while the spotlight on Sunday will move to Penola, where Bordertown will take on Lucindale in the elimination final.

The loser of that game will be the first side knocked out of this year's finals race.

Qualifying finals - Saturday

A grade: Naracoorte v Mundulla

There has been no better finals performer than Naracoorte in recent years, an the Demons get an ideal chance to show they're not a fading force against a willing opponent here.

The Demons will be firm favourites, as defending premiers and a side which has played in four of the past five grand finals, winning two.

There is no substitute for the class in pressure situations of old hands like Nathan Smith, Brett Gould, Mitch Hartree, Tom Prebble, Sam Logan, Robert Jones, Leigh Symons...the list goes on.

Their main worry will be whether star forward James Dixon has recovered enough from a leg injry to take his place after missing a few weeks.

On the flip side, Mundulla has done little wrong through the whole season and with a coach like Heath Thorpe kicking bags of goals every week, they have a proven winner.

The Moots have also added on-ball strength to their forte this year, with Jason Hillier, Darren Wiese and co joined by Grady Obst and Boyd Packer.

It should be a great clash, much as their round 17 match-up was when Naracoorte pulled away in the last quarter for a hard-fought win, and this one might go the same way.

Reserves: Kingston v Kybybolite

There's little doubt that reigning reserves premier Kyby is the form team of the reserves comp, having won its past 10 games after a sluggish start to the year.

That run included an impressive win over Kingston in round 15, so the Tigers will be confident of knocking over the Saints again.

But this Kingston side will be vastly different to that one, with the injection of a number of players who have been helping to fill the Saints' A grade.

As well as them, the Saints will also have the services of veterans like Kevin Wright, David Rasheed, Mark Gibbs and Damien Smart.

Kingston deserves favouritism with that array of talent.Elimination finals

ELIMINTION FINALS - Sunday

A grade: Bordertown v Lucindale

Bordertown hasn't played finals for eight years and will be desperate to make an impression, but Lucindale is something of an old hand in finals footy and will be primed to put its best foot forward.

Lucindale seems to have timed its run well and hard-fought wins over Kingston and K/L United to finish the season would have done no harm.

The experience and ability under pressure of players like Aaron Smart, Gerard McGrath, Todd Price, ruckman Mark Snowball and Sam Graetz will be crucial on Sunday.

Bordertown appears to have perhaps less stand-out players but gets an even contribution across the board. If the Roosters are going to get up here, it will be the class of Tim Harkness, Brad Vallance, ruckman Sam Sverdloff and possibly the goalkicking of Michael Crilly that will do it.

It looks a very tight proposition, but Lucindale might have the edge in finals toughened experience.

Reserves: Keith v Mundulla

Injuries seem to have impacted heavily on Mundulla in the second half of the season and the Moots slipped from an almost certain top three spot to fifth with a handful of losses.

They will need to regather themselves quickly to have a chance against Keith, which has been one of the more consistent sides through the whole season.

Keith has been able to maintain a reasonably settled side, led by veterans Karl Qualmann in the ruck and Jason Smith and Tim Gill on the ball, and with tall forwards Michael Bartlett and Adam Bradley thrown in, the Crows will be hard to beat.

The Naracoorte Herald reviews Round 18

In the last round of KNT football Keith pulled away from Border Districts in the last qtr to win by 49 pts after an indifferent season. Borders stayed in the game for nearly 3 qtrs before Keith kicked away in the last. Reece Francis had a big day out to boot 9 goals for Keith and Shaun Taylor almost equaled that with 7 out of Borders’ nine.

Lucindale were given a severe fright by Kaniva- Leeor United who had little to play for after dropping away badly since round 8. KLU led early before Mark Snowball got Lucindale moving. The big ruckman pushed Lucindale to the lead which was 13 pts with a qtr to play. KLU made a bold effort for victory but fell one point short at the siren as Lucindale fell in. Snowball was the difference for Lucindale, Josh Teakle and Aaron Smart played well. Dan Pegler, Peter Fiaccchi and Jarrod Krooks did everything but get KLU over the line.

Kybybolite crushed Padthaway by 122 pts with Scott Carberry booting 11 goals. The league leaders brushed aside any challenges to tune their game for finals.

Kingston surrendered meekly to Mundulla who had the game wrapped by halftime when they led by 43 pts. Goal-kicking forwards Heath Thorpe 6 and Jon Mock 5 toyed with the opposition. Jake McGrice and Jarred Wiese were among the best for Mundulla.

Bordertown also had an easy win over Penola. They bolted to a 45 pt lead at the main break and Penola could only shave a point of that by the finish. Bradley Vallance was again best and booted 5 goals, Kane Cuthbertson and Luke Exton were also good for Bordertown who finish in the finals after several seasons in the bottom half of the ladder.

THE top five didn't change after all results went as expected in the KNTFL's last minor round on Saturday.

The only way the finalists for the start of this week's major round could have changed was if Kingston upset Mundulla, but that was never on the cards after a one-sided opening.

Mundulla charged out to a strong lead early and maintained the edge all day to run out convincing 76-point winners to end Kingston's season.

In a dual win for Mundulla, playing coach Heath Thorpe kicked six goals to sew up the league goalkicking title, holding off Kybybolite coach Scott Carberry, who with 11 goals on Saturday fell just two short of Thorpe.

Carberry was the stand-out forward as his side comfortably beat Padthaway by 20 goals to consolidate the minor premiership.

The closest game was at Kaniva, where K/L United nearly pulled off the best win of its much improved season.

The Cougars held finals-bound Lucindale to just three behinds in the last quarter, but couldn't quite get over the line in a one-point thriller.

Bordertown made sure of its finals spot with a hard-fought 44-point win over Penola, with Brad Vallance kicking five goals in a best on ground performance.

Keith closed out a season where it slipped from grand finalist to seventh on the ladder with a 49-point win over Border Districts.

Usual on-baller Reece Francis kicked nine goals for the victors and Shaun Taylor kicked seven for Borders.

Naracoorte had the bye.

Round 18 review with Terry Willoughby

Kybybolite crushed Padthaway by 122 pts with Scott Carberry booting 11 goals. The league leaders brushed aside any challenges to tune their game for finals.

Round 18 scores - August 21, 2010

KEITH 1.4, 7.4, 11.10, 17.12 (114)

Border Districts 2.3, 5.7, 7.7, 9.11 (65)

BEST, KEITH : Andrew Wilson, Nick HUNT, Andrew Willis, Reece Francis, TOM ALLEN, Jon Wright. Border Dists : Stephen PRETLOVE, Daniel Crabb, SHAUN TAYLOR, David Vickery, Jack BURNS, PAUL SMITH . GOALS, KEITH: Reece Francis 9, Paul MAKIN 4, Andrew Willis 2, Henry JOHNSON 1, Adam BRADLEY 1. Border Districts A Grade : SHAUN TAYLOR 7, David Vickery 1, Jack BURNS 1

LUCINDALE 4.5, 9.8, 13.10, 13.13 (91)

K L UNITED 5.4, 7.5, 11.9, 13.12 (90)

BEST, LUCINDALE: Mark SNOWBALL, Josh TEAKLE, Aaron SMART, Shane MCGURK, Kyle PRESS, Bradley HOCKING. K L UNITED: DANIEL PEGLER, Peter FIACCHI, Jarrod KROOKS, Travis LANNIN, Nathan Meyer, Shane DODSON. GOALS, LUCINDALE:

Travis WARE 5, Gerard MCGRATH 2, Jamie MCCARTHY 1, Shane MCGURK 1, Ben TEAKLE 1, Bryce SMITH 1, Mark SNOWBALL 1, Todd PRICE 1. K L UNITED: Dylan WILLIAMS 4, Robert FIACCHI 3, MATT CORSTENS 2, Joel WAGG 2, Peter FIACCHI 1, Jarrod KROOKS 1

KYBYBOLITE 5.2, 12.6, 17.12, 26.12 (168)

PADTHAWAY 0.3, 2.4, 5.7, 6.8 (44)

BEST, KYBYBOLITE: Ryan WOITE, Scott CARBERRY, Adam VASEY, Tim PANNELL, Ciaran Buckley, Michael PANNELL. PADTHAWAY: Sam WARD, George Verco, Darcy Boyanton, Trent GROSSER, Sam Premble, HENRY SCHRIER. GOALS, KYBYBOLITE: Scott CARBERRY 11, Adam VASEY 3, Ciaran Buckley 3, Jamie BITTNER 2, Stuart SHEPHERD 2, Lee CURNOW 1, Michael PANNELL 1, Mark SLOTEGRAAF 1, Luke CROSSLING 1, Tim PANNELL 1. PADTHAWAY: George Verco 1, Andrew CHEER 1, Mark EDWARDS 1, John ORTON 1, Sam Premble 1, Kieron Hicks 1

MUNDULLA 6.1, 10.4, 15.8, 19.8 (122)

KINGSTON 2.1, 3.3, 6.3, 7.4 (46)

BEST, MUNDULLA: Jake McGRICE, Jarred WIESE, Jonathan MOCK, Grady OBST, Benjamin DOUGLAS, Jason MILLIGAN. KINGSTON : TRAVIS TEDMANSON, Elroy SAMUEL, Michael BAKER, Dylan RICHARDSON, Thomas BORILLO, Craig COOPER. GOALS, MUNDULLA: Heath THORPE 6, Jonathan MOCK 5, Benjamin DOUGLAS 3, Jarred WIESE 1, Andrew ROWE 1, Grady OBST 1, Arthur MOCK 1, Jason HILLIER 1

KINGSTON: Jason DICKER 2, Stuart Cooper 2, Dylan RICHARDSON 2, Michael BAKER 1

BORDERTOWN 7.5, 15.5, 17.7, 20.12 (132)

PENOLA 3.2, 8.2, 9.2, 14.4 (88)

BEST, BORDERTOWN: Bradley VALLANCE, Kane CUTHBERTSON, Luke EXTON, Sam SVERDLOFF, Nathan CLARK, Tim HARKNESS. PENOLA A Grade : Kane Ransom, Luke Duncan, Richard ATTIWILL, Simon ZADOW, Josh GALE, Adam Merrett. GOALS, BORDERTOWN: Bradley VALLANCE 5, Michael CRILLY 3, Daniel BARTLETT 2, Clint BARRAS 2, Nicholas HAMPEL 2, Jamie GROSSER 2, Maddy HAYES 1, Benjamin MCCONNELL 1, Josh BARRAS 1, Bradley WARNCKEN 1. PENOLA: Nathan Reeves 3, paul Mullen 3, Shaun MINGE 2, Luke Duncan 1, Shannon FULLERTON 1, Josh GALE 1, Jordan GALPIN 1, Adam Merrett 1, Ben Anderson 1

The Naracoorte Herald previews Round 18

Thursday 19 August 2010

IF all goes according to script in this weekend's final round of KNTFL football, Lucindale and Bordertown will be playing finals football next week, and Kingston won't.
But is there one more twist left in one of the league's closest and most unpredictable seasons?
If sixth-ranked Kingston beats third-ranked Mundulla, and either Lucindale or Bordertown lose, the Saints could sneak into either fourth or fifth spot.
They are one win and only a small amount of percentage behind Lucindale and Bordertown, and it's conceivable that they could do it.
But the two obstacles standing in their way are that Mundulla will be very hard to topple, and that Lucindale and Bordertown really should both win.
Lucindale faces Kaniva/Leeor United, which has fallen in a hole in the second half of the season, and Bordertown plays Penola, which was beaten at home by Padthaway last week.
So the odds are stacked against Kingston...but stranger things have happened.
Keith v B/Districts
Having just broken through for their first win of the season, Borders might have got a taste for it, and they'll be keen to make it two on the trot to finish the year.
There's no reason why they can't do it, with a potentially dangerous forward set-up led by Paul Smith and Shaun Taylor, handy midfielders in Shaun King, David Vickery and Morgan Crabb, and a young but eager defence.
Keith has missed the influence of a number of key players in the latter part of the season and would love to have full forward Jason Snajdar and rover Jason Smith back in this week.
If they're not, Borders will be a real chance, but Keith will still start favourites.
K/L United v Lucindale
Lucindale needs to win this game to be absolutely sure of clinching a top five spot, and the Roos will leave nothing in the tank in pursuit of that.
They have been excellent in the second half of the year, while United started well but have dropped their bundle and should pose only token resistance to Lucindale this week.
In the air with Mark Snowball and Gerard McGrath and on the ground with Aaron Smart, Kane McCarthy, Sam Graetz and Todd Price, the Roos will have the edge.
Padthaway v Kybybolite
Padthaway beat Kyby late last season in a major boilover, but it's difficult to see history repeating here.
The Tigers are a well-drilled unit playing disciplined, free-flowing football and despite Padthaway producing some good football of its own last week to beat Penola, this is a different proposition.
The Lions might have handy on-baller Andrew Cheer back from SANFL duties this week which will help, but Kyby has strength all over the ground and should win well.
Kingston v Mundulla
Kingston absolutely needs this one to have any chance of playing finals, but it might be a mountain too steep to climb.
Mundulla had its chances to beat Naracoorte last week and is playing some great footy, led by coach Heath Thorpe who is poised to win the goalkicking title.
Kingston has its own guns and has one of the better goal-to-goal lines in the competition, but against the all-round strength of the hard-running Moots, they will find it tough and might come up short.
Bordertown v Penola
Bordertown just needs the points from this one to play in its first finals series in a few years, and it will only be the Roosters themselves who cause their downfall.
They've been impressive for much of the year, but also have had a tendency to drop games they're supposed to win.
Really, though, they should be far too accomplished for a Penola side which has won only four games and went down to Padthaway last week.

FINALS SERIES VENUES FOR 2010
Saturday Aug 28th. Qualifying Final Frances
Sunday Aug 29th. Elimination Final Penola
Saturday Sept 4th. 2nd Semi Final Kaniva
Sunday Sept 5th. 1st Semi Final Padthaway
Saturday Sept 11th Preliminary Final Kybybolite
Saturday Sept 18th Grand Final Bordertown

Tony Paget
CEO of the KNTFL
PO Box 565, Naracoorte SA 5271
Ph: 0427 808 405 Ph/Fax 8767 7230 League Office
Ph. 8762 2526 Fax. 8762 2897

The Naracoorte Herald has a look at Round 17

Monday 16 August 2010

NARACOORTE and Mundulla gave a glimpse of what KNTFL followers have in store for this year's finals series with a classic clash last Saturday.

In a preview of the qualifying final match-up – with the two sides certain to finish second and third on the ladder – the lead see-sawed all day with Mundulla holding a small advantage at every change.

But Naracoorte charged home in the last quarter with six goals to one to seal a 24-point win and get a mental edge leading up to their next meeting on August 28.

Mundulla coach Heather Thorpe kicked seven of his side's 11 goals and will go into this weekend's final round with a seven-goal lead over Kybybolite coach Scott Carberry in the race for the league goalkicking title.

Weather conditions around the league were wet and windy, and grounds were heavy after solid lead-up rain, but most teams were still able to handle the ball well enough to kick handy scores.

Lucindale had a very important – and very impressive – 55-point win over Kingston to all but seal a spot in the finals.

The Roos led right from the start and stretched the margin at each break to beat their main rival for a finals spot, meaning they now only have to beat K/L United to clinch major round action.

Kingston has to beat third-ranked Mundulla and rely on either Lucindale or Bordertown losing to sneak into fifth spot.

Border Districts recorded their first win of the season over fading force Kaniva/Leeor United.

Borders have threatened to break their duck several times in recent weeks, but this time sustained the effort to the end to win by 28 points and salvage something from an otherwise poor season.

The exception to the trend of reasonably high scores was at Penola, where the boggy ground restricted the home side's clash with Padthaway to a slog.

Padthaway won the game with only 7.8 (50), keeping Penola to a dismal 2.16 (28). The home side kicked 10 behinds without a goal in the third quarter.

Top team Kybybolite showed Keith a clean pair of heels by kicking 25 goals on their home ground to win by 116 points, small forward Mark Slotegraaf kicking six goals and coach Carberry five.

BORDERS BREAK THROUGH

by the ABC's South East Correspondent Terry Willoughby

Monday 16 August 2010

Border Districts nearly left it too late for a win in 2010 but managed to hold on against a dispirited Kaniva-Leeor United and get a 28 pt victory. David Vickery, Morgan Crabb and Steve Pretlove sang the team song the loudest after what has been Borders darkest season in a longtime. KLU ‘s season has collapsed after promising much earlier on.

Kybybolite steamrolled Keith in the KNTFL. Kyby piled on the goals from the start and held a commanding 44 pt by halftime. A strong defence and prolific on-ball brigade stifled the Crow forwards and set up many chances for their own. Mark Slotegraaf 6 goals and Scott Carberry 5 led the way but it was the work of Michael Pannell, Sam McCracken and David Arnold that set Kyby alight. The Tigers raced away from a disappointing Keith and booted 9 goals in the last qtr to win by a massive 116 pts.

Naracoorte and Mundulla had a torrid battle for the first three qtrs with lead changing hands several times but with Mundulla just in front by 5 pts at ¾ time. The Moots had played well against class opponents but hadn’t been able to get a break on them. In the last qtr Naracoorte’s quality stood out and they finished strongly with 6 goals to win by 24 pts. Mitch Hartree gave another great display at half-back and Brett Gould was a constant threat up forward or on the ball, Jericho, Childs and Sellars also played well. Heath Thorpe booted 7 goals and was a strong target for Mundulla, Jason Hillier, Jon Mock and Andy Rowe tried hard for Mundulla but they couldn’t contain the multi talented Naracoorte for the entire game. Lucindale were always in front of top5 rival Kingston, leading by increasing margins at every change. Kane McCarthy and ruckman Mark Snowball were too strong and dominated around the mid-field and half-forward and Sam Graetz stopped plenty of Kingston’s forward moves. Lucindale’s forwards were always dangerous and finished off well to give the team a stranglehold on 4th spot. Kingston’s best played only in bursts which wasn’t nearly good enough and Lucindale won comfortably by 55 pts. Padthaway and Penola had difficulty in scoring in the wet and windy conditions but the Lions were a bit steadier in front of goals and ran out winners by 22 pts. Penola had plenty of chances but managed only two goals from 18 scoring shots. Scott Galloway and feisty little man Darcy Boyanton were best for Padthaway. Simon Merrett and Richie Attiwell tried hard for Penola.

Round 17 - August 14, 2010

Border Dists	5.1	11.3	12.6	15.12 (102)
Kaniva Leeor	6.2	6.2	11.6	11.8 (74)

Best: Borders - D. Vickery, M. CRABB, S. PRETLOVE, D. MOORE, J. BURNS, N. TARCA. Kaniva Leeor - D. PEGLER, T. LANNIN, S. DODSON, A. PHILP, D. Stimson, N. JARVIS. Goals: Borders - S. TAYLOR 3, M. ELLIS 3, R. OLIVER 2, M. CRABB , M. WHITE , S. PRETLOVE , D. Vickery , N. TARCA , P. SMITH , J. BURNS. Kaniva Leeor - D. PEGLER 2, R. FIACCHI , C. Larocka , D. WILLIAMS , J. WAGG , C. Tuckwell , N. JARVIS , J. JARRED , M. SKRYPEK , J. MERRETT.

Kybybolite	6.3	11.4	16.8	25.9 (159)
Keith	1.0	4.2	4.3	6.7 (43)

BEST, KYBYBOLITE : Michael PANNELL, Samuel McCracken, Mark SLOTEGRAAF, Tim PANNELL, David ARNOLD, Tom COOPER. KEITH: Andrew Wilson, Andrew Willis, Mark LLEWELYN, Jonathon Wilson, Luke COUSINS, Nick HUNTGOALS, KYBYBOLITE: Mark SLOTEGRAAF 6, Scott CARBERRY 5, Samuel McCracken 3, Michael PANNELL 3, David ARNOLD 2, Ciaran Buckley 2, Tom COOPER 2, Thomas PEARCE 1, Luke CROSSLING 1. KEITH: Trent BETTESS 2, Nick HUNT 1, Henry JOHNSON 1, Jonathon Wilson 1, Paul MAKIN 1

Naracoorte	3.5	6.5	9.6	15.7 (97)
Mundulla	4.2	7.3	10.5	11.7 (73)

BEST, NARACOORTE : Mitchell HARTREE, Brett GOULD, Kane JERICHO, Michael CHILDS, Jeffrey SELLARS, Robert JONES. MUNDULLA: Jason HILLIER, Jonathan MOCK, Andrew ROWE, Tyne EXCELL, Jarred WIESE, Heath THORPEGOALS, NARACOORTE: Nigel BLOCK 3, Angus BRUGGEMANN 3, Sam LOGAN 2, Brett GOULD 2, SAM HENSCHKE 2, Kane DONNELLY 1, Robert JONES 1, Jeffrey SELLARS 1. MUNDULLA: Heath THORPE 7, Arthur MOCK 2, Jason MILLIGAN 1, Boyd PACKER 1

Padthaway	1.0	4.2	4.3	7.8 (50)
Penola	1.4	2.6	2.16	2.16 (28)

BEST, PADTHAWAY: Scott Galloway, Darcy Boyanton, Sam Premble, Sam WARD, Andrew ORTON, Tom Forgan. PENOLA: Simon MERRETT, Richard ATTIWILL, Adam Merrett, Shaun MINGE, Simon ZADOW, Luke Duncan. GOALS, PADTHAWAY: Scott Galloway 2, Trent GROSSER 1, Darcy Boyanton 1, Cody MARSHALL 1, George Verco 1, Darren Francis 1. PENOLA: Nathan Reeves 1, Adam Merrett 1

Lucindale	4.7	7.7	12.11	15.13 (103)
Kingston	1.1	2.5	5.5	7.6 (48)

EST, LUCINDALE: Kane MCCARTHY, Sam GRAETZ, Mark SNOWBALL, Kyle PRESS, Shane MCGURK, Gerard MCGRATH. KINGSTON: Michael BAKER, Matthew COOPER, TRAVIS TEDMANSON, Robbie STARLING, Craig COOPER, Dylan RICHARDSONGOALS, LUCINDALE - Gerard MCGRATH 4, Travis WARE 3, Todd PRICE 3, Aaron SMART 2, Daniel McCarthy 1, Mark SNOWBALL 1, Sam GRAETZ 1. KINGSTON: Robbie STARLING 2, Jake HYLAND 1, Matthew COOPER 1, Stuart Cooper 1, Mark GIBBS 1, TRAVIS TEDMANSON 1

THE NARACOORTE HERALD PREVIEWS A VITAL ROUND 17

WHETHER it's Kingston or Lucindale that plays in this year's KNTFL finals probably hinges on the result of their crucial match-up this weekend.
While there is still one round to go after this one, whichever side wins this week is likely to take one of the vacant finals positions, and the other one will probably miss out.
That is the most keenly anticipated result of the round, while the match of the day will be between Naracoorte and Mundulla.
With the teams placed second and third on the ladder, it will be a likely preview of the qualifying final on August 28.
Kybybolite v Keith
There's not a lot to get excited about here. Kyby is coming off the bye and a crushing win over Kingston, while Keith was well beaten by that same opponent last week, so a one-sided game looks likely.
Kyby is on top of the ladder and going along nicely, being able to cover the absence of a handful of key players comfortably with its impressive depth.
Keith had a lot of ins and outs last week and that didn't help, and they're unlikely to make an impression on the top side here.
Mundulla v Naracoorte
Naracoorte has bounced back strongly from its shock loss to Padthaway in round 11, with five straight wins since then, and the Demons are again looking like a top two side.
Mundulla has also done little wrong and its thumping effort last week against Borders proved they are up and about.
Forwards at both ends will have a big say, with Mundulla's Heath Thorpe kicking 13 goals last week and Demon Sam Logan eight, but it's probably in the middle where one side will have an edge.
Naracoorte has pace and skill in Jones, Sellars and Symons and the smarts of Gould, and despite missing injured CHF James Dixon, they might get the points in a top game.
Penola v Padthaway
Both sides would fancy their chances of winning this one, but Penola would be favourites.
Padthaway's mid-season run of form has waned a bit with a few players becoming unavailable, including Andrew Cheer who's trying out for North Adelaide, and their last win was that massive upset over Naracoorte on July 3.
Penola has been pretty steady but has only won one game in that same period, so it should be an even game.
Midfielder Luke Duncan and forward Adam Merrett could be the difference in a Penola win.
B/Districts v K/L United
Borders have been waiting a while for their first win under mid-season coach Dean Woosnam, and this is their best chance.
It's not certain when Borders' last winless season was, but you can guarantee they won't want to succumb to that fate in 2010 and they will be bursting with enthusiasm to win this one.
K/L United have gone off the boil with only one win in the last 10 rounds and they are definitely looking vulnerable here.
If Borders can get the ball to burly forward Paul Smith enough times, they can win.
Lucindale v Kingston
It's desperation time for these two sides, with a finals position on the line.
Kingston had a number of changes last week and it appeared to help, the Saints recording a big win over Keith, and they'll need to repeat that form to knock over Lucindale.
The Roos should have Nigel Fiegert back at CHF and with scoring options like Travis Ware, Aaron Smart and Gerard McGrath also available, they look dangerous.
Kingston will need a bag of goals out of Stuart Cooper – and probably forget about starting him in defence – and will need to be at the top of their game. It might be beyond them and Lucindale could sneak into the five with a win.

THE NARACOORTE HERALD LOOKS BACK ON ROUND 16

KINGSTON and Lucindale both had big wins last weekend to set up a tantalising clash for the penultimate round of KNTFL football.
Kingston belted Keith and Lucindale thrashed Penola to remain locked on equal points in the battle for fifth spot on the ladder.
Whichever side wins their clash this week will be hot favourite to claim a finals berth.
Neither side had any trouble last weekend.
Kingston had an eight-goal second quarter to pull away from Keith and eventually win by 49 points, with Stuart Cooper staying in the race for the goalkicking title with seven goals.
Lucindale got a combined 12 goals from Aaron Smart and Gerard McGrath in its 76-point win over Penola, which had seven players kick one goal each.
Mundulla had the biggest win of the round and coach Heath Thorpe shot to the top of the goalkicking table with a haul of 13 goals.
Jarred Wiese added seven goals as the Moots thrashed Border Districts by a mammoth 153 points.
Bordertown avenged its first round loss to Kaniva/Leeor United with a 98-point win, Brad Vallance kicking eight goals.
Naracoorte kept Padthaway to only one goal in the second half to win by 102 points, Sam Logan kicking eight goals.
Kybybolite had the bye.
FORWARDS HAVE BIG DAY IN KNTFL

ROUND 16 WRAP WITH TERRY WILLOUGHBY - Sun 8 August 2010
Goal-kicking forwards gave their opponents a hard time in KNTFL when every winning team had a forward bagging 7 or more goals each. Mundulla’s Heath Thorpe led the way as he booted 13 to dominate his teams’ win over bottom of the ladder Border Districts. Borders were competitive early but from quarter-time on it was a procession as Mundulla piled on the goals. Twelve in the 3rd term and a lazy 9 to finish gave them a 153 point win. Coach Thorpe was named best but it could easily have been any of a number of players. Shaun Taylor booted five of Border’s ten goals but Mundalla were never out of first gear.

Padthaway may have embarrassed Naracoorte earlier in the season but the Demons weren’t about to let it happen again. They controlled most positions on the ground and although not scoring at record pace they were not under pressure. Sam Logan booted 8 at full forward but most of the forwards were contributing as Padthaway struggled to contain them. Mitch Hartree, Brett Pope and Brett Gould were others to play well. That Padthaway struggled to score after ½ time tells of Naracoorte’s dominance. Bordertown inflicted another heavy defeat on Kaniva-Leeor United and remain in 4th spot but have a bye coming up whilst Kingston and Lucindale both have chances to claim a place in the five. Bordertown raced to a 5 goal lead at 1/4 time and kept the foot on the pedal all day. The lead had blown out to 43 pts at ¾ time. They booted 11 goals in the last term when KLU’s resistance collapsed and won by 98 points. Brad Vallance finished with 8 goals and was named best for Bordertown, Sam Sverdloff, Tim Harkness and Josh Barras also played well. It was a different story for KLU who promised much earlier on but have fallen right away in recent games. Dan Pegler and Matt Skrypek tried hard but were outnumbered.

Kingston kept a tenuous hold on 5th spot with a 49 point win over Keith. The Saints won the game with an 8 goal burst in the 2nd quarter with Stuart Cooper in top form around the goalfront. Keith trailed by 37 points at the halfway but were not able to put enough good passages of play together and threaten Kingston. Cooper finished with 7 goals but Jamie Austin was the star around the mid-field along with Sam Braidwood and Michael Baker. Lucindale bounced back to winning form but only over the inconsistent Penola. The Roos trailed by 9 pts at qtr time but really got on top from there-on, Mark Snowball was dominating the ruck contests and marked strongly around the ground which gave plenty of chances to his on-ballers and forwards. Former coach Aaron Smart with 7 and Gerard McGrath 5 goals were too good for the Penola defenders.

Round 16 scores - August 7, 2010

BORDERTOWN 8.3, 12.7, 17.11, 28.13 (181)

K L UNITED 3.4, 6.8, 10.10, 12.11 (83)

BEST, BORDERTOWN : Bradley VALLANCE, Tim HARKNESS, Sam SVERDLOFF, Josh BARRAS, Clinton WILLIAMS, Maddy HAYES. K L UNITED: DANIEL PEGLER, Matthew SKRYPEK, ANDREW PHILP, Joel WAGG, Travis LANNIN, Nathan Meyer. GOALS, BORDERTOWN: Bradley VALLANCE 8, Jamie GROSSER 5, Clint BARRAS 4, Michael CRILLY 4, Tim HARKNESS 2, Sam SVERDLOFF 2, Josh BARRAS 1, Nicholas HAMPEL 1, Christian ASPEL 1. K L UNITED: Joel WAGG 4, Dylan WILLIAMS 2, Matthew SKRYPEK 1, Peter FIACCHI 1, DANIEL PEGLER 1, Shane DODSON 1, Tyson HAWKER 1, Chris Tuckwell 1

NARACOORTE 5.4, 10.6, 15.15, 21.20 (146)

PADTHAWAY 1.2, 5.4, 5.6, 6.8 (44)

BEST, NARACOORTE: Mitchell HARTREE, Sam LOGAN, Brett POPE, Brett GOULD, Angus BRUGGEMANN, Jeffrey SELLARS. PADTHAWAY: George Verco, Paul ELSDEN, Darcy Boyanton, Trent GROSSER, HENRY SCHRIER, Tom Forgan. GOALS, NARACOORTE: Sam LOGAN 8, Nigel BLOCK 3, Brett POPE 3, Angus BRUGGEMANN 3, Brett GOULD 2, Sam WILLSON 1, Mark LEMON 1. PADTHAWAY: George Verco 3, John ORTON 1, Darcy Boyanton 1, Scott Galloway 1

MUNDULLA 6.3, 13.7, 25.12, 34.16 (220)

Border Districts 4.1, 6.6, 8.6, 10.7 (67)

BEST, MUNDULLA : Heath THORPE, Jarred WIESE, Jake McGRICE, Boyd PACKER, Jonathan MOCK, Grady OBST. Border Districts: SHAUN TAYLOR, David Vickery, PAUL SMITH, Rodney OLIVER, Rick Adams, Bradley ELLIS. GOALS, MUNDULLA : Heath THORPE 13, Jarred WIESE 7, Darren WIESE 4, Benjamin DOUGLAS 2, Grady OBST 2, Boyd PACKER 2, Jonathan MOCK 1, Nathan MILLIGAN 1, Jake McGRICE 1, SAMUEL EXCELL 1. Border Districts: SHAUN TAYLOR 5, PAUL SMITH 2, MATTHEW WHITE 1, Bradley ELLIS 1, NICK TARCA 1

KINGSTON 2.3, 10.3, 14.6, 17.8 (110)

KEITH 2.2, 4.2, 7.5, 9.7 (61)

BEST, KINGSTON: Jamie AUSTIN, Stuart Cooper, Sam Braidwood, Michael BAKER, Robbie STARLING, Braden AUSTIN. KEITH: Andrew Wilson, Reece Francis, Steven MOLINEUX, Nick HUNT, Jason HEINRICH, Luke COUSINS. GOALS, KINGSTON: Stuart Cooper 7, Mark GIBBS 3, Sam Braidwood 2, Jamie AUSTIN 1, Braden AUSTIN 1, Michael BAKER 1, Dylan RICHARDSON 1, Trevor Rigney 1. KEITH: Jason SNAJDAR 3, Henry JOHNSON 2, Callum McMurray 2, Jason HEINRICH 1, Benjamin FARMER 1

LUCINDALE 1.4, 6.9, 11.11, 18.15 (123)

PENOLA 3.1, 3.1, 5.4, 7.5 (47)

BEST, LUCINDALE: Aaron SMART, Mark SNOWBALL, Kane MCCARTHY, Hayden COX, Josh TEAKLE, Jamie MCCARTHY. PENOLA: Alex MOORE, Philip LAMBERT, Luke Duncan, Matthew Neilson, Josh GALE, Josh DOYLE. GOALS, LUCINDALE: Aaron SMART 7, Gerard MCGRATH 5, Jamie MCCARTHY 1, Kyle PRESS 1, Ben TEAKLE 1, Bryce SMITH 1, Hayden COX 1, James PILE 1. PENOLA: Nathan Reeves 1, Josh DOYLE 1, Alex MOORE 1, Josh GALE 1, Jordan GALPIN 1, Adam Merrett 1, Ben Anderson 1

THE NARACOORTE HERALD PREVIEWS ROUND 16
FRIDAY 6 AUGUST 2010

NONE of this weekend's KNTFL round 16 games pit likely finalist against finalist, but there's still plenty of interest in most of the match-ups.
Kingston, Bordertown and Lucindale are all fighting for the two available finals spots, and all have potentially difficult games this weekend.
Top team Kybybolite has the bye.
K/L United v Bordertown
Finals are well and truly off the radar now for United, but they can still get a lot out of the last part of the season by having an impact on which other sides make it.
The Cougars have developed a strong recent rivalry with Bordertown and would love to be the side responsible for keeping them out of the finals.
They are capable of causing the upset, and did beat the Roosters in round 3, but they would need massive games from guns Pegler, Corstens, Skrypek and Williams, and would need goalsneak Rob Fiacchi back in and firing.
Bordertown has pretty good depth and needs to be desperate to win this one and shore up a place in the five, so that should be enough to get them through.
Naracoorte v Padthaway
It was only a month ago that Padthaway caused the upset of the season in beating Naracoorte. It couldn't happen again, could it?
The odds would be huge, because since then Naracoorte has started looking like a real contender again, winning four in a row, while Padthaway has gone the other way and lost all of their games.
The Lions will be keen to do well on a day when Max Lampard, the father of one of their key forwards Matt Lampard, is honoured, but Max was also a stalwart of Naracoorte and the Demons will be equally keen to do well.
The second-ranked side also has a lot more to play for, warming towards another finals appearance, and they should win comfortably.
Mundulla v B/Districts
Borders continue to look dangerous for periods of matches, but can't quite find the consistency required to beat good sides and remain winless because of it.
If this match follows the same trend as others in recent weeks, Borders will match it with their more fancied rival early, then fall off the pace as the effort wears them down.
Mundulla is a good side with excellent depth and can be expected to run all day and convert enough times to have a solid win.
Kingston v Keith
Kingston really needs this one to hang on to one of the remaining finals spots, but the Saints would need to play a lot better than last week to make sure of it.
In an odd quirk of the draw, these teams only played one another four rounds ago, and that resulted in a very comfortable win to the seasiders.
For that to happen again, the Saints will need gun forward Stuart Cooper to recover from concussion and they'll need everyone else to lift their game. He should be right and they should do it.
Lucindale v Penola
This is a real danger game for Lucindale, as Penola is an underrated side which showed last week what it can do when it gets a run on.
Strangely, the two sides will be meeting for the first time this season, so there's no form to go on, but a glance at the ladder suggests Lucindale should have the edge.
The Roos badly need the win to stay in the race for fifth spot, while Penola is just marking time to the end of the season but could definitely cause an upset with the influence of goalkicking powerhouse Adam Merrett.

THE NARACOORTE HERALD LOOKS BACK ON ROUND 15

THREE sides are now locked on the same number of wins in their quest to fit into two finals spots after round 15 games in the KNTFL last weekend.

Bordertown was the only one of the trio to record a win and moved back into the top five, with Lucindale slipping back to sixth after losing to Mundulla and Kingston staying fourth despite being hammered by top team Kybybolite.

Bordertown held traditional rival Keith at bay all day to record a solid 21 point win, with Jamie Grosser sneaking six of their 13 goals.

Lucindale was always behind a Mundulla side which had a number of injured players back and lost a hard-fought game by 20 points.

Kingston was blown away early by ladder leader Kyby, which piled on nine goals and capitalised on the early absence of Kingston's gun goalkicker Stuart Cooper, who left the field with a cut head and didn't return.

It was a more even second half – after Saints coach Tim Richards kept his side on the ground during the half time break – but Kyby still won by nearly 100 points.

Naracoorte turned it on in a massive third quarter, kicking 10 goals to put away a determined Border Districts side and win by 81 points.

Adam Merrett kicked 10 goals as Penola routed Kaniva/Leeor United by 52 points.

Padthaway had the bye.

ROUND 15 WRAP FROM TERRY WILLOUGHBY

August 1, 2010

Saturday night game - Bordertown v Keith

Bordertown crept back into the top five with 20 pt win over Keith. The Roosters took a strong hold on the game when they led by 25 pts at the 1st change and put the game beyond Keith's grasp by 1/2 time when they added a further 5 goals to three by the Crows to lead by 34. Keith mounted a challenge in the 3rd qtr through Qualmann and Paul Makin but still trailed by 17 at the last change. Bordertown, aware that this could be their chance to move up the ladder responded and with Jamie Grosser in good form up forward to boot 6 goals snuffed out any Keith hopes of a revival and ran out winners. Keith's patchy form and injury woes have left them short of the finals but Bordertwon now have a chance to go further if they maintain some consistency. Grosser, McConnell and Vallance were best for the Roosters. Keith's better players struggled for full game efforts and the forwards were starved of opportunities .

The rest of Saturday's matches

Top side put Kybybolite put Kingston to the sword in KNTFL when they reduced the top five aspirant to a shambolic one goal in the 1st half while booting 14 of their own. Scott Carberry was on fire at the goal-front for Kyby and slammed through 11 goals. George McWaters, Ryan Woite and Tim Pannell were unstoppable for Kyby who continued to trample over Kingston in the 2nd half even though Kingston managed get some goals on the scoreboard.

Naracoorte may have easily accounted for Border Districts on the ground but it didn’t dampen the 1979-81 triple premiership reunion celebrations going on inside. Borders challenged strongly early on only a greater spread of talent saw Naracoorte break clear in the 2nd qtr. The Demons booted right away with a 10 goal burst in the 3rd as the Border’s faithful watched on. Fourteen individual goal-kickers contributed to the 81 pt win with Sam Logan and Nigel Block getting 5 each.

Penola won easily over a spiritless Kaniva-Leeor United whose season appears to be ending like many others after a promising start. The Eagles led throughout and straight kicking widened the margin to 52 pts at the end. Adam Merrett booted 10 goals to be best a-field for Penola.

Mundulla led all day against Lucindale but never by enough to feel totally safe. The margin was 28 pts at the last change but Lucindale blasted the goals in the last qtr but managed only 4-10 whilst Mundulla booted 4 from their few forward moves. At the finish Mundulla held on to win by 20 pts. Jake McGrice, Nick Davis, Josh Obst and Jason Hillier again performed well for Mundulla. Lucindale are safe in the five but missed a chance in the mind-games area. Josh Teakle, Kane McCarthy and Gerard McGrath tried hard but left it too late

Round 15 scores - July 31, 2010

KYBYBOLITE 9.1, 14.4, 19.6, 25.7 (157)

KINGSTON 0.2, 1.3, 4.4, 9.5 (59)

BEST, KYBYBOLITE: George MCWATERS, Scott CARBERRY, Ryan WOITE, Tim PANNELL, Tom COOPER, Thomas PEARCE. KINGSTON: Robbie STARLING, Craig COOPER, Michael BAKER, Thomas BORILLO, Chad VANSTONE, Trevor Rigney. GOALS, KYBYBOLITE - Scott CARBERRY 11, Samuel McCracken 4, Mark SLOTEGRAAF 3, Ciaran Buckley 2, Matt STILSBY 2, Adam VASEY 1, Jamie BITTNER 1, Michael PANNELL 1. KINGSTON - Sam Braidwood 3, Trevor Rigney 2, Sam INGLIS 1, Ashley STENNER 1, Jason DICKER 1, Craig WATSON 1

NARACOORTE 6.2, 11.4, 21.12, 24.15 (159)

Border Districts 4.1, 5.4, 9.4, 12.6 (78)

BEST, NARACOORTE: Brett POPE, Mitchell HARTREE, Leigh SYMONS, Nathan SMITH, Tom PREBBLE, Brett GOULD. Border Districts : Sean KING, NICK TARCA, DYLAN MOORE, PAUL McCANN, Joe Colley, Paul LIGHT. GOALS, NARACOORTE: Sam LOGAN 5, Nigel BLOCK 5, James DIXON 3, Brett GOULD 2, Michael PARKER 1, Kane DONNELLY 1, Nicholas BOON 1, Robert JONES 1, Angus BRUGGEMANN 1, Mitchell HARTREE 1, Nathan SMITH 1, Jeffrey SELLARS 1, Tom PREBBLE 1. Border Districts : SHAUN TAYLOR 4, PAUL SMITH 4, Ryan Kurray 2, Clinton ROBINSON 1, Bradley ELLIS 1

PENOLA 5.4, 9.5, 14.5, 18.5 (113)

K L UNITED 1.1, 5.5, 7.11, 8.13 (61)

BEST, PENOLA: Adam Merrett, Lachlan JONES, paul Mullen, Philip LAMBERT, Simon ZADOW, Alex MOORE. K L UNITED: Peter FIACCHI, Daniel Stimson, DANIEL PEGLER, Matthew SKRYPEK, Joshua MERRETT, ANDREW PHILP. GOALS, PENOLA: Adam Merrett 10, Luke Duncan 2, Kane Ransom 1, Simon ZADOW 1, Karl Ransom 1, Nathan Reeves 1, Lachlan JONES 1, Shaun MINGE 1. K L UNITED A Grade : Peter FIACCHI 2, Dylan WILLIAMS 2, JOHN JARRED 1, Joel WAGG 1, Travis LANNIN 1, Shane DODSON 1

MUNDULLA 4.6, 8.10, 9.16, 13.16 (94)

LUCINDALE 2.1, 5.3, 6.4, 10.14 (74)

BEST, MUNDULLA - Jake McGRICE, Nicky DAVIS, Joshua OBST, Jason HILLIER, Jason MILLIGAN, Jarvis WEBB. LUCINDALE - Josh TEAKLE, Kane MCCARTHY, Gerard MCGRATH, Daniel McCarthy, Peter MORTON, Mark SNOWBALL. GOALS, MUNDULLA: Heath THORPE 3, Jarred WIESE 2, Jonathan MOCK 2, Boyd PACKER 2, Grady OBST 1, Jason MILLIGAN 1, Jarvis WEBB 1, Jake McGRICE 1. LUCINDALE: Travis WARE 3, Nigel FEIGERT 2, Gerard MCGRATH 1, James PILE 1, Hayden COX 1, Bryce SMITH 1, Josh TEAKLE 1 .

THE NARACOORTE HERALD PREVIEWS ROUND 15

Thursday July 29, 2010

FIVE of the KNTFL's top six sides have matches which could shape their seasons in this weekend's round 15 action. Three matches will be vital to the make-up of the top five: Lucindale v Mundulla, Kybybolite v Kingston and Bordertown v Keith.

Naracoorte (second) is the only side in the top five not playing against a potential finals rival. Padthaway has the bye this weekend.

Bordertown v Keith

Bordertown is every chance of making the finals, but definitely needs to win games like this. The Roosters have just stalled on their run a little, losing three of their last four, but it has to be remembered that has been against quality opposition. They have lost to only one team outside the top five, K/L United back in round 3. They had a good win over Keith back in round 4, and with the stakes so high here they will be pulling out all the stops to repeat that effort. Keith had a great finish to last week with a nine-goal last quarter against Penola, but Bordertown should have the overall strength to handle them here.

Kybybolite v Kingston

Kingston nearly beat Kyby last time in round 4, and the Saints would fancy their chances this time around. They look good on paper, with recruits Braidwood and Tedmanson holding down key positions, Stuart Cooper kicking bags of goals and Jamie Austin killing them in the middle. Kyby has a number of options to take Cooper, including East Gambier recruits Kelvin Cook and Sam McCracken, but the Tigers do look a little weaker down back with Jaensch and Pearce out with injury last week. This will cause some reshuffling, but the good form of the Tigers' midfield should ensure the ball doesn't get fired into the Kingston F50 as often as Cooper would like, and Kyby might have a hard-fought win at home.

B/Districts v Naracoorte

Borders are hard to follow at the moment, at their lowest ebb one week against Lucindale, then up and about against Kingston last week. They seem to be getting closer to that elusive first win, but the mountain that is reigning premier Naracoorte might be too tall to climb. Naracoorte returned to something like its best last week, and with athletic forward James Dixon back in from State duties this week they'll be even stronger. Borders will try hard against coach Dean Woosnam's old side, and hefty forward Paul Smith can be relied on to kick another bag of goals, but Naracoorte should get the points comfortably.

Penola v K/L United

It's still mathematically possible for K/L United to make the finals, in what would be a tremendous achievement the year after being winless wooden spooners, but it's very unlikely. To keep the flickering flame alive, they need to have a thumping win over Penola and hope the other results go their way. Penola will have different ideas, though, as the Eagles have been very competitive in the second half of the season and can realistically look at winning this one. Luke Duncan will be back in the middle from State duties, Adam Merrett will again be a force up forward and the K/L guns like Pegler, Williams and Corstens will have to fire if their side is going to hold them out.

Lucindale v Mundulla

Lucindale would have been shattered by last week's loss, giving them their third defeat in four games, and against a Mundulla side coming off the bye, things won't be any easier. Mundulla lost to Kyby last start but before that had won six straight, putting them well clear in third spot. They have a couple of hard ones left, though, and will be very keen to win this one to lock up that double chance. With Heath Thorpe looming large in the forward line and a couple of handy players including the Hillier brothers due back, they might get the points.

THE NARACOORTE HERALD REVIEWS ROUND 14

Wed 28 July 2010

A THUMPING loss to Lucindale and a fighting win to Bordertown have kept the door to the KNTFL finals well and truly open. The Lucindale Roos were fourth on the ladder and were expected to take it right up to second-ranked Naracoorte, but after an even first quarter they were never in the hunt.Naracoorte kicked nine goals in a big second quarter and added another 15 in the second half to triumph by a mammoth 112 points, hurting Lucindale's percentage in the process.

The two other sides fighting for fourth and fifth spots on the ladder, Kingston and Bordertown, both had tougher than expected battles.Kingston were up against the winless Border Districts and were down by 13 points at three quarter time.But the Saints got a roll on in the last term to kick eight goals and win by a flattering 23 points.League leading goalkicker Stuart Cooper kicked eight goals for the victors, while Paul Smith played a lone hand for Borders at the other end with nine goals.

Bordertown held only a slight edge all day over 10th-ranked Padthaway, but with seven goals from Michael Crilly, the Roosters were able to hold on for a hard-fought 15-point win.

Keith produced a big last quarter to overrun a Penola side which had been great for three quarters.The Crows were down by nine points at the last change but booted home nine goals to one in the last term to win by 40 points.

Top team Kybybolite was made to work hard all day against a determined Kaniva/Leeor United side.United kept the potent Kyby forward line to 15 goals, but could score only four itself as the Tigers won by 67 points.Mundulla had the bye.

ROUND 14 REPORT FROM TERRY WILLOUGHBY

Sunday 25 July 2010

In KNT football leading team Kybybolite put Kaniva-Leeor United’s finals hopes on hold for another season with an easy 68 pt win. KLU struggled all day especially ahead of centre where they didn’t have an effective forward. Whilst Kyby’s gun forwards Carberry and co didn’t run riot they still found the ball enough to cause problems. Shaun Price, Ryan Woite and Ciaran Buckley headed the better players for Kyby. KLU’s best were the consistent Dan Pegler and Dan Stimson. Naracoorte tore Lucindale to pieces after an even 1st qtr. The Demons piled 24 goals in the last 3 qtrs and turned the game into a training run. Lucindale hardly had a good player whilst Naracoorte had everyone firing. They seemed to score goals whenever they went forward and Sam Logan 7 Brett Gould 5 and Mark Lemon 4 were the most damaging. Rob Jones and defender Kane Donnelly completed the best players as Naracoorte romped in by 112 pts. Bordertown had goal for goal battle with the improved Padthaway and only edged ahead near ¾ time. Mick Crilly was keeping them in the game at full forward and booted 7 goals. Padthaway trailed by 20 pts at the last change and outscored Bordertown in the run home but it wasn’t enough and the Roosters prevailed by 15 pts. Clint Williams and star youngsters Maddy and Billy Hayes guided them to victory. Padthaway’s best were Darren Francis, Trent Grosser and nuggety little man Darcy Boyanton. Keith and Penola had a goal shoot-out for 3 qtrs with the Eagles holding a narrow lead for most of the time. Behind by 9 pts with a qtr to play the Keith Crows unleashed a blistering 9 goal last term to win running away by 40 pts. Nick Hunt, Paul Makin and Henry Johnson, 5 goals each led the charge. Penola were unable to withstand the onslaught, Lachlan Jones, Kane Ransom and veteran Phil Lambert were their best. Border Districts played their best football for the season and an upset looked on the cards when they held 13 pt lead over fragile Kingston at ¾ time. The Saints still had plenty to play for with a spot in the five at stake. They finished all over the winless Borders and turned water into wine to win by 23 pts. Stuart Cooper was again in top form and booted 8 goals with big games from Travis Tedmanson and midfielder Jamie Austin the Saints keep their hopes alive. Borders fade out probably means they are unlikely to get a win in 2010. Paul Smith booted 9 goals in lone effort on the forward line, Clint Robinson and Nick Tarca gave everything in a quest for a win.

Round 14 - July 24, 2010

NARACOORTE 2.2, 11.3, 19.4, 26.8 (164)

LUCINDALE 1.0, 2.1, 5.3, 8.4 (52)

BEST, NARACOORTE : Robert JONES, Brett GOULD, Kane DONNELLY, Angus BRUGGEMANN, Mark LEMON, Sam LOGAN. GOALS, NARACOORTE: Sam LOGAN 7, Brett GOULD 5, Mark LEMON 4, Angus BRUGGEMANN 3, Michael PARKER 2, Nigel BLOCK 2, Nicholas BOON 1, Mitchell HARTREE 1, Nathan SMITH 1. LUCINDALE: Travis WARE 4, Kyle PRESS 1, Todd PRICE 1, Sam GRAETZ 1, Floyd FREEMAN 1

BORDERTOWN 5.3, 8.6, 13.9, 17.11 (113)

PADTHAWAY 5.2, 8.5, 10.7, 15.8 (98)

BEST, BORDERTOWN : Clinton WILLIAMS, Maddy HAYES, Michael CRILLY, Billy HAYES, Kane CUTHBERTSON, Benjamin MCCONNELL. PADTHAWAY : Darren Francis, Trent GROSSER, Darcy Boyanton, HENRY SCHRIER, Scott Galloway, Paul ELSDEN. GOALS, BORDERTOWN : Michael CRILLY 7, Jamie GROSSER 3, Tim HARKNESS 2, Luke EXTON 1, Bradley VALLANCE 1, Sam SVERDLOFF 1, Clint BARRAS 1, Maddy HAYES 1. PADTHAWAY : Darren Francis 4, Matthew Dean 3, George Verco 3, Andrew CHEER 2, Trent GROSSER 1, Scott Galloway 1, Matt Lampard 1

KEITH 4.1, 10.5, 16.6, 25.8 (158)

PENOLA 6.4, 10.8, 17.9, 18.10 (118)

BEST, KEITH : Nick HUNT, Andrew Wilson, Paul MAKIN, Henry JOHNSON, Luke COUSINS, Luke (Stephen) MITCHELL. PENOLA : Lachlan JONES, Kane Ransom, Philip LAMBERT, Adam Merrett, paul Mullen, Alex MOORE. GOALS, KEITH: Henry JOHNSON 5, Paul MAKIN 5, Royce Densley 3, Michael BARTLETT 3, Ryan BARTLETT 2, Shane GURR 2, Andrew Wilson 2, Nick HUNT 1, Callum McMurray 1, Luke (Stephen) MITCHELL 1. PENOLA: Adam Merrett 6, Kane Ransom 3, Shaun MINGE 3, Simon ZADOW 1, Karl Ransom 1, Josh DOYLE 1, Philip LAMBERT 1, Daniel Hutchings 1, Lachlan JONES 1

KINGSTON 3.6, 6.9, 9.11, 17.12 (114)

Border Districts 3.2, 7.5, 12.6, 14.7 (91)

BEST, KINGSTON : TRAVIS TEDMANSON, Stuart Cooper, Jamie AUSTIN, Elroy SAMUEL, Sam INGLIS, Chad VANSTONE. Border Districts : Clinton ROBINSON, NICK TARCA, Sean KING, Mark ELLIS, PAUL SMITH, David Vickery. GOALS, KINGSTON A Grade : Stuart Cooper 8, Trevor Rigney 3, Sam INGLIS 2, Jamie AUSTIN 1, Michael BAKER 1, Ashley STENNER 1, Sam Braidwood 1 . Border Districts A Grade : PAUL SMITH 9, SHAUN TAYLOR 2, MATTHEW WHITE 2, Clinton ROBINSON 1

KYBYBOLITE 3.2, 7.6, 11.9, 15.12 (102)

K L UNITED 2.5, 3.7, 3.9, 4.11 (35)

BEST, KYBYBOLITE: Shaun PRICE, Ryan WOITE, Ciaran Buckley, David ARNOLD, Tim PANNELL, Michael PANNELL. K L UNITED : DANIEL PEGLER, Daniel Stimson, Jonathon HICKS, ANDREW PHILP, Matthew SKRYPEK, Peter FIACCHI. GOALS, KYBYBOLITE: Michael PANNELL 4, Scott CARBERRY 4, Jamie TIDY 2, Ciaran Buckley 1, Luke CROSSLING 1, Stuart SHEPHERD 1, Mark SLOTEGRAAF 1, Matt STILSBY 1. K L UNITED - Daniel Stimson 1, Shane DODSON 1, Jeffrey MEYER 1, Brad Witmitz 1

THE NARACOORTE HERALD PREVIEWS ROUND 14

THERE'S nothing like a clash between old rivals with plenty hinging on the result to fire the emotions of KNTFL football followers. Such a game will take place at the Naracoorte oval this week, where the Demons will host long-time nemesis Lucindale. Naracoorte needs to win to remain in touch with top team Kybybolite, while Lucindale could slip out of the top five with a heavy loss.

The other game likely to impact on the top five will be at Kaniva, where K/L United needs to beat in-form Kyby to keep its finals hopes alive.

Naracoorte v Lucindale

All is set for a classic showdown here. Both sides are in good form – although Naracoorte could still be accused of just doing what it needs to do to win – and both have plenty riding on the result.Both will also be without key forwards on State duties, with Lucindale missing gun utility Gerard McGrath and Naracoorte without James Dixon. That might hurt Lucindale more, because Naracoorte probably has a greater spread of potential goalkickers, and McGrath can also be used to plug gaps. Lucindale can't be faulted after all but beating Kyby a fortnight ago and then destroying Border Districts last week, but Naracoorte just has that happy knack of lifting when they need to. The Demons don't often blow opposition sides away, but they also rarely lose the close ones, and this never-say-die attitude could see them over the line in a tight one.

Padthaway v Bordertown

Bordertown has lost three in a row now and would seem to be ripe for the picking, but Padthaway has let its own momentum slip and will have to find that winning formula quickly again to match the Roosters in this one. Bordertown hasn't been that bad, and its last four games have all been against top five sides, so keeping that in mind the Roosters shouldn't get too down on themselves. They're still in a good position to push for a finals spot, considering their favourable draw, but a solid win here it a must. Padthaway won't give in easily but Bordertown needs the win more.

Keith v Penola

Like Naracoorte v Lucindale, both of these sides will be without key players for the national country champs. Penola will be without Luke Duncan and Keith Reece Francis. Duncan has been Penola's most consistent performer and will be severely missed by the Eagles, while the Crows will be able to cover Francis. Penola put up a great show last week in nearly beating Naracoorte, but Keith was also pretty good in beating Padthaway and if the Crows can kick straighter they should get the points.

Kingston v B/Districts

This game couldn't have come at a better time for Kingston, with the Saints running into some god form and needing as much percentage as they can get to shore up a top five spot, while Border Districts are at their lowest ebb.Borders seemed to be making progress a few weeks back under new coach Dean Woosnam, but they've been destroyed in their past couple of games and face more of the same here with Stuart Cooper and Trevor Rigney on fire up forward.

K/L United v Kybybolite

United really needs to win this to stay in the finals race, but against the top team that's easier said than done. The Cougars have been great this year and coming off the bye they'll be well rested and ready to try and cause an upset, but Kyby appears too disciplined and fit to let that happen at the moment and this result could signal the end of United's brave finals tilt.

THE NARACOORTE HERALD NOTES ON ROUND 13

KINGSTON leap-frogged Bordertown into the top five and Kybybolite shored up top spot in two big results in KNTFL football last Saturday. Kingston was sixth on the ladder and needed to beat fifth-ranked Bordertown or go two wins behind the Roosters, and that result never seemed in doubt.With gun forward Stuart Cooper on fire throughout with eight goals and changing on-baller Trevor Rigney chiming in with six, the Saints led from start to finish to beat he inconsistent Roosters by 41 points.

Kyby took control after quarter time to comfortably beat third-ranked Mundulla in a show of strength. Coach Scott Carberry kicked seven goals as his side set up their win with a dominant second quarter, eventually winning by 63 points.

Naracoorte held on to second spot but had to work hard to overcome a determined Penola. Scores were dead level at three quarter time, but Naracoorte kicked five goals to one in the last quarter to triumph by 29 points.

Keith put an unceremonious end to Padthaway's recent good form with a thumping 82-point win. In a horribly inaccurate game where the sides combined to kick 18.32, Keith kicked 5.11 to no score in the third quarter to set up its fourth win of the year.

Border Districts continued their disappointing season with a 167-point loss to Lucindale. Fired by 13 goals to Travis Ware and five to Aaron Smart, Lucindale kicked 11 goals to just two behinds in the final quarter to underline their dominance.
PENOLA NEARLY KNOCKS OVER NARACOORTE

reports Terry Willoughby (Sun 18.7.10)

Penola gave Naracoorte a fright in KNTFL when they leveled the scores at ¾ time. Strong games from defenders Alex Moore and Matt Nielson kept Naracoortes powerful forwards in check and on-ballers Luke Duncan and Phil Lambert nullified the Naracoorte rucks. Naracoorte raised the stakes in the last quarter as Penola’s efforts faded and they booted 5-7 to a goal and came away to win by 29 points. Mitch Hartree and backman Kane Donnelly were best for Naracoorte.

Padthaway’s burst of form expired and Keith regained the winning touch as they smashed the Lions by 82 pts. The margin would have been greater but for inaccurate kicking but the Crows would have been happy to be back in the winners list. Reece Francis around the mid-field was their best.

The erratic Kingston led all day against the enigmatic Bordertown. Stuart Cooper, 8 and Trevor Rigney 6 goals proved too hot to handle for the Bordertown defence and dominated play near goal for Kingston. Jamie Austin in the centre and Travis Tedmanson in defence were also very good for the winners. Bordertown’s better players were Mick Crilly and on-baller Ryan Paget but the 41 point loss leaves them precariously placed in 5th spot.

Lucindale made short work of winless Border Districts, belting them to the tune of 167 points. Travis Ware, not the Geelong one, had a big day out and booted 13 goals and former coach, Aaron Smart got 5 majors.

Ladder leader Kybybolite took control against Mundulla after scores were level at ¼ time. A greater spread of talent around the mid-field and a dangerous full forward in Scott Carberry who booted 7 goals was the difference. Ryan Woite, Kelvin Cook and Mark Slotegraaf were best for Kyby. The Moots best were in defence but they couldn’t stop everything. Josh and Grady Obst tried hard and Heath Thorpe kicked 4 goals but Kyby won easily by 63 points.

Round 13 - July 17, 2010

NARACOORTE 3.1, 8.5, 10.8, 15.15 (105)

PENOLA 6.5, 6.6, 10.8, 11.10 (76)

BEST, NARACOORTE: Mitchell HARTREE, Kane DONNELLY, Sam WILLSON, Brett GOULD, Tyrone SCULLION, Nicholas BOON. PENOLA: Luke Duncan, Lachlan JONES, Philip LAMBERT, Alex MOORE, Matthew Neilson, Kane Ransom. GOALS, NARACOORTE: Sam LOGAN 4, James DIXON 4, Brett GOULD 2, Nigel BLOCK 2, Mitchell HARTREE 2, Michael PARKER 1. PENOLA: Paul Mullen 2, Lachlan JONES 2, Adam Merrett 2, Kane Ransom 1, Josh GALE 1, Simon ZADOW 1, Conan Devereux 1, Shaun MINGE 1

KEITH 6.4, 7.6, 12.17, 15.21 (111)

PADTHAWAY 1.3, 2.9, 2.9, 3.11 (29)

BEST, KEITH: Reece Francis, Karl QUALMANN, Jason Smith, Steven MOLINEUX, Paul MAKIN, Jonathon Wilson. PADTHAWAY: Andrew ORTON, Bradley GIBBS, George Verco, Paul ELSDEN, Kieron Hicks, Adam Mewett. GOALS, KEITH: Paul MAKIN 3, Luke COUSINS 2, Andrew COUSINS 2, Jason Smith 1, Jon Wright 1, Nick HUNT 1, Andrew Willis 1, Jonathon Wilson 1, Henry JOHNSON 1, Ryan BARTLETT 1, Reece Francis 1. PADTHAWAY: Andrew CHEER 1, George Verco 1, Darren Francis 1

KINGSTON 4.4, 10.13, 12.14, 19.17 (131)

BORDERTOWN 3.1, 5.4, 8.9, 13.12 (90)

BEST, KINGSTON: Stuart Cooper, Trevor Rigney, Jamie AUSTIN, TRAVIS TEDMANSON, Michael BAKER, Robbie STARLING. BORDERTOWN: Michael CRILLY, Ryan PAGET, Nicholas HAMPEL, Luke EXTON, Jamie GROSSER, Billy HAYESGOALS, KINGSTON: Stuart Cooper 8, Trevor Rigney 6, Craig WATSON 2, Sam Braidwood 1, Dylan RICHARDSON 1, Ashley STENNER 1. BORDERTOWN: Jamie GROSSER 4, Tim HARKNESS 2, Clint BARRAS 2, Michael CRILLY 1, Sam SVERDLOFF 1, Kane CUTHBERTSON 1, Bradley SIMCOCK 1, Jed JARRETT 1

KYBYBOLITE 4.1, 9.7, 13.9, 19.14 (128)

MUNDULLA 3.7, 3.8, 7.11, 9.11 (65)

BEST, KYBYBOLITE : R Woite, K Cook, M Slotagraaf, A Vasey, L Neale, S Price. MUNDULLA: J Obst, G Obst, L Duell, H Thorpe, N Davis, S Excell. Goals: KYBYBOLITE: S Carberry 7, S McCracken, M Pannell 3, L Neale, A Vasey 2, C Buckley, J Bittner 1. MUNDULLA: H Thorpe 4, J McGrice 2, N Davis, J Weise, H Graetz 1

LUCINDALE 4.3, 15.6, 21.7, 32.13 (205)

Border Districts 1.3, 3.4, 5.6, 5.8 (38)

BEST, LUCINDALE: Aaron SMART, Travis WARE, Kane MCCARTHY, Sam GRAETZ, Gerard MCGARTH, Kyle PRESS. Border Districts: David Vickery, Clinton ROBINSON, Paul LIGHT, Rick Adams, PAUL SMITH, Daniel Crabb. GOALS, LUCINDALE: Travis WARE 13, Aaron SMART 5, Gerard MCGARTH 4, Todd PRICE 3, James PILES 3, Floyd FREEMAN 1, Sam GRAETZ 1, Kane MCCARTHY 1, Bryce SMITH 1. Border Districts : SHAUN TAYLOR 2, PAUL SMITH 2, MATTHEW WHITE 1

THE NARACOORTE PREVIEWS ROUND 13 (JULY 15, 2010)

AT least two of this week's round 13 matches will have a big impact on the make-up of this year's KNTFL final five.
Top placed Kybybolite hosts third-ranked Mundulla in their battle for the Tiger Cup, in a game which some believe could be a grand final preview.
Naracoorte obviously also has major claims on a grand final berth, but there's little doubt the two Tiger sides are the most in-form in the competition.
The other game this weekend with important consequences will be between Bordertown and Kingston, with a Kingston win keeping the race for fifth spot wide open, but a Bordertown win just about shutting the gate.
Kaniva/Leeor United has the bye this week.
B/Districts v Lucindale
Both of these sides would fancy their chances of winning this game.
Borders still haven't won one this season but are improving steadily under coach Dean Woosnam, and after the bye last week they will really be primed for this game. They only just lost to Lucindale in the first round and would be confident of causing an upset.
Lucindale on the other hand would have been shattered after burning a match-winning lead over Kyby on the Roos' reunion weekend last week, but the fact remains that they outplayed the top team for three quarters.
That form will be enough to carry them to a hard-fought win this week.
Penola v Naracoorte
Naracoorte showed what they're really about last week after a shock loss to Padthaway the game before, and their supporters will be hoping that was the turning point.
The confidence gained from having the likes of Jones, Dixon and Smith back from the zone championships was obvious, and with Logan returning to some match touch up forward, they again look a good unit.
Penola played well for three quarters last week before slipping up against Mundulla and they certainly aren't the worst side going around, but they're not in the same class as Naracoorte.
Padthaway v Keith
The tipsters will probably be all over Keith for this one, but it's not that clear-cut. Some would say Padthaway should have had two wins on the trot last week but they just dropped their bundle a bit at the end and let KLU get over them.
Keith is not setting the world on fire by any means, and while they took it up to Kingston last week, they lack that certain something this year.
Padthaway is on the rise and will pounce on any Keith shortcomings - this could be the surprise result of the round.
Bordertown v Kingston
Bordertown has now had two tests in two weeks and failed both of them - although one was by only a single point - and the Roosters really need to beat a handy side to win back some credibility.
Not only that, they need a win to kill off the finals hopes of those clamouring below them, and Kingston is one of them. The Saints could sneak within striking distance with a win here, but it will be all but over if they don't.
Bordertown should have the running game on its own ground to win, but they will have to watch the likes of Austin, Mahoney and Tedmanson around the middle and Stuart Cooper and the unpredictable Rigney to make sure of it.
Kybybolite v Mundulla
These two sides have a great tradition of classic games, and like the first time they met, this one will be no exception.
They look evenly matched all over the ground, with both midfields very strong and deep and backlines solid, so whoever wins is likely to be decided by the forward lines.
Mundulla has had an absolute trump in recent weeks in coach Heath Thorpe, and he's had good support from the likes of Boyd Packer, Jon Mock and Grady Obst.
The Kyby forward line has misfired a little, with McCracken going quiet and Carberry, Tidy and Cook not kicking heaps of goals, but the potential for a big score is still there.
Kyby will have too many forward guns for all to be shut down, and they might win a close one on their home ground.

IT was a day for big KNTFL comebacks on Saturday, with top team Kybybolite and Kaniva/Leeor United both getting out of jail in the last quarter.
Kyby's come-from-behind win was the most unlikely. The Tigers had been thoroughly outplayed by Lucindale in front of a big crowd celebrating Lucindale's 1969-70 premiership reunion and at three quarter time had kicked only five goals to trail by 39 points.
But they showed everyone at the ground why they are on top of the ladder with a stunning last quarter, keeping Lucindale scoreless while piling on nine goals themselves to score a character-building 16-point win.
United had to produce some heroics of its own to beat a resurgent Padthaway. In what was almost a mirror of the Kyby-Lucindale game, Padthaway led by 31 points at the last change and looked home.
But United caught fire and kicked eight goals, keeping Padthaway scoreless, to have an important 23-point win and keep their finals hopes alive.
The other games were more run-of-the-mill.
Kingston led Keith all day and won by 45 points, Naracoorte had a surprisingly comfortable 63-point win over Bordertown and Mundulla kicked away from Penola in a big last quarter to win by 57 points.

SPOTS IN THE TOP FIVE STILL UP FOR GRABS

Round 12 wrap with Terry Willoughby (Mon 12 Jul.y 2010)

The race for 4th and 5th spots remain open in the KNTFL with wins to Kingston and Kaniva-Leeor United. Padthaway looked set to cause another boilover when they led throughout the first 3 quarters and held a commanding 31 point lead at the final change of ends against KLU. With their season on the line KLU responded strongly to the challenge and kept Padthaway scoreless and booted 8 match winning goals to storm to a 23 point win. Dylan Williams was the standout performer for KLU and booted 5 goals, Dale Stimson, Travis Lannin and Josh Merrett were also strong contributors in the come from behind victory. Padthaway’s best were a mixture of young and old with young Tom Forgan and veteran Mark Edwards ahead of George Verco who booted 6 goals.

Kingston ended any hopes Keith had of sneaking into the top 5 with a comfortable 45 pt win. Stuart Cooper with 6 goals, Jamie Austin and ruckman Rob Starling around the mid-field and stoppages did the damage. Henry Johnson was best for Keith and kicked 4 goals but the Crows are a shadow of recent seasons.

Lowly Penola gave 3rd placed Mundulla a real battle for 3 qtrs but faded badly in the last to go under by 57 pts. The Moots had too much talent and goal-kicking power. Half-forwards Jon Mock and Boyd Packer were always able to kick goals when Penola threatened and coach Heath Thorpe maintained his average by kicking 5. Jake McGrice, Grady Obst and the consistent Nicky Davis led the best players for Mundulla. Adam Merrett with 6 goals kept Penola in the game for a long time but lacked support around goals, Josh Gale and Luke Duncan were busy around the ground.

Bordertown were drawing a long-bow when they blamed the easy targets in orange for last week’s loss. No such luck against Naracoorte as they conceded a 50 pt lead at qtr-time. They narrowed the margin to 23 pts at ½ time only to be crushed to the tune of 63 pts at the finish. The margin could have been much wider but for Naracoorte’s inaccuracy. Strong marking forwards and goal crumbing small men provided most of the goals with Michael Parker booting 6. James Dixon starred on the ball and up forward for Naracoorte, Leigh Symons and Tyrone Scullion made Bordertown pay dearly whenever they had the ball. Mid-fielder Luke Exton and defenders Kane Cuthbertson and Brad Simcock tried hard for Bordertown but were overwhelmed.

Lucindale were another team to be runover in the last qtr after holding a match-winning lead at 3 qtr time. That Lucindale managed to restrict the top team to just 5 goals was telling but when Kyby awoke, they steamed home. Nine goals to none in the last qtr left Lucindale stunned. Kyle Press, Dan and Jamie McCarthy and Alex Tregoweth were excellent for Lucindale but could not stem the tide when Kyby took control. On-ballers Ryan Woite, Dave Arnold were the catalysts, winning the ball at the centre and defender Adam Vasey starred in keeping Kyby in the contest. Kyby got home by 16 pts but not without a fright.

Round 12 - July 10, 2010

K L UNITED 2.2, 6.3, 9.4, 17.10 (112)

PADTHAWAY 4.3, 7.4, 13.11, 13.11 (89)

BEST, K L UNITED: Dylan WILLIAMS, Daniel Stimson, Travis LANNIN, Joshua MERRETT, Peter FIACCHI, Shane DODSON. PADTHAWAY: Tom Forgan, Mark EDWARDS, George Verco, Kieron Hicks, Darcy Boyanton, Trent GROSSER. GOALS, K L UNITED: Dylan WILLIAMS 5, Shain VIVIAN 3, Shane DODSON 3, DANIEL PEGLER 1, JOHN JARRED 1, Chris Tuckwell 1, Joel WAGG 1, MATT CORSTENS 1, Joshua MERRETT 1. PADTHAWAY: George Verco 6, Matt Lampard 4, Andrew CHEER 1, Tom Forgan 1, Darren Francis 1

KYBYBOLITE 1.2, 4.4, 5.6, 14.9 (93)

LUCINDALE 4.2, 7.2, 12.5, 12.5 (77)

BEST, KYBYBOLITE: Ryan WOITE, David ARNOLD, Adam VASEY, Thomas PEARCE, Tim PANNELL, Shaun PRICE. LUCINDALE: Kyle PRESS, Daniel McCarthy, Jamie MCCARTHY, Alex TREGOWETH, Shane MCGURK, Sam GRAETZ. GOALS, KYBYBOLITE: Scott CARBERRY 4, Ciaran Buckley 3, Lachie NEALE 1, Samuel McCracken 1, Jamie BITTNER 1, Shaun PRICE 1, Ryan WOITE 1, Michael PANNELL 1, Mark SLOTEGRAAF 1

LUCINDALE: Travis WARE 3, Todd PRICE 3, Gerard MCGARTH 2, Nigel FEIGERT 2, Kane MCCARTHY 1, Aaron SMART 1

KINGSTON 4.7, 7.10, 11.12, 15.13 (103)

KEITH 1.1, 4.5, 5.8, 8.10 (58)

BEST, KINGSTON: Jamie AUSTIN, Robbie STARLING, Stuart Cooper, TRAVIS TEDMANSON, Trevor Rigney, Sam Mahony. KEITH: Henry JOHNSON, Jonathon Wilson, Andrew Willis, Nick HUNT, Jason HEINRICH, Ryan BARTLETT. GOALS, KINGSTON: Stuart Cooper 6, Sam Mahony 2, Ashley STENNER 2, Craig WATSON 1, Sam Braidwood 1, Braden AUSTIN 1, Dylan RICHARDSON 1, Trevor Rigney 1. KEITH: Henry JOHNSON 4, Jonathon Wilson 2, Andrew Willis 1, Lewis Hender 1

NARACOORTE 7.8, 10.14, 16.19, 21.24 (150)

BORDERTOWN 0.0, 8.4, 11.6, 13.9 (87)

BEST, NARACOORTE: James DIXON, Michael PARKER, Leigh SYMONS, Tyrone SCULLION, Nathan SMITH, Tom PREBBLE. BORDERTOWN: Luke EXTON, Jamie GROSSER, Kane CUTHBERTSON, Sam SVERDLOFF, Bradley SIMCOCK, Tim HARKNESS. GOALS, NARACOORTE: Michael PARKER 6, James DIXON 4, Tyrone SCULLION 4, Sam LOGAN 3, Nigel BLOCK 2, Nathan SMITH 1, Tom PREBBLE 1. BORDERTOWN: Clint BARRAS 4, Trent BARRAS 3, Tim HARKNESS 2, Jamie GROSSER 2, Jed JARRETT 1, Bradley VALLANCE 1

MUNDULLA 4.2, 11.5, 17.10, 24.14 (158)

PENOLA 4.2, 8.4, 14.9, 15.11 (101)

BEST, MUNDULLA: Jake McGRICE, Grady OBST, Nicky DAVIS, Boyd PACKER, Jonathan MOCK, James HINGE. PENOLA: Adam Merrett, Josh GALE, Luke Duncan, Lachlan JONES, Alex MOORE, Matthew Neilson. GOALS, MUNDULLA: Heath THORPE 5, Boyd PACKER 5, Jonathan MOCK 3, Grady OBST 3, Nicky DAVIS 3, Jarvis WEBB 2, James HINGE 2, Craig WIESE 1. PENOLA: Adam Merrett 6, Shaun MINGE 3, Kane Ransom 2, Luke Duncan 1, Reece LAMBERT 1, Alex MOORE 1, Lachlan JONES 1

The Naracoorte Herald previews Round 12 (8 July 2010) WHOEVER designed the 2010 KNTFL draw deserves a pat on the back for this week's round.

Four of the five games are a toss of the coin proposition, while the other should be competitive as well.

Top plays fifth when Kybybolite travels to Lucindale, where the home club has a premiership reunion, while second plays fourth with Naracoorte trying to bounce back from a shock loss to take on Bordertown, who have been something of a bogey side in recent years.

Each of the other three games also hold plenty of interest in what will be an exhilarating round of footy.

K/L United v Padthaway

The Padthaway players might have come down from cloud nine by Saturday after their stirring win over Naracoorte, and they'll have to be on their game as K/L United is still in with a fighting chance of making the finals and will be desperate to win this one.

Padthaway is a different side with George Verco in the difficult centre half forward spot and Darren Francis and Matt Lampard in form deep in the forward line, and they will again hold the keys to the game.

United has battled injury to key players but keeps putting competitive sides on the park and will give a good showing again here. At home they might just get up.

Lucindale v Kyby

Lucindale is hosting a big 40-year premiership reunion, but Kyby won't be in a mood to let them party.

The Tigers probably aren't playing their 100 per cent best football at the moment, but they are doing enough to win and will be very hard for the home side to topple.

Flexibility in the forward line is the key: if key forwards Carberry or McCracken are down, Tidy, Cook or even Pearce can step up. Lucindale will be hard pushed to stop all of them.

In front of a big crowd keen to see their side do well, Lucindale will have plenty of incentive to pull off an upset, but Kyby has enough big guns playing well to put aside the emotion and do what's needed to win.

Keith v Kingston

Finals hopes are all but gone for Keith, and if Kingston wants to play in the major round it will have to start stringing some wins together.

The Saints have a good side on paper with three or four of the best players in the competition, but they have been too inconsistent thus far this season and need to make up two wins to dislodge Lucindale from fifth spot.

Keith is battling without many of their travelling stars of recent years and while the young locals will again give a good account of themselves, Kingston should win.

Naracoorte v Bordertown

Bordertown has given Naracoorte some trouble in recent years, and after last Saturday's shock loss for the Demons, it will be fascinating to see what impact that has on their attitude.

It could have been a timely wake-up call, or it might have planted a serious seed of doubt in the players' minds and they could go into this one thinking their side is on the slide.

One thing's for sure, Bordertown will come to Naracoorte ready to run for the whole game, and with agile goalkickers like Harkness, Crilly, Barras, Vallance and Grosser in the forward line, they have the players to finish off.

Naracoorte will have to be at the top of its game, otherwise it could be two losses in a row for the first time in a long while.

Mundulla v Penola

This game won't have any impact on the ladder unless Penola pulls off an unlikely upset, which isn't out of the question but would be a real surprise.

Mundulla is one of the form teams of the competition and would have taken more confidence from its one-point thriller over old rivals Bordertown last week.

The Moots are playing too well to let this one slip and should win comfortably at home.

Border Districts have the bye this week.

The Naracoorte Herald looks at the rest of Round 11 (6 July 2010)

EVERYTHING came together for Padthaway and the Lions took full advantage in recording the KNTFL season's biggest upset to date.

The struggling Lions only had one win on the board and were given little hope of knocking off the reigning premiers Naracoorte, but they did it and did it in style.

On a day when Naracoorte was without several key players, including three on State country championships duty, the Lions pounced.

They led at every change, building a big lead by half time, still leading by 34 points at three quarter time and then holding off a Demon challenge to win by 20 points in a massive upset.

Matt Lampard was the go-to man up forward with six goals but it was a total team effort from the young Lions.

Padthaway's win puts them two wins clear of bottom side Border Districts, while Naracoorte has dropped one win and percentage behind league leader Kybybolite.

Mundulla and Bordertown produced a wonderful contest which fittingly was decided by a solitary point.

Mundulla held a narrow advantage for most of the day after kicking seven goals in the second quarter, but the never-say-die Roosters fought the game right out and nearly clawed their way back in front, falling just one point short.

It was a vital win for Mundulla, which now has a two-game break in third spot.

The other game was top versus bottom and even though Kybybolite had a big win on the scoreboard, Border Districts were far from disgraced.

With full forward Paul Smith in dominant form, kicking eight of his side's nine goals, Borders were always competitive, but weight of possession eventually told and with 12 goals to two in the second half, Kyby eased away to an 18-goal win.

PADTHAWAY WIN IN BOILOVER – the rest of Round 11 with Terry Willoughby

Padthaway caused a huge upset in KNTFL when they bolted to a 6 goal lead at half time over premiership contender Naracoorte. Led by Seb Townsend and Keiron Hicks the Lions played like men possessed and had a good spearhead in Matt Lampard to finish off the work at full forward, he managed 6 goals. Padthaway showed signs of weakening in the 3rd quarter but Naracoorte made no ground and still trailed by a big margin at the last change. Although outscored in the run home Padthaway held on to the lead and scored their biggest win in many years by 20 points. Townsend, Hicks and Darcy Boyanton headed the best players but it was a great team effort. Nigel Block, Sam Logan and Mitch Hartree tried to lift the Demons but you could take nothing away from the jubilant Lions.

Top team Kybybolite demolished winless Border Districts to the tune of 108 pts. They just toyed with their hapless opponents and went further ahead in every qtr. Coach Scott Carberry finished with 7 goals for Kyby and Paul Smith had a remarkable game by booting 8 of Border Districts nine.

Arch rivals Bordertown and Mundulla went goal for goal most of the day and although Mundulla edged away just before ½ time the Roosters weren’t ready to concede. They booted 6 goals to come within 13 points at ¾ time and outscored Mundulla in the last but couldn’t manage to be in front when it counted most. Mundulla held on to win by a solitary point in a terrific contest. Lachlan Duell was in everything for Mundulla, Nick Davis another defender also played well and coach Heath Thorpe managed 5 goals. Nick Hampel, Tim Harkness and Ben McConnell played well for Bordertown in a game that could have gone either way.

Round 11 - July 3, 2010

PADTHAWAY 7.1, 13.6, 14.7, 15.9 (99)
NARACOORTE 4.3, 7.6, 8.9, 11.13 (79)
BEST, PADTHAWAY: S TOWNSEND, Kieron Hicks, Darcy Boyanton, Matt Gibbs, Trent GROSSER, Andrew CHEER. NARACOORTE: Nigel BLOCK, Sam LOGAN, Mitchell HARTREE, Leigh SYMONS, Tyrone SCULLION, Paul MCCARTHY. GOALS, PADTHAWAY: Matt Lampard 6, Matthew Dean 3, Will Verco 1, Kieron Hicks 1, Tom Forgan 1, Andrew CHEER 1, George Verco 1, Darren Francis 1. NARACOORTE A Grade : Sam LOGAN 3, Michael PARKER 2, Craig BEGGS 2, Brett GOULD 1, Tyrone SCULLION 1, Nigel BLOCK 1, Mitchell HARTREE 1
MUNDULLA 3.6, 10.8, 15.9, 17.13 (115)

BORDERTOWN 4.2, 7.6, 13.8, 17.12 (114)

BEST, MUNDULLA: Lachlan DUELL, Nicky DAVIS, Darren WIESE, Nathan MILLIGAN, Jarred WIESE, Jason HILLIER. BORDERTOWN: Tim HARKNESS, Nicholas HAMPEL, Benjamin MCCONNELL, Kane CUTHBERTSON, Bradley VALLANCE, Jamie GROSSER. GOALS, MUNDULLA : Heath THORPE 5, Benjamin DOUGLAS 3, Jarvis WEBB 2, Jarred WIESE 2, Jason MILLIGAN 2, Jonathan MOCK 1, Darren WIESE 1, Boyd PACKER 1. BORDERTOWN: Clint BARRAS 4, Sam SVERDLOFF 3, Jamie GROSSER 3, Michael CRILLY 2, Tim HARKNESS 2, Bradley WARNCKEN 1, Kane CUTHBERTSON 1, Luke EXTON 1

KYBYBOLITE 8.4, 13.7, 18.14, 25.19 (169)

Border Districts 3.2, 7.4, 8.7, 9.7 (61)

BEST, KYBYBOLITE: Jamie BITTNER, Ryan WOITE, Jamie TIDY, Brad REDDING, Ciaran Buckley, Kelvin Cook. Border Districts: SHAUN TAYLOR, Josh Batson, Paul LIGHT, NICK TARCA, PAUL SMITH, MORGAN CRABB. GOALS, KYBYBOLITE: Scott CARBERRY 7, Kelvin Cook 4, Mark SLOTEGRAAF 3, Luke CROSSLING 2, Samuel McCracken 2, Jamie BITTNER 2, Shaun PRICE 2, Jamie TIDY 1, David ARNOLD 1, Ciaran Buckley 1. Border Districts: PAUL SMITH 8, Luke CLAYSON 1

ROUND 11 (SPLIT ROUND) PREVIEW BY THE NARACOORTE HERALD

NLY six of the KNTFL's 11 clubs will be in action this weekend as half of the league sits out with a bye timed to coincide with the State country championships.
Of the three games, only the clash between Mundulla and Bordertown is expected to have any impact on the top five.
Mundulla is third but will have to play well to hold its traditional rivals at bay, as the Roosters have won five of their last six.
Naracoorte v Padthaway
Naracoorte will be without three of its topline players for this one, but it would still be an almighty effort for Padthaway to cause an upset.
Naracoorte has enough depth in its reserves this year to ensure the absence of forward James Dixon and star on-ballers Nathan Smith and Robert Jones won't be felt too severely.
But it will be enough to give Padthaway some confidence that it can match it with the Demons, particularly considering their form of recent weeks.
The addition of George Verco up forward has made fellow forwards Darren Francis and Matt Lampard more dangerous as well, and the Lions now appear capable of kicking winning scores.
That won't be easy of course against a Naracoorte side which will still have the likes of Sellars, Prebble, Symons and Gould around the middle and Logan and Bruggeman up forward.
Lions supporters can look forward to a competitive game, but Naracoorte will still be a hot favourite to get the points.
Mundulla v Bordertown
It's been a while since a game between these two traditional rivals has carried so much importance.
Mundulla has definitely had the wood on the Tatiara's other major powerhouse in recent years, but now the young Roosters would be licking their lips at the prospect of knocking over the old foe.
Bordertown has played some inspired football of late, winning five of their last six with the only loss being a heart-breaker to top team Kyby.
Mundulla has also been great, of course, and the biggest hurdle for Bordertown to clear will be the Mundulla coach Heath Thorpe.
Thorpe is back in his best form at the goalfront, with 21 goals in the past two weeks, and whoever gets the job of manning him will hold the key to the game.
Both midfielders are strong and in-form, and will be very keen to butt heads in what is always a hard-hitting and keenly contested match-up.
There's nothing to split the sides and with third place possibly up for grabs, the result is vitally important for both.
B/Districts v Kybybolite
Top against bottom is never a tantalising prospect for the lower ranked side, and it's even more difficult to take when they are old rivals.
Borders have had a tough season and won't find it any easier against the high-flying Tigers, who have conceded the least number of points in nine games this season, while Borders have conceded the most.
Add to that Kyby's multi-pronged forward line, with coach Scott Carberry and Sam McCracken supported by Jamie Tidy and Kelvin Cook, and you have a potentially dangerous situation.
Borders appear to be doing the right things under new coach Dean Woosnam, but developing players and improving as a team will be higher on the agenda than getting wins on the board this season and that's the best the Eagles can hope for this week.
• Ex-Border Districts coach Cam McKinnon has signed with Horsham district league club Edenhope Apsley for the remainder of 2010.
McKinnon and Borders parted ways on June 6 after the Eagles lost their first seven games of the season and he was offered an open clearance.
McKinnon reportedly has an injury at present but is planning to debut for his new club in coming weeks.
He was a two-time KNTFL team of the year representative while playing with Bordertown and has also previously played with Dimboola in Wimmera league.

Round ten summary thanks to The Naracoorte Herald (29 Jun 2010)

A GREAT round of KNTFL matches produced some important results on Saturday.
The most significant was Bordertown's hard-fought win over Lucindale, which keeps Bordertown in with a chance of getting a double chance in the finals.
The Roosters are now fourth on the ladder and play third-ranked Mundulla this week in a big game.
Saturday's game was a high-class thriller, with Bordertown leading by just six points at three quarter time and holding on against a gallant Lucindale by 15 points, although the margin was flattering with Bordertown goaling on the siren.
Key forwards for both sides were again in good touch, with Michael Crilly and Clint Barras sharing 10 goals for the victors and Nigel Fiegert kicking six for the Roos.
Kingston kept alive its finals hopes with a tense 10-point win over Kaniva/Leeor United to get their first points from a home game in nearly 12 months.
Small forward Trevor Rigney kicked seven goals and the league's leading goalkicker Stuart Cooper added four despite spending time in defence as the Saints held off a late Cougars charge to win a nail-biter.
Naracoorte won the clash of last year's grand finalists in emphatic fashion, Sam Logan kicking six goals on return from injury and the Demons joining Kybybolite on top of the ladder with a 75-point triumph.
Padthaway battled hard and ran a scare through third-ranked Mundulla, but ultimately coach Heath Thorpe's 10 goals were enough to see Mundulla over the line. Matt Lampard kicked seven goals for Padthaway.
Penola continued Border Districts' winless run with a comfortable 10-goal result to win their third game of the year.

MUNDULLA'S THORPE DOMINATES AGAIN

ROUND TEN THOUGHTS WITH TERRY WILLOUGHBY

For the 2nd week in a row Mundulla coach Heath Thorpe was the difference between winning and losing. Another bag of goals, 10 this week, gave nightmares to improving Padthaway. The Moots were always in front but the Lions played enough good football to make a contest. Mundulla’s greater spread of talent was always able to kick goals when Padthaway threatened just before half-time and a 7 goal third quarter stretched the lead to 33 points. Nick Davis was named best for the Moots and Boyd Packer booted 4 goals. Trent Grosser, Darcy Boyanton and Mark Edwards played strongly to keep the Lions in the game and Matt Lampard finished with 7 goals but Mundulla got away in the last quarter to win by 46 pts.

Naracoorte decisively ended any chance of Keith reviving the finals hopes with a 75 point thrashing. Too many goal-kicking forwards were the problem and Keith couldn’t quell them. Sam Logan, 6 Brett Gould 4 and James Dixon 3 goals finished of the work of a dominant mid–field led by Tom Prebble, Rob Jones and Angus Bruggeman. Andrew Wilson and defender Nick Hunt battled hard for Keith.

Border Districts remain winless after going down to Penola by 60 pts. Penola raced to 43 point lead at ¼ time and despite a 7 goal 2nd quarter burst by Borders were never threatened. The consistent Luke Duncan was best a-field , Kane Ransom and Josh Gale were strong contributors and the team had 11 goal-kickers.

Bordertown’s improved form continued with a narrow but impressive 15 point win over Lucindale. The Roosters trailed by 19 pts at ¼ time of a high scoring game. They narrowed the margin to just 4 points at half-time with ruckman Clint Williams and Brad Warncken doing well. Both sides went goal for goal through the 3rd term but Bordertown were getting on top. Mick Crilly 6 goals and Clint Barras 4 were good around the forward line, Luke Exton and Brad Valance both had good games. Lucindale faded slightly at the finish and looked exposed without major contributions from Snowball and McGrath. Former coach Aaron Smart, Shane McGurk and Nigel Fiegert, 7 goals were among their best.

Erratic Kingston had a narrow 10 point win over Kaniva-Leeor United who couldn’t withstand a 7 goal third quarter burst. The game was close throughout the 1st half with neither able to take control although Kingston’s forwards Trevor Rigney and Stuart Cooper looked more dangerous. Kingston surged to a 27 point lead and then resisted a last qtr fightback by KLU. Trevor Rigney with 7 goals was best for Kingston, Michael Baker, Jamie Austin and Cooper also played well. Dylan Williams was in everything for KLU and booted 6 goals, Matt Skrypek again played but KLU’s finals hopes took a serious dent.

Round 10 scores - June 26, 2010

MUNDULLA 7.3, 10.5, 17.8, 23.12 (150)
PADTHAWAY 2.3, 6.9, 11.11, 15.14 (104)
BEST, MUNDULLA: Nicky DAVIS, Heath THORPE, Boyd PACKER, Jason HILLIER, Jarred WIESE, Jake McGRICE. PADTHAWAY: Trent GROSSER, S TOWNSEND, Darcy Boyanton, Mark EDWARDS, Andrew CHEER, George Verco. GOALS, MUNDULLA: Heath THORPE 10, Boyd PACKER 4, Jarred WIESE 3, Jason MILLIGAN 2, Craig WIESE 1, Nicky DAVIS 1, Darren WIESE 1, Jake McGRICE 1. PADTHAWAY: Matt Lampard 7, George Verco 3, Darren Francis 2, Will Verco 1, Kieron Hicks 1, Andrew CHEER 1

NARACOORTE 5.4, 11.7, 16.12, 21.19 (145)

KEITH 3.2, 6.4, 9.6, 10.10 (70)

BEST, NARACOORTE : Tom PREBBLE, Robert JONES, Angus BRUGGEMANN, Nicholas BOON, Sam LOGAN, Kane DONNELLY. KEITH: Andrew Wilson, Nick HUNT, Luke NICOLAI, Henry JOHNSON, Luke COUSINS, Reece Francis. GOALS, NARACOORTE: Sam LOGAN 6, Brett GOULD 4, James DIXON 3, Michael PARKER 2, Tyrone Scullion 2, Mitchell HARTREE 2, Robert JONES 2 KEITH: Jason SNAJDAR 4, Timothy GILL 1, Anthony DENSLEY 1, Paul MAKIN 1, Reece Francis 1, Shane Semler 1, Andrew Wilson 1

KINGSTON 4.4, 8.5, 15.5, 18.12 (120)

K L UNITED 5.1, 8.6, 10.8, 17.8 (110)

BEST, KINGSTON: Trevor Rigney, Michael BAKER, Jamie AUSTIN, Stuart Cooper, TRAVIS TEDMANSON, Craig COOPER. K L UNITED: Dylan WILLIAMS, Matthew SKRYPEK, Travis LANNIN, MATT CORSTENS, Jarrod KROOKS, Chris Tuckwell. GOALS, KINGSTON: Trevor Rigney 7, Stuart Cooper 4, Sam Braidwood 2, Craig WATSON 2, Jamie AUSTIN 1, Michael BAKER 1, TRAVIS TEDMANSON 1 K L UNITED: Dylan WILLIAMS 6, Chris Tuckwell 3, Shain VIVIAN 3, MATT CORSTENS 2, Robert FIACCHI 1, Peter FIACCHI 1, ANDREW PHILP 1

PENOLA 6.7, 10.11, 13.16, 17.19 (121)

Border Districts 0.0, 7.2, 8.3, 9.7 (61)

BEST, PENOLA : Luke Duncan, Kane Ransom, Josh GALE, Lachlan JONES, Simon MERRETT, Shannon FULLERTON. Border Districts: David Vickery, Rick Adams, Joe Colley, Travis Colley, Bradley ELLIS, Josh Batson. GOALS, PENOLA: Adam Merrett 3, Shaun MINGE 2, Kane Ransom 2, Philip LAMBERT 2, Lachlan JONES 2, Simon MERRETT 1, Daniel Hutchings 1, Richard ATTIWILL 1, Matthew Neilson 1, Shannon FULLERTON 1, Paul Mullen 1. Border Districts - PAUL SMITH 3, SHAUN TAYLOR 3, Clinton ROBINSON 3

BORDERTOWN 5.2, 10.7, 14.11, 18.13 (121)

LUCINDALE 8.3, 11.5, 14.5, 16.10 (106)

BEST, BORDERTOWN : Bradley WARNCKEN, Clinton WILLIAMS, Luke EXTON, Michael CRILLY, Bradley VALLANCE, Jamie GROSSER. LUCINDALE: Aaron SMART, Shane MCGURK, Kyle PRESS, Brad MALONEY, Bryce SMITH, Nigel FEIGERT. GOALS, BORDERTOWN: ichael CRILLY 6, Clint BARRAS 4, Jamie GROSSER 3, Tim HARKNESS 2, Bradley VALLANCE 2, Ryan PAGET 1. LUCINDALE : Nigel FEIGERT 6, Todd PRICE 3, Travis WARE 2, Shane MCGURK 2, Gerard MCGARTH 1, Ben TEAKLE 1, Aaron SMART 1

ROUND TEN PREVIEW THANKS TO THE NARACOORTE HERALD.......June 24, 2010

RESULTS from this weekend's round 10 matches will have huge impact on whether anyone can dislodge Bordertown from fifth spot on the KNTFL ladder. While the season has only just reached the halfway point, if Bordertown wins and Kaniva/Leeor United loses this weekend, it will open a two-win gap between the top five and the rest of the field. With eight rounds left in the season, that would be a large deficit to make up for United, or indeed Kingston and Keith, who are one win further behind. Ladder leader Kybybolite has the bye this week.

Padthaway v Mundulla

The best thing Padthaway can do in this situation, having only one win to its credit and playing a red-hot opponent third on the ladder, is just open up the game and go for it.

The Lions are very unlikely to win, but they can still get a lot out of it by asking the younger runners to take the game on, play some free-flowing footy and give talented forwards Verco, Francis and Lampard the chance to kick a competitive score.

They can also fast-track a young defender's education by giving him the awesome job on Mundulla coach Heath Thorpe, who is coming off an 11-goal game and is in career-best form. The Lions won't win but could have a good learning experience.

Keith v Naracoorte

The clash of last year's heavyweights unfortunately is unlikely to live up to that billing with Keith having dropped right off the premiership pace.

Naracoorte have surprisingly not been putting opposition sides away, bur rather have just been doing enough to get across the line.

And that will be enough this week as well, and the Keith supporters on the veranda will be rendered largely mute as their side is handled comfortably by a quality team.

Kingston v K/L United

If either of these sides is going to make something of this season, it has to start this week.

United started the season superbly but in its past five games has beaten only wooden spoon favourite Border Districts, while Kingston has lost its last three and is also looking at shelving this year's finals plans.

United has been the big improver this year and recruits such as Pegler, Fiacchi, Corstens and Skrypek are among the best players in the league, but depth is the issue.

At the other end of the league, Kingston seemingly has the tools but not the elbow grease to put it all together. The Saints have very good on-ballers and arguably the league's best full forward, but have lost a couple of games they might have won which has hurt them.

On their own ground they've been disappointing in recent years, but they need to start stringing some wins together and should get the points here.

Penola v B/Districts

New Borders coach Dean Woosnam gets a much better chance for his first win here than against an in-form Mundulla side last week, but it will still be far from easy.

Penola can be very competitive despite its lowly ranking and trump cards Adam Merrett up forward and Luke Duncan and Kane Ransom in the middle need to be watched.

Borders would need an out-of-the-box effort from Paul Smith and his fellow Adelaide travellers to notch their first win, and while it's not all that likely, it's also not out of the question.

Bordertown v Lucindale

Just how good these two sides are will be tested here.

Lucindale has won its last five, including a win over Naracoorte but the others against lower-ranked sides, while Bordertown has won four of its last five with the only loss a heart-breaker to league leader Kybybolite.

Lucindale is fourth on the ladder, Bordertown fifth, and there appears very little between them.

Lucindale probably has the star quality at the top end, through the likes of McGrath, Graetz, Snowball, Smart and Fiegert, but Bordertown has a very even spread of players who can put together good team football.

If the Roosters can find match-ups for the aforementioned Lucindale players, they could win and really firm up that fifth spot on the ladder.

MORE ON ROUND NINE THANKS TO THE NARACOORTE HERALD

FOR the first time this season, the KNTFL's top five has a break on the rest of the competition. Bordertown's win and Kaniva/Leeor United's loss last weekend means Bordertown has breathing space in fifth spot, while the top four are even more entrenched.

The match of the round last weekend was probably at Naracoorte, where the much-improved K/L United took it right up to the reigning premiers. United kicked the first four goals of the game and were still right in it to half time, but as is usually the case, Naracoorte fired when it needed to and pulled away to a 27-point win in the end.

Mundulla was the most impressive winner for the weekend, thrashing Keith by 66 points. Coach Heath Thorpe kicked 11 goals as his side dominated the first and last quarters to crush last year's grand finalists, for whom finals aspirations are now slipping away.

Border Districts were playing under new coach Dean Woosnam for the first time, but that didn't help as they were belted by the biggest margin of the round, 111 points, by Bordertown. The Roosters got 15 goals out of forwards Tim Harkness and Clint Barras in a commanding performance.

Kybybolite was inaccurate but still managed to put Penola away by 92 points, while Lucindale retained the Ryan Cup with a 62-point win over Padthaway.

KYBY STAY IN TOP SPOT - Round 9 wrap from Terry Willoughby

Kybybolite retained top spot in the KNTFL with an easy 92 point win over Penola. The Tigers won in practically every position and but for inaccuracy could have won by more. Scott Carberry with 6 goals headed a list of 11 goal-kickers. Mid-fielders Jamie Bittner and Ciaran Buckley won a bundle of possessions, Kelvin Cook and Tom Pearce also played well. Consistent Luke Duncan and Shannon Fullerton battled solidly for Penola but they were outclassed.

A new coach in Dean Woosnam didn’t improve Border Districts form and Bordertown belted them by 111 points. The Roosters dominated from the start and led by 87 points by ½ time. Borders kicked some token goals in the 3rd quarter but Bordertown responded to increase their lead to 94 points. Tim Harkness, 8 and Clint Barras 7 goals were too good for any opponents that Borders had and Clint Williams and Kane Cuthbertson also starred. Border Districts remain winless.

Lucindale were never seriously challenged by Padthaway and outscored the Lions in every quarter. Powerful mid-fielder Gerard McGrath booted his usual bag of 6 goals, Mark Snowball was the best player and dominated around the ground for Lucindale, the McCarthy’s, Kane, Jamie and Daniel made the best players list a family affair. Lucindale cemented a top place spot with the 62 point win.

Mundulla coach Heath Thorpe dominated the game against former power team Keith and finished with 11 goals. The Moots blew their opponents away in the 1st quarter and never looked back. Keith briefly challenged in the 2nd term but the margin was still 40 points at ½ time. Thorpe continued to make the Keith defenders look inept and anything that he missed Jon Mock and Grady Obst got. Obst won many possessions through the mid-field and Jarred Wiese played well but it was Thorpe’s day. Jason Snajdar booted 6 goals, Reece Francis and Luke Cousins tried hard for Keith whose finals hopes now appear forlorn. Mundulla now seem a serious threat and hold third spot on the ladder.

Naracoorte and Kaniva-Leeor United had a tight battle in the 1st half with the Demons holding a 4 point lead. Dangerous forwards James Dixon and Nigel Block were difficult to contain and the Naracoorte defenders shut down KLU’s goal-kickers to hold a 19 pt lead at the last change. KLU battled on tenaciously but Naracoorte had too much talent and won by 27 points

Round 9 scores - June 19, 2010

MUNDULLA 8.6, 13.11, 16.13, 24.16 (160)

KEITH 2.2, 8.3, 12.7, 14.10 (94)

BEST, MUNDULLA - Heath THORPE, Grady OBST, Jarred WIESE, Nathan MILLIGAN, Tyne EXCELL, Jake McGRICE. Keith : Reece Francis, Luke COUSINS, Nathan Heinrich, Henry JOHNSON, Jason SNAJDAR, Paul MAKIN. GOALS, MUNDULLA: Heath THORPE 11, Jonathan MOCK 4, Grady OBST 3, Jarvis WEBB 1, Daniel MEAD 1, Trent REILLY 1, Darren WIESE 1, Tyne EXCELL 1, Jake McGRICE 1. KEITH: Jason SNAJDAR 6, Henry JOHNSON 3, Paul MAKIN 2, Timothy GILL 1, Anthony DENSLEY 1, Reece Francis 1

NARACOORTE 5.2, 10.5, 13.12, 18.15 (123)

K L UNITED 5.0, 10.1, 11.5, 15.6 (96)

BEST, NARACOORTE: Nigel BLOCK, Nathan SMITH, James DIXON, Nicholas BOON, Tyrone Scullion, Tom PREBBLE. GOALS, NARACOORTE: James DIXON 5, Nigel BLOCK 4, Tyrone Scullion 3, Brett GOULD 2, Robert JONES 1, Michael PARKER 1, Sam WILLSON 1, Jeffrey SELLARS 1. K L UNITED: Dylan WILLIAMS 5, Robert FIACCHI 2, DANIEL PEGLER 1, JOHN JARRED 1, Brad Witmitz 1, Matthew SKRYPEK 1, Chris Tuckwell 1, Joel WAGG 1, Shain VIVIAN 1, Peter FIACCHI 1

LUCINDALE 5.1, 7.5, 15.8, 19.9 (123)

PADTHAWAY 2.1, 3.1, 5.4, 9.7 (61)

BEST, LUCINDALE: Mark SNOWBALL, Kane MCCARTHY, Jamie MCCARTHY, Bryce SMITH, Ben TEAKLE, Daniel MCCARTHY. PADTHAWAY: ieron Hicks, Jay McDonald, Bradley GIBBS, Andrew ORTON, Trent GROSSER, George Verco. GOALS, LUCINDALE: Gerard MCGARTH 6, Bryce SMITH 5, Travis WARE 2, Nigel FEIGERT 2, Aaron SMART 1, Daniel MCCARTHY 1, Floyd FREEMAN 1, Nathan CLARKE 1. PADTHAWAY: Andrew CHEER 3, George Verco 3, John ORTON 1, Trent GROSSER 1, Mark EDWARDS 1

BORDERTOWN 5.5, 14.9, 21.11, 26.18 (174)

Border Districts 0.3, 2.6, 6.7, 9.9 (63)

BEST, BORDERTOWN: Clinton WILLIAMS, Tim HARKNESS, Clint BARRAS, Kane CUTHBERTSON, Quinton McCALLUM, Nathan CLARK. Border Districts: Paul LIGHT, David Vickery, Jack BURNS, Rick Adams, Chris Nicholls, Rodney OLIVER. GOALS, BORDERTOWN: Tim HARKNESS 8, Clint BARRAS 7, Daniel BARTLETT 3, Michael CRILLY 2, Clinton WILLIAMS 2, Jamie GROSSER 1, Bradley VALLANCE 1, Luke EXTON 1, Quinton McCALLUM 1. Border Districts: Sean KING 2, Chris Nicholls 2, Jack BURNS 1, Rick Adams 1, PAUL SMITH 1, Clinton ROBINSON 1, Jason SAUNDERSON 1

KYBYBOLITE 6.9, 12.12, 14.17, 20.22 (142)

PENOLA 2.0, 5.1, 7.2, 8.2 (50)

BEST, KYBYBOLITE: Jamie BITTNER, Ciaran Buckley, Kelvin Cook, Thomas PEARCE, Tim PANNELL, George MCWATERS. PENOLA: Luke Duncan, Shannon FULLERTON, Adam Merrett, Kane Ransom, Alex MOORE, Ben Anderson. GOALS, KYBYBOLITE: Scott CARBERRY 6, Ciaran Buckley 4, Jamie BITTNER 2, Tony OLSEN 1, David ARNOLD 1, George MCWATERS 1, Luke CROSSLING 1, Kelvin Cook 1, Tim PANNELL 1, Nicholas MARK 1, Mark SLOTEGRAAF 1. PENOLA: Adam Merrett 4, Nathan Reeves 2, paul Mullen 1, Tom CLAYFIELD 1

ROUND 9 PREVIEWS

from The Naracoorte Herald

KNTFL footballers will get down to the business of playing the second half of the season on Saturday after resting over the long weekend.Round 10 sees some potentially important games, including sides trying to hold on to finals hopes and still-winless Border Districts turning out for the first time under a new coach.

Mundulla v Keith

This game is potentially the match of the round, and represents a massive turning point in the season for Keith.The Crows are one win and percentage outside the top five, and playing against another side right up there, they need to win to keep touch. If they lose this game, it could be curtains for 2010.Mundulla has been a pace-setter all season and has continued to sail along nicely without injured forward Luke Wise.If he's back, he will add to the worry for Keith, but if not, coach Heath Thorpe and surprise packet Boyd Packer will provide enough firepower to get the Moots over the line anyway.

Naracoorte v K/L United

United is still on the cusp of the top five, but in reality they are not quite there and they are likely to slip a few rungs down the ladder in coming rounds.Naracoorte has several good players out with injury but has still been doing enough most weeks to keep winning, which is what good sides do.K/L has three or four players who are among the best going around, but depth is poor and against Naracoorte and other top sides, that won't do. A solid win to the Demons.

Lucindale v Padthaway

Lucindale will as usual be favourite to take home the Ryan Cup, but Padthaway would have taken plenty of confidence from a last-start win and could surprise a few sides in coming weeks.The Lions have a potentially high-scoring forward line when George Verco, Matt Lampard and Darren Francis are all playing, and with ruckman Trent Grosser feeding Andrew Cheer and co in the middle, they can get good supply.Lucindale still deserves favouritism after winning its last five, and even though Nigel Fiegert might not be a starter thanks to ongoing injury worries, the Roos should have enough depth to handle Padthaway.

B/Districts v Bordertown

Who knows what Borders will produce under new coach Dean Woosnam? The Eagles reached crisis point with a bad loss and parting ways with their coach the week before the bye, and president Andrew Rohrlach at the time promised that Bordertown had better "look out" in the next game.Bordertown is playing good, steady football and with some luck could have beaten top team Kyby in the last round, so the Roosters will be primed to win this one and hold on to a top five spot.Borders will be very keen to impress their new leader, and could cause some anxious moments if all their Adelaide recruits fire on the same day, but Bordertown should be too composed and win a hard-fought game.

Kybybolite v Penola

Kyby and Penola have had some ding-dong battles over the years, and usually it doesn't matter where the two sides are on the ladder.But this time everything points to a Kyby win. Despite a hard-fought game against Bordertown last start, the Tigers have taken all before them in recent times and on their home ground, with gun goalkickers Scott Carberry and Sam McCracken in fine touch, they should kick a winning score.Penola has its share of danger players, and Adam Merrett will loom large in the forward line, but depth across the whole field will give victory to the home side.

DEAN WOOSNAM TO COACH BORDERS

FOR REST OF 2010 SEASON

Wednesday 9 June 2010 (from The Naracoorte Herald)

BORDER Districts Football Club has a new A grade coach after a tumultuous day of KNTFL football at Padthaway last Saturday.

Player unrest with playing coach Cam McKinnon boiled over during and after the A grade game which culminated in an old-fashioned "lock-in" where president Andrew Rohrlach said "some pretty heated words were said".

McKinnon resigned at an emergency meeting on Sunday, and former Naracoorte premiership coach Dean Woosnam, who led the interleague side to a strong win a fortnight ago, was appointed as his non-playing replacement later in the day.

Appointed at the start of this year, McKinnon held the job for only seven games – which produced seven losses for the Eagles – before the club reached its "lowest point" with a loss to the also winless Padthaway on Saturday.

In a prepared media statement, Rohrlach said Saturday's 14-goal loss to Padthaway was "the lowest point in possibly 30-plus years".

On Tuesday, he told the Herald: "I don't think I've ever seen a group of players who had lost the drive to perform for a coach.

"I've never seen a bunch of blokes shut down like that.

"I said to him Sunday 'They weren't responding to you at all'."

The unacceptable loss to Padthaway brought the issue to a head, but Rohrlach said tension had been building between McKinnon and some of the players for several weeks, and they boiled over at halftime of Saturday's game.

He denied rumours of a physical altercation, but said: "At halftime one of the players had an argument with the coach.

"There was no brawl, (but) it was a pretty loud argument.

"They'd been chipping away at one another on the field for some time and on Saturday it just boiled over in the rooms."

After the game, some home truths were told when the coach, players and officials spoke behind closed doors in the changerooms.

"There were some heated words said and a lot of rumours and innuendo about blokes pushing and shoving, but we kept a pretty good handle on that.

"Basically, it came down to the players weren't responding (to McKinnon) and in the lockout it was clear that was the biggest problem."

He said despite rumours that players weren't happy with McKinnon's punishing training sessions, that wasn't a major factor.

"There was nothing wrong with his training regime at all, he's a personal trainer," he said. "I've been through worse training regimes in my time.

"I think the length of trainings was a problem, he'd keep them out there to 9 o'clock."

Rohrlach said after a crisis meeting with the club committee on Sunday, he had then met with McKinnon and after a long discussion McKinnon decided his position was untenable and resigned.

The club decided it had to move quickly to secure a replacement, and club patrons Peter Mueller and John Adams were sent to approach Woosnam.

"After a lengthy meeting, Dean decided to take the job on, a huge relief for us," Rohrlach said.

"The best thing our club can do now is prove that we are worthy of Dean's leadership."

Rohrlach said the appointment had generated great enthusiasm at the club and he felt it would be "look out Bordertown" when Borders played their next game on June 19 after the long weekend break.

"I spent all day on the phone (Monday) mending fences (and) every player's going to stay with us, and they're very excited," he said.

"They'll be here in a fortnight's time.

"We all know that Dean's a good bloke and a pretty fantastic coach, the results prove that.

"He will only do it for the rest of the season at this stage (but) I will be trying my best to secure him beyond that."

Rohrlach said McKinnon had been offered an open clearance to "wherever he wants" and his coaching contract would be paid out.

"We definitely don't want to hang Cam out to dry, because he is a good bloke.

"I backed Cam 100 per cent right up to Sunday when we had our meeting and it's not about saying this is all Cam's fault. We wish him well."

After a decorated SANFL career, Woosnam was playing coach of Naracoorte for four seasons from 2003-06, including a grand final loss in 2005 and a premiership win in 2006.

He moved to Queensland after the premiership win but returned earlier this year and is living in Naracoorte.

ROUND 8 UPDATE WITH THE NARACOORTE HERALD

PADTHAWAY recorded its first win for the season on a tumultuous day for Border Districts on Saturday.

On a day when Borders playing coach Cam McKinnon resigned, his team was smashed by the previously winless Padthaway to the tune of 14 goals. The first game of the year for key forward George Verco and return of experienced campaigners Matt Lampard and Mark Edwards proved the right ingredient for Padthaway, which dominated the game from the start and enjoyed a crushing win. For Borders, a well known personality in the League will be named as a replacement for McKinnon in the very near future.

Lucindale's stocks continue to rise, with the Roos having their fifth straight win and moving to fourth spot on the ladder.

This time it was Keith which suffered at the Roos' hands, with the game virtually over at half time thanks to a dominant midfield and goalkicking options such as the in-form Gerard McGrath (six), returning Travis Ware (five) and Todd Price (four).

Mundulla firmed up its top three chances with a comfortable 48-point win over Kaniva/Leeor United, coach Heath Thorpe kicking eight goals.

Kybybolite and Bordertown put on an entertaining shootout, with the ladder-leading Tigers just prevailing by two goals.

Kyby coach Scott Carberry kicked six goals and Bordertown pair Michael Crilly and Brad Vallance shared 11 majors.

Naracoorte outlasted a spirited Kingston side to win by 40 points and hang on to second spot on the ladder.

PLENTY TO THINK ABOUT FOR TEAMS IN KNTFL

Round 8 report from Terry Willoughby
Has the bubble burst for Kaniva-Leeor United? Are powerhouse Keith on the slide? And Padthaway win their 1st game for the season! Lucindale jumped Keith in the 1st quarter and never looked back as their half forwards and mid-fielders ran all over their opponents. McGrath, Ware and Price kicked goals at will as Lucindale raced to a 52 point lead at half time. The procession continued through the 3rd quarter as Lucindale went further ahead. Keith managed 5 junk-time goals in the last quarter but Lucindale coasted in by 77 points. Kane and Jamie McCarthy, Aaron Smart and Floyd Freeman starred for the winners. Keith need to rediscover their winning formula or they will miss the finals, at present they sit precariously in 8th spot. Mundulla edged closer to the top of the ladder with a strong win over Kaniva-Leeor United, who have dropped form in recent weeks. Coach Heath Thorpe was outstanding on the forward line and booted 8 goals for Mundulla. Trent Reilly, 3 and Boyd Packer 4 goals were excellent as well as KLU’s defence came unstuck. Grady Obst, on the ball, dominated for Mundulla who won by 48 pts. KLU, after an excellent start to the season, need to regroup. Peter Fiacchi at half back and Matt Skrypek tried to lift the team but they had many players down on form. Recent form suggested that Border Districts would breakthrough for their first win but it was Padthaway who were hungrier. The Lions started strongly and never gave Borders a sniff. Borders were kept to just 2 goals as Padthaway raced to a 53 point lead by halfway. The Lions seized the opportunity to have a big win and kept up the momentum to win easily by 84 points, their biggest win in years. On-ballers and mid-fielders, Andrew Cheer, Paul Elsden and Tron Congdon led the charge in a strong team effort. Borders were left lamenting a lost chance for victory. Flaky Kingston gave Naracoorte a strong challenge in the 1st half but as in previous weeks, faded when the reigning premier applied the pressure. Kingston trailed by only 4 points but Naracoorte steadily drew clear with a more potent forward line which finished off better as the mid-fielders took over. Naracoorte controlled play in the last qtr to win comfortably by 40 points. Class players Rob Jones, Mitch Hartree and Leigh Symons were high in Naracoortes’ best and 10 players kicked goals. Craig Cooper defended stoutly for Kingston in a losing battle. Kybybolite had a hard fought 12 point win over Bordertown. Scott Carberry gave Kyby a strong target at full forward and they took a handy lead of 25 points at quarter time. Bordertown came back strongly through Brad Vallance and Daniel Bartlett but Kyby still led 23 points with Cairan Buckley and Adam Vasey playing well. Bordertown’s straight kicking kept them in touch but Kelvin Cook at half-back was a stumbling block and Kyby took a 21 point lead into the last quarter. Bordertown continued to press strongly but Kyby had a better spread of talent and held on 12 points.

KOWREE, NARACOORTE & TATIARA - Round 8
LUCINDALE 8.3, 13.5, 18.12, 23.15 (153)

KEITH 2.0, 5.1, 7.1, 12.4 (76)

BEST, LUCINDALE: Kane MCCARTHY, Aaron SMART, Jamie MCCARTHY, Floyd FREEMAN, Sam GRAETZ, Shane MCGURK. KEITH: Jason Smith, Luke COUSINS, Henry JOHNSON, Jonathon Wilson, Steven MOLINEUX, Paul MAKIN . GOALS, LUCINDALE : Gerard MCGARTH 6, Travis WARE 5, Todd PRICE 4, Aaron SMART 3, Ben TEAKLE 2, Bryce SMITH 1, Sam GRAETZ 1, Floyd FREEMAN 1. KEITH: Paul MAKIN 3, Jason SNAJDAR 3, Jason Smith 2, Henry JOHNSON 1, Luke COUSINS 1, Adam BRADLEY 1, Luke NICOLAI 1

MUNDULLA 5.2, 11.7, 15.12, 20.15 (135)

K L UNITED 3.3, 6.7, 8.8, 12.15 (87)

BEST, MUNDULLA: Trent REILLY, Grady OBST, Heath THORPE, Boyd PACKER, Jarred WIESE, Lachlan DUELL. K L UNITED: Peter FIACCHI, Matthew SKRYPEK, MATT CORSTENS, Shane DODSON, Shain VIVIAN, ANDREW PHILP. GOALS, MUNDULLA : Heath THORPE 8, Boyd PACKER 4, Trent REILLY 3, Jake McGRICE 1, James HINGE 1, Darren WIESE 1, Tyne EXCELL 1, Benjamin DOUGLAS 1. K L UNITED: Robert FIACCHI 3, Shain VIVIAN 3, Peter FIACCHI 2, Chris Tuckwell 2, Dylan WILLIAMS 1, Travis LANNIN 1

PADTHAWAY 6.4, 10.8, 14.12, 18.14 (122)

Border Districts 2.1, 2.3, 3.9, 4.14 (38)

BEST, PADTHAWAY: Andrew CHEER, Paul ELSDEN, Tron CONGDON, Darren Francis, Kynan Mann, Mark EDWARDS. Border Districts : SHAUN TAYLOR, Paul LIGHT, Rick Adams, Clinton ROBINSON, Sean KING, Daniel Crabb. GOALS, PADTHAWAY: George Verco 5, Matt Lampard 4, Kynan Mann 2, Andrew CHEER 2, Jay McDonald 1, Tron CONGDON 1, Scott Galloway 1, Darcy Boyanton 1, Darren Francis 1. Border Districts: Chris Nicholls 1, PAUL SMITH 1, Clinton ROBINSON 1, Luke CLAYSON 1

KYBYBOLITE 6.4, 11.9, 15.14, 18.15 (123)

BORDERTOWN 2.3, 8.4, 13.5, 17.9 (111)

BEST, KYBYBOLITE: Ciaran Buckley, Adam VASEY, Kelvin Cook, Ray JAENSCH, Jamie BITTNER, Thomas PEARCE. BORDERTOWN: Daniel BARTLETT, Bradley VALLANCE, Josh BARRAS, Michael CRILLY, Luke EXTON, Tim HARKNESS. GOALS, KYBYBOLITE: Scott CARBERRY 6, Ciaran Buckley 3, Luke CROSSLING 2, Jamie TIDY 2, Mark SLOTEGRAAF 2, Brad REDDING 1, Samuel McCracken 1, Stuart SHEPHERD 1. BORDERTOWN: Michael CRILLY 6, Bradley VALLANCE 5, Tim HARKNESS 2, Daniel BARTLETT 2, Josh BARRAS 1, Clinton WILLIAMS 1

NARACOORTE 3.6, 8.6, 11.12, 16.16 (112)

KINGSTON 4.2, 7.8, 9.8, 10.12 (72)

BEST, NARACOORTE: Robert JONES, Mitchell HARTREE, Leigh SYMONS, Nigel BLOCK, Nicholas BOON, Tom PREBBLE. KINGSTON : Craig COOPER, Sam Mahony, Michael BAKER, Dylan RICHARDSON, Ashley STENNER, Craig WATSON. GOALS, NARACOORTE: James DIXON 3, TIM McINTYRE 3, Robert JONES 2, Michael PARKER 2, Tom PREBBLE 1, Nigel BLOCK 1, Tyrone Scullion 1, Nathan SMITH 1, Leigh SYMONS 1, Angus BRUGGEMANN 1. KINGSTON: Stuart Cooper 3, Ashley STENNER 3, Sam INGLIS 2, Craig WATSON 1, Sam Braidwood 1

Round Eight preview by The Naracoorte Herald - Thursday June 3, 2010

ALL five match-ups in this Saturday's KNTFL round will hold plenty of interest and could conceivably go either way. Four of the games involve sides fighting for a top five spot, while the fifth between Padthaway and Border Districts will result in one of those sides having their first win of the year.
Keith v Lucindale
Lucindale has bounced back remarkably well from a poor start to the year, and with wins in their last four games, they have a real chance here to further stake their claims on a top five spot.
Keith are ranked about the same on the ladder and really need a win against a legitimate finals contender to give them the confidence that they deserve to be up there, too.
Both sides are filled with young players finding their way this season, but also have enough key players to guide the ship. Keith has two of the more dangerous forwards going around in Jason Snajdar and Paul Makin, but have been getting beaten around the middle.
Lucindale has big ruckman Mark Snowball to feed his on-ballers, and with Nigel Fiegert and the red-hot Gerard McGrath up forward, the Roos have two great targets. They might just get over the line.
K/L United v Mundulla
United was desperately unlucky to go down last week, and the task doesn't get any easier this week against a very solid and consistent Mundulla side.
The Moots might have been missing ace goalkicker Luke Wiese last week, but they still handled finals contender Kingston comfortably, and they will present real problems for the Cougars this week.
K/L will need to be at the top of their game, with Pegler and Robert Fiacchi showing the way with the help of new recruit Dylan Williams, but even then this one might be beyond them.
Padthaway v B/Districts
Neither of these sides has tasted victory yet in 2010, but Borders have been so close a handful of times and they look set to break their duck this time around.
Borders have been very competitive in nearly all their games, with recruits such as Paul Smith and Jack Burns shining, but they've just failed to stop the other side scoring well enough to get the points.
That task will be a little easier on Saturday, as Padthaway is statistically the lowest scoring side in the competition and if Borders can kick the 16 or 17 goals they have most other weeks, it will be enough to get them a win.
Bordertown v Kybybolite
The unpredictable Bordertown against a Kyby team in red-hot form is a recipe for an enthralling game.
If Bordertown come to play, they can match it with the best, but if they don't, this could be a one-sided game.
Kyby's midfield is in great touch and is supplying the gun forward line with Tidy, Carberry, McCracken and Cook with ample opportunities to kick big scores, and it's this multi-faceted attack which will be hardest for Bordertown to deal with.
The Roosters will need to score lots of goals to match it with the league leaders, which means Crilly, Warncken, Clint Barras and Harkness will have to be at the top of their game. In what could be a shootout, Kyby should kick enough goals to win again.
Kingston v Naracoorte
Naracoorte has had its troubles against Kingston in recent years, and the Demons won't be taking this game at the seaside lightly.
The majority of Demons players have just had a fortnight off with the interleague game and then the bye last week, so they'll be keen to get into it, and they'll have to turn up to play as the young Kingston side can really get its skates on if they're in the game early.
Stuart Cooper is obviously a key up forward, while Trevor Rigney is a danger and the likes of Austin, Tedmanson and Braidwood are going well.
Naracoorte has been missing a few key performers including full forward Sam Logan, but should start getting some back as of this week and should be steady enough to hold off the Saints in a good contest.

Round Seven review of matches by The Naracoorte Herald

FOUR out of five games had a major impact on causing a logjam for the KNTFL's top five on Saturday.While Kybybolite and Naracoorte are clear at the top of the ladder, the next six sides are separated by just one win on a ladder which is well set up for an enthralling second half of the season.In one of the games of the season last Saturday, the resurgent Lucindale continued its run of good form with a thrilling three-point win over a gallant K/L United.United was nearly six goals down at three quarter time and conceded the first goal of the last quarter, but kicked seven of the last eight goals to fall short by less than a straight kick in a top game for spectators.Mundulla underlined its ability to beat quality opponents with a dominant second half against Kingston, beating the Saiunts by 35 points.Keith produced a stunning last quarter to deliver a heart-breaker to Border Districts, which remains winless despite such good showings.Jason Snajdar kicked seven goals for the victors, who banged on nine goals straight in an excellent last quarter.Bordertown kept its finals prospects alive with a solid six-goal win over Penola, while Kybybolite improved its percentage at the top of the ladder with a big win over Padthaway, coach Scott Carberry kicking another seven goals.

ROUND SEVEN REPORT FROM TERRY WILLOUGHBY - May 31, 2010

In KNT football Kybybolite had no trouble maintaining its position on top when they easily disposed of bottom team Padthaway by 116 pts. Stronger in every position Kyby increased their lead at every change as Padthaway battled to remain competitive. Scott Carberry had another big game to finish with 7 goals, Ray Jaensch controlled play across half-back. All the Kyby forwards got in on the goal-kicking act.

Lucindale and Kaniva-Leeor United went goal for goal through the first half but Lucindale took control in the 3rd quarter and appeared to have the game wrapped up with a 35 pt lead. KLU however had other ideas and unlike recent seasons, fought back strongly. They booted 7 goals to two in the last qtr but fell 3 pts short in an exciting finish. Sam Graetz was Lucindale’s best and Mark Snowball gave another powerful display on the ball, Gerard McGrath kicked 7 goals and former coach Aaron Smart played well. For KLU, Dylan Williams 6 goals and Dan Pegler 4 led the fightback.

Keith bounced back from last rounds thrashing but not without some anxious moments. Winless Border Districts kept with the Crows honest throughout the first 3 qtrs and scores were level at the last change. Keith finished powerfully with 9 goals straight to put down any Border’s challenge and win by 28 pts. Jason Snajdar returned to top form with 7 goals, key defender Steve Molineux and on-baller Luke Cousins were among Keith’s better players. Borders first win can’t be far away, their best were wingman Jack Burns and rover David Vickery.

The greatly improved Mundulla comfortably defeated the erratic Kingston by 35 pts. Mundulla led by only 3 pts at the half but gradually drew clear in the 2nd half. Kingston wilted badly in the last qtr as the Moots slammed on 6 goals. Heath Thorpe, Boyd Packer and Jon Mock combined well to give Mundulla a winning forward line, they combined to kick 11 goals, Tyne Excell and Jake McGrice played well through the midfield. Travis Tedmanson and Sam Braidwood were Kingston’s best and Stuart Cooper managed 5 goals but better players were harder to find after ½ time.

Penola’s winning run hit a stumbling block when Bordertown outplayed them over the last 3 qtrs to win by 36 pts. Bordertown surged to the lead with a 6 goal 2nd qtr and had too many good players contributing to let the game slip. Ben McConnell was best for Bordertown and Tim Harkness, Brad Vallance, Jamie Grosser each kicked 3 goals. Penola’s reliance on Luke Duncan, Adam Merrett and coach Paul Mullen needs to be addressed as they were again the Eagles best.

Round 7 - May 29, 2010

KEITH 3.3, 7.3, 12.6, 21.6 (132)
Border Districts 2.6, 6.6, 11.12, 15.14 (104)
BEST, KEITH: Steven MOLINEUX, Luke COUSINS, Jon Wright, Jason Smith, Timothy GILL, Royce Densley. Border Districts: Jack BURNS, David Vickery, PAUL SMITH, Rick Adams, Steven CHARLTON, Joe Colley. GOALS, KEITH: Jason SNAJDAR 7, Michael BARTLETT 4, Adam BRADLEY 3, Paul MAKIN 3, Andrew Wilson 1, Royce Densley 1, Jon Wright 1, Jason Smith 1. Border Districts: SHAUN TAYLOR 4, Clinton ROBINSON 3, Jack BURNS 3, Rodney OLIVER 2, MATTHEW WHITE 2, MORGAN CRABB 1

MUNDULLA 3.3, 7.5, 11.9, 17.15 (117)
KINGSTON 3.3, 6.8, 8.11, 11.16 (82)
BEST, MUNDULLA : Boyd PACKER, Tyne EXCELL, Heath THORPE, Jake McGRICE, Craig WIESE, SAMUEL EXCELL. KINGSTON : TRAVIS TEDMANSON, Sam Braidwood, Dylan RICHARDSON, Stuart Cooper, Jamie AUSTIN, Jason DICKER. GOALS, Mundulla: Heath THORPE 5, Boyd PACKER 4, Jonathan MOCK 2, Grady OBST 2, Jarred WIESE 1, Joshua OBST 1, Darren WIESE 1, Tyne EXCELL 1. KINGSTON: Stuart Cooper 5, Trevor Rigney 2, Brett KROGER 1, Thomas BORILLO 1, Sam INGLIS 1, Jamie AUSTIN 1
LUCINDALE 4.2, 6.6, 15.11, 17.14 (116)
K L UNITED 4.3, 7.5, 10.6, 17.11 (113)
BEST, LUCINDALE: Sam GRAETZ, Mark SNOWBALL, Aaron SMART, Gerard MCGARTH, Jamie MCCARTHY, Kyle

PRESS. K L UNITED : DANIEL PEGLER, Dylan WILLIAMS, Robert FIACCHI, Jonathon HICKS, Travis LANNIN, Brad Witmitz. GOALS, LUCINDALE: Gerard MCGARTH 7, Bryce SMITH 3, Nigel FEIGERT 2, Aaron SMART 1, Bradley HOCKING 1, Hayden COX 1, Shane MCGURK 1, Kyle PRESS 1. K L UNITED: Dylan WILLIAMS 6, DANIEL PEGLER 4, Robert FIACCHI 2, Brad Witmitz 2, Shain VIVIAN 2, Jeffrey MEYER 1
KYBYBOLITE 8.5, 15.8, 19.11, 25.14 (164)
PADTHAWAY 2.2, 2.3, 4.4, 7.6 (48)
BEST, KYBYBOLITE: Ray JAENSCH, Tim PANNELL, Scott CARBERRY, Stuart SHEPHERD, Jamie TIDY, Ciaran Buckley. PADTHAWAY: Matt Gibbs, Jay McDonald, Trent GROSSER, Scott Galloway, John ORTON. GOALS, KYBYBOLITE: Scott CARBERRY 7, Ciaran Buckley 4, Samuel McCracken 3, Jamie TIDY 3, Kelvin Cook 2, Stuart SHEPHERD 2, Tim PANNELL 2, David ARNOLD 1, Samuel JOHNSON 1. PADTHAWAY: Paul ELSDEN 2, Scott Galloway 2, Sam WARD 1, Trent GROSSER 1, Darren Francis 1
BORDERTOWN 2.3, 8.6, 10.13, 15.18 (108)
PENOLA 3.5, 3.6, 7.10, 10.12 (72)
BEST, BORDERTOWN: Benjamin MCCONNELL, Tim HARKNESS, Jed JARRETT, Bradley VALLANCE, Kane CUTHBERTSON, Sam SCHNEIDER. PENOLA:
Luke Duncan, paul Mullen, Brad MANEY, Adam Merrett, Conan Devereux, Josh GALE. GOALS, BORDERTOWN: Tim HARKNESS 3, Jamie GROSSER 3, Bradley VALLANCE 3, Daniel BARTLETT 2, Bradley WARNCKEN 2, Michael CRILLY 1, Andrew MAIDMENT 1. PENOLA: Adam Merrett 5, Luke Duncan 2, paul Mullen 1, Daniel Hutchings 1, Lachlan JONES 1

Round seven previews thanks to The Naracoorte Herald

WITH bodies rested after last weekend's interleague break, KNTFL teams will keenly get back into the next stage of the minor round on Saturday.And with only two more weeks before another rest over the June long weekend, they won't be holding back. Naracoorte has the bye this weekend.

B/Districts v Keith. Borders haven't won a game and Keith made last year's grand final, but the result of this game might not be as clear-cut as it seems.Keith was absolutely smashed the week before the bye in a sign that the Crows have fallen further than most have thought.Their only two wins have been against K/L United and Padthaway, and they will have to play well to get over Borders, who aren't as bad as their winless record suggests.

Mundulla v Kingston. This game wins match of the round status and pits the fourth and fifth-ranked teams against one another.It promises to be a real shootout, with both sides capable of kicking big scores, although Mundulla will probably be missing leading goalkicker Luke Wiese, who was hurt in the interleague game.That will tip the scales slightly towards Kingston, but the Saints aren't playing well enough to take advantage and will probably lose their fourth game of the year.

Lucindale v K/L United. Lucindale has been the most improved side in the competition, coinciding with the return of key forward Nigel Fiegert, and suddenly they are a finals hopeful.K/L United has enjoyed a great start to the year and has added tall forward Dylan Williams in the last fortnight, but the Cougars fall short against strong teams and the Roos should win their third in a row.

Kyby v Padthaway. The top team against the bottom team is never a nice proposition, and even the staunchest Padthaway supporter wouldn't give the Lions much hope here.Their best hope of being competitive lies in the availability of centre half forward George Verco, who hasn't played a game this year but is due any time now. Even if he is there, though, Kyby will have a convincing win.

Penola v Bordertown. This one's almost a toss of the coin, as Bordertown seems to win the games it's not supposed to, but struggles when it's favourite.Penola has now won two on the trot after a poor start to the season and would be looking at this as a possible win.Interleague players Adam Merrett, Luke Duncan and Matt Neilson are playing well and coach Paul Mullen is a good ball-getter, but Bordertown might get a couple of key players back from injury, including Tim Harkness, and should win.

KNTFL TOO STRONG FOR RIVERLAND AT BARMERA

DOMINANT LAST TERM SEAL THE WIN FOR THE VISITORS

KNTFL 4.3, 6.7, 9.10, 17.12 (114)

RIVERLAND FL 1.1, 5.1, 8.4, 9.8 (62)

BEST, KNTFL - D. PEGLER, S. GRAETZ, G. OBST, N. SMITH, R. Francis, L. Duncan. RFL: B. Venning, D. Stevens, R. Mitchell, M. Camplin, M. Fazekas, L. Kruger. GOALS, KNTFL - P. SMITH 5, J. DIXON 3, A. Merrett 3, L. WIESE 2, M. CRILLY 1, T. GROSSER 1, D. PEGLER 1, M. SNOWBALL 1. RFL: D. Stevens 3, J. Smith 3, C. Scholefield 2, J. Nelson 1

NEW LADDER LEADER - Round 6 wrap: The Naracoorte Herald

KYBYBOLITE is on top of the KNTFL ladder for the first time in six years after surprisingly thumping Keith by a mammoth 160 points on Saturday.

The Tigers were probably favoured to beat last year's grand finalist, but no one would have expected such a margin despite Keith suffering its first loss for the season to Penola the previous week.

Kyby bolted out of the blocks and continued to pour on the pain for the Crows, with coach Scott Carberry and Sam McCracken sharing 20 goals in the 33-goal spree.

Kyby was last on top of the ladder at the end of season 2004.

The Tigers narrowly hold top spot on percentage from Naracoorte, which held off a keen Mundulla unit to win by 11 points.

The game was tight at every change and the reigning premiers had to pull out all stops to get over the line, with James Dixon showing out with six goals.

Lucindale has run into some form with consecutive wins over top sides, following last week's triumph over Naracoorte with a hard-fought win over Kingston.

The Roos trailed narrowly at the first three breaks, but dominated the last quarter to win by three goals, Gerard McGrath outstanding again with six goals and Stuart Cooper managing five for the Saints.

Penola had its second win on the trot, but only after a scare from winless Padthaway.

The Eagles were down at three quarter time, but produced a big last quarter to win by 27 points, Adam Merrett kicking five goals.

Interestingly, Padthaway's 10 goals were all kicked by different players.

Kaniva/Leeor United continued its impressive season with a fourth win in a shootout over Border Districts.

New player Dylan Williams kicked six goals and Shane Vivian also bagged six as the Cougars finished off with a big nine-goal last quarter, while Clint Robinson kicked six for Borders

KEITH SMASHED BY KYBY - Round 6 wrap with Terry Willoughby

KNTFL powerhouse suffered an embarrassing thrashing at the hands of resurgent Kybybolite. Although dominant in the 1st qtr even Kyby fans were stunned by the next 3 qtrs. The Tigers piled on 8 goals to give themselves a 65 pt lead at ½ time. The Keith Crows were resembling their AFL counterparts as any resistance vanished. The goals kept coming in the 2nd half with Scott Carberry finishing with 12 and Sam McCracken eight, many others also contributed. Captain Mark Slotegraaf was outstanding ahead of Ciaran Buckley and Stuart Shepherd for Kyby who bolted in by 160 pts. Keith could only limp away and wonder what had hit them! It was their biggest loss in many seasons.

Naracoorte and Mundulla went goal for goal throughout with the lead changing hands several times. Mundulla kept in touch with straight kicking but Naracoorte managed to keep the margin more than a goal apart. James Dixon booted 6 good goals for Naracoorte and Nathan Smith, Leigh Symons and Tom Prebble played well. Mundulla just failed to keep the 2009 premiers out by 11 pts. Their best were Jason Milligan, Arthur Mock and Boyd Packer.

Winless Padthaway sniffed a win when they led by 4 points at ¾ time against last weeks giant-killers, Penola. It wasn’t to be however as the Eagles finished strongly to get the win by 27 pts. The ultra consistent Luke Duncan was best on ground for Penola with solid support from Dan Flint, Mark Leslie and coach Paul Mullen. The lack of a match winning forward cost Padthaway dearly as they didn’t have a multiple goal-kicker.

Lucindale and Kingston also fought out a typical local derby which was hard fought all game. Both sides had moments of ascendancy with changes in the lead. Lucindale with stronger on-ballers and midfielders gradually drew clear late in the last qtr to win by 18 pts. Powerful big-man Mark Snowball was best a-field and Gerard McGrath kicked 6 goals, former coach Aaron Smart and Kane McCarthy were influential in the win. Stuart Cooper booted 5 goals in a good captains’ game for Kingston but they just ran out of gas near the finish.

Kaniva-Leeor United bounced back to winning form in a goal shoot-out against Border Districts. Defenders of both teams were over-run as the goals piled up. A more potent attack kept KLU ahead throughout and they finished on strongly with 9 last qtr goals and win by 35 pts. Borders never gave up but KLU had a better spread of good players. Shane Vivian and Dylan Williams, 6goals each and Rob Fiacchi 5 didn’t waste a chance for KLU. David Vickery, Paul Smith and Sean King were best for Borders and Clint Robinson got 6 goals.

NARACOORTE OVER MUNDULLA IN CLASSY ENCOUNTER

By Country Footy Editor - Lawrie Colliver reporting from Naracoorte Oval

In perfect conditions, reigning Premiers Naracoorte had to fight every inch of the way to a 11 point win over a game and skilful Mundulla, at the home of the 2009 Premiers. Sam Logan was missing from last weeks loss to Lucindale with a back complaint which is likely to keep him out on the sidelines for at least a month. The Naracoorte forward setup still looked strong with the high flying Dixon starting at centre half forward and Bruggerman patrolling the goal square. Mundulla’s forward set up looked ready to go as well, with the talented Luke Wiese and coach Heath Thorpe close to goal, keen to take up the challenge for the Moots after they had the bye last week.

After the bounce, it was clear that Mundulla had come to play and scored the first couple of goals with Excell belting one home from 50 metres out and Luke Wiese kicking one off the ground in the goal square. The Demons were sloppy early, until Gould goaled and then Dixon proceeded to kick the next three in a masterly display, doing as he pleased – in the air he looked a class above the opposition, with the homeside going to a two goal lead. All of a sudden Mundulla looked right off their game, but to their credit snapped back into gear with Jared Wiese kicking a goal and then Grady Obst and Luke Wiese got things back on track with a couple of majors, the visitors ahead by 3 points at the first change.

In the second term, Packer added a goal for Mundulla before Naracoorte took over for the next 15 minutes. Dixon bagged his fourth and then Bruggerman, who was getting his hand on the ball but struggling to mark it kicked a fine goal from the boundary. Leigh Symons was dominating in the mid field and his influence was a key to the Demons getting plenty of ball forward of centre. Scullion added to the Demons lead and then Parker kicked a couple more, one thanks to some clever play by Prebble. The Demons looked in control with a 15 point lead but lost Robert Jones late in term with what was to prove to be a leg injury – he is expected to be out for 5-6 weeks and will miss this weeks Inter-League game at Barmera. Grady Obst, who was playing a great game in the midfield got one back for Mundulla, and after a period of where Naracoorte had the play but couldn’t kick a major, it was 14 points in favour of the Demons at the long break.

Mundulla Coach Thorpe tried to instill some belief in his team address at the long break and in the early exchanges upon resumption, neither team could gain the ascendancy. The Demons were a little wasteful and were overpossessing the ball in the third term when a more direct approach might have been called for. Milligan was continuing to play a good game in the ruck for the visitors and their defence was managing to cut the influence of Dixon who found space in the forward line a little harder to come by. Thorpe was looking dangerous in the goal square for Mundulla showing his experience, keeping front position to mark and goal to reduce the margin to just 4 points late in the third term. A late goal for Naracoorte made the margin ten points heading into the three quarter time break and despite the advantage in scoring shots, it looked anyones game with 30 minutes to play.

Symons pushed forward to gain a goal for the Demons early in the last quarter, while Luke Wiese, who was quiet in the third term, burst into life, making a brilliant smother which resulted in Thorpe kicking a goal. The Moots were pressing hard and were unlucky to have Grady Obst yellow-carded, resulting in a 15 minutes sin-binning. He and Demon Jeff Sellars were asked to leave the field after an incident in the middle of the ground, but it didn’t worry the visitors as Reilly snapped truly to being the margin back to 3 points.

Naracoorte supporters were getting edgy, but Hartree, who had a fine day, managed to work his way down the ground to snap truly off the hands of the pack. Mundulla’s Reilly popped up to kick his second for the term before Bruggerman responded, the reward for a good tackle which saw him kick another. It was still goal for goal as Jarred Wiese took advantage of a 50 metre penalty and then Gould showed his experience, kicking to Hartree who got it to Bruggerman for another. Time was running out for the Mundulla charge, with Sellars pinching a goal off the hands of the pack to settle the issue as the shadows lengthened across the ground. It was a quality game of footy, with both teams set to figure in the 2010 Finals series.

LUKE WIESE GOALS FROM THE BOUNDARY FOR MUNDULLA IN THE FIRST TERM

JOHN MOCK (BORDERTOWN) ABOUT TO GET A AWAY WITH THE DEMONS MITCH HARTREE ON THE MARK

THE DEMONS PAUL MCCARTHY ABOUT TO PUT HIS SIDE INTO ATTACK

BALL IN DISPUTE - ROBERT JONES (No 8 for Naracoorte) TO MISS 6 WEEKS WITH A LEG INJURY

Round 6 scores - May 15, 2010

NARACOORTE      4.4, 9.9, 11.16, 16.19 (115)
MUNDULLA       5.1, 8.1, 11.6, 16.8 (104)
BEST, NARACOORTE: Nathan SMITH, Leigh SYMONS, James DIXON, Tom PREBBLE, Mitchell HARTREE, Nigel BLOCK. MUNDULLA: Jason MILLIGAN, Arthur MOCK, Boyd PACKER, Trent REILLY, Darren WIESE, Jonathan MOCK . GOALS, NARACOORTE: James DIXON 6, Michael PARKER 3, Angus BRUGGEMANN 3, Leigh SYMONS 1, Brett GOULD 1, Jeffrey SELLARS 1, Mitchell HARTREE 1. MUNDULLA: Luke WIESE 4, Jarred WIESE 3, Heath THORPE 3, Trent REILLY 2, Austen PILGRIM 2, SAMUEL EXCELL 1, Grady OBST 1
KYBYBOLITE             6.6, 14.8, 23.10, 33.13 (211)
KEITH             2.1, 4.3,    5.7,      7.9 (51)
BEST, KYBYBOLITE: Mark Capt SLOTEGRAAF, Ciaran Buckley, Stuart SHEPHERD, Samuel McCracken, Scott CARBERRY, George MCWATERS. KEITH: Shane Semler, Nick HUNT, Steven MOLINEUX, Ryan Menz, Luke NICOLAI, Jon Wright. GOALS, KYBYBOLITE: Scott CARBERRY 12, Samuel McCracken 8, Nicholas MARK 3, Jamie BITTNER 2, Samuel JOHNSON 2, Shaun PRICE 2, Ciaran Buckley 2, Stuart SHEPHERD 1, Jamie TIDY 1. KEITH: Paul MAKIN 3, Luke MITCHELL 2, Nick HUNT 1, Luke NICOLAI 1

PENOLA            3.2, 6.9, 7.15, 13.17 (95)
PADTHAWAY   3.0, 7.2, 9.7, 10.8 (68)
BEST, PENOLA: Luke Duncan, Daniel FLINT, Mark LESLIE, Paul Mullen, Shannon FULLERTON, Philip LAMBERT. PADTHAWAY: Andrew CHEER, Tom Forgan, Jay Williams, Adam Mewett, Matthew Dean, Trent GROSSER. GOALS, PENOLA: Adam Merrett 5, Luke Duncan 2, Lachlan JONES 2, Kane Ransom 2, Shannon FULLERTON 1, Josh GALE 1 PADTHAWAY: Kynan Mann 1, Andrew CHEER 1, Trent GROSSER 1, S TOWNSEND 1, Mark EDWARDS 1, Tron CONGDON 1, Paul ELSDEN 1, Matthew Dean 1, Adam Mewett 1, Darren Francis 1
LUCINDALE 4.2, 8.4, 12.6, 17.12 (114)
KINGSTON 5.3, 8.7, 12.11, 14.12 (96)
BEST, LUCINDALE : Mark SNOWBALL, Shane MCGURK, Aaron SMART, Kyle PRESS, Gerard MCGARTH, Kane MCCARTHY. KINGSTON: TRAVIS TEDMANSON, Stuart Cooper, Thomas BORILLO, Dylan RICHARDSON, Craig COOPER, Jamie AUSTIN. GOALS, LUCINDALE :
Gerard MCGARTH 6, Nigel FEIGERT 3, Aaron SMART 2, Todd PRICE 2, Kane MCCARTHY 1, Bradley HOCKING 1, Kyle PRESS 1, Alex TREGOWETH 1. KINGSTON: Stuart Cooper 5, Sam Braidwood 3, Trevor Rigney 3, Michael BAKER 1, Dylan RICHARDSON 1, Craig WATSON 1
K L UNITED                            5.5, 11.6, 15.9, 24.15 (159)
Border Districts       3.2, 10.5, 13.9, 19.10 (124)
BEST, K L UNITED: Shain VIVIAN, Dylan WILLIAMS, DANIEL PEGLER, Robert FIACCHI, Jarrod KROOKS, ANDREW PHILP. Border Districts: David Vickery, PAUL SMITH, Sean KING, Clinton ROBINSON, Stephen PRETLOVE, SHAUN TAYLOR. GOALS, K L UNITED: Dylan WILLIAMS 6, Shain VIVIAN 6, Robert FIACCHI 5, Brad Witmitz 2, Travis LANNIN 2, Shane DODSON 1, ANDREW PHILP 1, Joshua MERRETT 1. Border Districts: Clinton ROBINSON 6, Chris Nicholls 4, SHAUN TAYLOR 4, PAUL SMITH 2, Jack BURNS 2, Sean KING 1

ROUND SIX PREVIEW

MAY 13, 2010

THE KNTFL pecking order has been turned on its head by two massive upset results. Last year's grand finalists Naracoorte and Keith were both beaten last weekend in a demonstration of just how even this year's competition is. Reigning premier Naracoorte had several key players out, but wouldn't have expected too much trouble against a Lucindale side which had struggled in the opening rounds. But with gun utility Gerard McGrath booting eight goals, the Roos won every quarter and upset the Demons by 41 points in a stunning result.

Just as surprising was Penola's win over Keith. Penola hadn't won a game before Saturday and Keith had won two of three, but that counted for little as the Eagles produced a brilliant third quarter to set up a shock 28-point win. Adam Merrett kicked six goals for the victors. With those two results, Kybybolite has slipped up to second on the ladder after beating Kaniva/Leeor United by nine goals. A dominant start was the key, with Sam McCracken kicking five goals, while Robert Fiacchi was the Cougars' shining light at the other end with seven goals. Kingston thumped Border Districts by more than 20 goals, with Stuart Cooper, Trevor Rigney and Sam Braidwood combining for 19 goals. Bordertown easily defeated Padthaway, doubling the Lions' score with Michael Crilly bagging six goals.

THE twists and turns of a fascinating KNTFL season won't be any easier to follow in another big round this weekend. League officials could hardly have prepared a better round of games for this Saturday, with all five a chance to go either way. Three of the games are between two finals hopefuls, while the other two are even match-ups between sides in the middle and lower parts of the ladder.

Naracoorte v Mundulla

Plenty of spice has been added to this game by Naracoorte's shock loss last week. Mundulla is coming off the bye and will be cherry ripe, and with a 3-1 record they would fancy their chances of kicking the Demons while they're down. It's hard to see Naracoorte playing that badly twice in a row but there's little doubt the Demons will need to lift on that effort to get over the line against a good side like Mundulla. Mundulla has two very good forwards in coach Heath Thorpe and Luke Wiese, and a capable midfield which can supply them with enough ball to kick a big score. If Rob Jones and Jeff Sellars are out again this week, Demons like Gould, Symmons, Smith and Prebble will need to step up in the middle to make up for them. Two losses in a row is a possibility otherwise.

Keith v Kybybolite

Keith certainly has a new-look side this year, and the first cracks in the unit really started to show in a bad loss to the previously winless Penola last week. The Crows perhaps have lost the aura they've had for the past few years and they'll have to rediscover it quickly to match up against a quick and confident Tiger unit. The Tigers have seemed stung into action the past couple of weeks by their poor showing on Anzac Day and they have really got their running game going.

Keith will struggle to match their pace, and also to match up on the Tigers' key forwards, although Kyby would be sweating on the availability of coach Scott Carberry with his back injury. A solid win to Kyby to bolster their top three hopes.

Padthaway v Penola

A week ago this would have been a toss of the coin, but after Penola's giant-killing effort to beat Keith last week, they deserve favouritism here. The Lions do look OK on paper and are about due to see the services of centre half forward George Verco, who will make a difference, but based on last week Penola will be very hard to beat. Big Adam Merrett is a key at the goalfront and Luke Duncan and coach Paul Mullen win plenty of the ball in the middle, and if they can get enough support they will guide their team to a second straight win.

Kingston v Lucindale

The western derby will be a beauty if Lucindale can reproduce the effort that got them over the line against Naracoorte last week.

The Roos are looking stronger every week with Nigel Fiegert back in the side, Travis Ware returning from a knee injury and getting better all the time and Gerard McGrath on fire either in the middle or at half forward. But Kingston at home is such a tough proposition. Strangely the Saints have lost their last four home games, but that record is deceiving as they judge the wind so well and are a several goals better side for it. They have a dangerous forward set-up with Stuart Cooper complemented beautifully by the athletic Trevor Rigney, and Jamie Austin and Michael Baker are among the league's best ball-winners.

Lucindale is a big chance to win, but Kingston might sneak an important four points.

K/L United v Border Districts

K/L United will be a hot favourite for this one, but despite not having won a game, Borders are a big chance. They only need to get their share of the ball forward and strong-marking pair Paul Smith and Sean King can kick them a winning score. But their main problem at the moment is stemming the bleeding at the other end – they have the worst average of points against in the league, at 166, or nearly 30 goals.

You're not going to win many if any games at that rate, so locking down the defence has to be the main aim for the Maroons this week.

If they can do that and kick a competitive score themselves, they will win against a Cougars unit which is handy but far from unbeatable.

UPSETS APLENTY - ROUND FIVE WRAP BY THE NARACOORTE HERALD

THE KNTFL pecking order has been turned on its head by two massive upset results.

Last year's grand finalists Naracoorte and Keith were both beaten last weekend in a demonstration of just how even this year's competition is.

Reigning premier Naracoorte had several key players out, but wouldn't have expected too much trouble against a Lucindale side which had struggled in the opening rounds.

But with gun utility Gerard McGrath booting eight goals, the Roos won every quarter and upset the Demons by 41 points in a stunning result.

With those two results, Kybybolite has slipped up to second on the ladder after beating Kaniva/Leeor United by nine goals.

A dominant start was the key, with Sam McCracken kicking five goals, while Robert Fiacchi was the Cougars' shining light at the other end with seven goals.

Kingston thumped Border Districts by more than 20 goals, with Stuart Cooper, Trevor Rigney and Sam Braidwood combining for 19 goals.

Bordertown easily defeated Padthaway, doubling the Lions' score with Michael Crilly bagging six goals.

PENOLA HANDS OUT DEFEAT TO KEITH BY TERRY WILLOGHBY

Feather dusters one week to cock of the walk the next. Penola caused a major upset when it came from 2 goals down at ½ time to score a much needed win by 26 points over Keith. Stand out players Luke Duncan, Phil Lambert and Nathan Reeves kept their opposition quiet and drove the Eagles forward more to allow Adam Merrett the opportunity to finish with 6 goals. Paul Makin, Shane Semler and Reece Francis tried hard for the Crows but their normally dangerous forwards were well held. Lucindale inflicted Naracoorte’s first loss for the season when they withstood the early pressure and then got right on top after the main break. Gerard McGrath starred with 8 goals along with Nathan Clarke and Joe Foster but Mark Snowball’s game was vital in not allowing the Naracoorte on-ballers to dominate. The Demons big scoring forward line was starved and Lucindale won impressively by 41 points. Kingston completely overpowered Border Districts to win by132 points. They had many forward options with Stuart Cooper 7 goals, Sam Braidwood and Trevor Rigney each kicking six having too much class and Jamie Austin and Michael Baker were also unstoppable. Borders best were just battlers under siege. Kyby burst the Kaniva-Leeor bubble with a 7 goal first qtr burst to nothing to have the game wrapped up. More contributors overall was the major difference with Brad Redding, Tim Pannell and on-baller Ciaran Buckley leading the way. Robert Fiacchi continued his good form for KLU with 7 goals but was very much alone in his efforts. Kyby, home by 54 points. Bordertown easily accounted for winless Padthaway. The Roosters led by 43 pts at ¼ time and went further ahead from there on. They had eleven individual goal-kickers with consistent Mick Crilly getting 6. Nicholas Hampel, Clint Barras and Ben McCconnell headed the best players. Trent Grosser, Andrew Cheer and Adam Mewett tried hard for the Lions.

Round 5 - May 8, 2010

Kybybolite	7.6	13.6	18.8	19.11 (125)
Kaniva/Leeor	0.0	4.4	9.8	10.11 (71)

BEST, KYBYBOLITE: Brad REDDING, Tim PANNELL, Ciaran Buckley, Mark Capt SLOTEGRAAF, Jamie TIDY, Shaun PRICE. K L UNITED - Robert FIACCHI, DANIEL PEGLER, Jarrod KROOKS, ANDREW PHILP, Shane DODSON, Travis LANNIN. Kyby - Samuel McCracken 5, Jamie BITTNER 3, Nicholas MARK 3, Scott CARBERRY 2, Stuart SHEPHERD 2, Kelvin Cook 1, Jamie TIDY 1, Brad REDDING 1, Ciaran Buckley 1. K L UNITED: Robert FIACCHI 7, DANIEL PEGLER 1, JOHN JARRED 1, Joel WAGG 1

Bordertown	9.2	15.5	19.11	23.14 (152)
Padthaway	2.1	7.3	10.6	11.10 (76)

BEST Bordertown: Nicholas HAMPEL, Clint BARRAS, Benjamin MCCONNELL, Bradley VALLANCE, Kane CUTHBERTSON, Jed JARRETT. PADTHAWAY: Trent GROSSER, Andrew CHEER, Adam Mewett, Tom Forgan, Bradley GIBBS. Goals: Bordertown - Michael CRILLY 6, Clint BARRAS 4, Daniel BARTLETT 3, Josh BARRAS 2, Bradley VALLANCE 2, Joshua TINK 1, Nicholas HAMPEL 1, Maddy HAYES 1, Benjamin MCCONNELL 1, Tim HARKNESS 1, Bradley WARNCKEN 1. Padthaway - Trent GROSSER 2, Tom McLennan 2, Adam Mewett 2, Jay Williams 1, Mark EDWARDS 1, Kieron Hicks 1, Andrew CHEER 1, Darren Francis 1

Lucindale	3.2	7.4	11.5	14.8 (92)
Naracoorte	2.3	4.7	5.12	6.15 (51)

EST, LUCINDALE : Nathan CLARKE, Gerard MCGARTH, Joe FOSTER, Mark SNOWBALL, Aaron SMART, Kyle PRESS. NARACOORTE: Leigh SYMONS, Mitchell HARTREE, Nathan SMITH, Brett GOULD, Sam WILLSON. Goals: Lucindale - Gerard MCGARTH 8, Todd PRICE 3, Aaron SMART 2, Bryce SMITH 1. NARACOORTE: Sam LOGAN 3, Tyrone Scullion 2, James DIXON 1

Kingston	9.6	15.10	23.15	29.20 (194)
Border Dist	3.1	5.1	7.2	10.2 (62)

BEST, KINGSTON : Jamie AUSTIN, Trevor Rigney, Michael BAKER, Jake HYLAND, Craig WATSON, Jason DICKER. Border Districts : Sean KING, Stephen PRETLOVE, MATTHEW WHITE, PAUL SMITH, Rick Adams, Cameron McKinnon. Goals: Kingston - Stuart Cooper 7, Sam Braidwood 6, Trevor Rigney 6, Brad Schmitt 2, Michael BAKER 2, Craig WATSON 2, Jason DICKER 1, Dylan RICHARDSON 1, Jamie AUSTIN 1, Thomas BORILLO 1. Borders - Chris Nicholls 2, PAUL SMITH 2, Sean KING 2, SHAUN TAYLOR 1, David Vickery 1, MATTHEW WHITE 1,

Jack BURNS 1

Penola	4.3	4.6	10.8	13.9 (87)
Keith	4.1	6.5	7.8	8.11 (59)

Best: Penola - Luke Duncan, Philip LAMBERT, Nathan Reeves, Sam MCPHERSON, Shannon FULLERTON, Josh GALE. Keith - Paul MAKIN, Shane Semler, Reece Francis, Andrew Wilson, Ryan Menz, Henry JOHNSON. Goals: Penola - Adam Merrett 6, Luke Duncan 2, Josh GALE 2, paul Mullen 1, Lachlan JONES 1, Tom CLAYFIELD 1.Keith - Michael BARTLETT 3, Jason SNAJDAR 2, Luke COUSINS 1, Alastair BAYLY 1, Paul MAKIN 1

PREVIEW OF ROUND 5 THANKS TO THE NARACOORTE HERALD

THE KNTFL premiership table should start showing a definite trend after this weekend's round five matches. The bottom four sides are all odds-on to lose again this weekend, probably leaving the top seven a good two wins clear of the bottom tier. The only match between teams in the top half of the ladder is Kybybolite v Kaniva/Leeor United, a clash given extra spice because the United coach is John Jarred. Jarred, who has had an excellent start to his coaching career with three wins from four games after the Cougars lost every game in 2009, left Kyby halfway through last year after being dropped to the reserves.

Kybybolite v K/L United

Kaniva/Leeor United has won three on the trot, but the acid test will come on this week. Those three wins have been against Padthaway, Bordertown and Penola – none of them top teams.

Kyby showed last week its bad loss to Naracoorte was an aberration and it would have taken a lot of heart from its comeback win over Kingston.

The Tigers can cut a side up with their run, and if key forwards Jamie Tidy, Scott Carberry and Sam McCracken can impose themselves as well, they will be very hard to stop. Much interest will be on where and how United coach John Jarred plays after he rucked for Kyby last year, but has been playing at full back for his new club.

United's recruits are going well with the Fiacchi brothers showing the way, but they will need to be at the top of their game to get close to Kyby this week.

Bordertown v Padthaway

Bordertown has been very inconsistent this season but would be happy with two wins from four games considering its tough draw. This one should definitely be easier than that.

Padthaway had the bye last week, which it would hope has given Mark Edwards's hamstring enough time to recover, but even with him back in the middle the Lions will struggle.

Bordertown has a good running side and can produce free-scoring football when they're on. They have a tendency to drop their intensity at times, which cost them against K/L United, but they should have enough to win this one.

Lucindale v Naracoorte

Lucindale and Naracoorte have had some tremendous battles in recent years, and while they're at opposite ends of the ladder at the moment, there's a chance this could be another.

The Roos haven't been that bad this year and if centre half forward Nigel Fiegert can keep improving after playing his first game for 2010 last week, it will make a big difference.

Naracoorte has been slow to start most weeks, with opponents able to stay with them for a half before being blown away late. If Lucindale can maintain the pressure throughout, it could possibly cause an upset. In saying that, Naracoorte just seems to do what's necessary to win each week and will probably do it again on Saturday.

B/Districts v Kingston

Borders have played some good footy this season, but most of it has been in the first half of matches and then the second halves have been poor. The Maroons could possibly win an upset here, but they would need to run the game right out against a Kingston side which seems pretty fit.

Stuart Cooper won't be kept to two goals two weeks in a row and will be keen to kick a bag if his leg injury comes up, while at the other end Borders are getting very good service from their gun forward Paul Smith. Cooper will have a few more helpers, though, and even though they've got to make the long trip across to Frances, Kingston should have the goods.

Penola v Keith

Penola is not nearly as bad as its winless record would suggest, and it would be folly for Keith to take the Eagles lightly. The Eagles have played some good football but just haven't had things go their way. If the ball bounces right for them, they will cause an upset.

It could potentially be this week against a stumbling Keith side, although the Crows' loss to Bordertown last week might be the wake-up call they needed.

Keith will be very keen to get back on the winner's list, and should take the points in a hard-fought game.

KANIVA/LEEOR KEEP WINNING - by Terry Willoughby

Kaniva-Leeor United have certainly caught the winning habit in KNT football by winning their 3rd game in a row. In a battling affair against Penola they couldn’t break clear and only led by 10 pts at the last change. Their recruits had played well without controlling the game as Penola’s defenders fought hard to restrict the goal-scoring but they couldn’t keep them quiet all day. KLU broke clear in the last qtr to boot 6 goals to two and win by36 pts. Dan Pegler was named best and he had good support from Shane Dodson, Jarrod Krooks and Travis Lannin, all locals. Luke Duncan, Corey Gray and Matt Nielson worked hard to keep Penola in the game but were over-run at the finish. Bordertown caused a boilover by withstanding a 2nd half fightback from Keith. There was never much between the teams but the Crows closed to within 3 pts at ¾ time and looked likely to go on and win but Bordertown had other ideas. The Roosters withstood the pressure and added 6 goals in the last qtr to win narrowly by 10 pts. Brad Vallance stood out with 4 goals to be best for Bordertown, Sam Schnieder and Kane Cuthbertson played and Mick Crilly continually bobbed up with goal to finish with six. Keith weren’t quite the smooth combination of previous seasons. Ryan Menz, Paul Makin and Nick Hunt played well but didn’t have as much support. Kybybolite held a 24 pt lead at 1/4 time and held the lead from there on despite Kingston’s better 2nd half. Gun forward Stuart Cooper was kept quiet by Kelvin Cook and this went along way towards the win. Kyby held a 2 pt lead at the last change and they were steadier in the last to sneak home by 12 pts. Cook starred for the Tigers, Kevin Marshall, Mark Slotegraaf and Ciaran Buckley also played valuable games. Jake Hyland, Jamie Austin and Matt Cooper tried hard but Kingston found goals hard to get with Stuart Cooper closely marked. Naracorte shook off a competitive Border Districts after ½ time when they only led by 14 pts. The Demons poured on the goals after that to win easily in the end by 72 pts. Tim McIntyre had a big day at the goal-front to finish with 12 and be best afield, Rob Jones and Nathan Smith were tireless in the midfield. David Vickery and Cam McKinnon stood out for Borders whose better 1st half players faded. Mundulla had threatened to beat a higher ranked team and Lucindale were the ones to suffer. The two teams went goal for goal throughout the1st half with Lucindale leading narrowly by 3 pts. The Moots got on top in the 3rd qtr and they held a comfortable 23 pt lead at ¾ time. They sniffed a big chance to claim a morale boosting win and booted 8 goals to two and run out easy victors by 58 pts. Luke Wiese kicked another bag of goals to finish with 8, Jason Milligan starred in the midfield and Heath Thorpe used his skills to kick 5 goals and be a headache to the Lucindale defence. Gerard McGrath and Nigel Fiegert kicked 5 and 4 goals respectively for Lucindale but were not dominant, Floyd Freeman, Jamie McCarthy and Sam Graetz battled on until the floodgates opened.

MORE ON ROUND 4 with The Naracoorte Herald

NARACOORTE remains the only undefeated side after another round of surprise results in KNTFL football.

Keith was also without a loss before Saturday, but went down to arch-rivals Bordertown in an upset. In a see-sawing contest, the Roosters led by only three points at the last change and managed to hold on to win by 10, with Michael Crilly kicking six goals.

Kybybolite won the match of the round over Kingston at the seaside with a come-from-behind performance. The Saints led by 13 points late in the last quarter, but Kyby rallied to kick four late goals and win by 12 points.

Kaniva/Leeor United went without a win for the whole of season 2009 but now has three wins from four games in 2010 after accounting for Penola. The Cougars were dreadfully inaccurate early, kicking 1.9 in the first quarter, but with six goals in the last quarter they eventually wore down Penola, which isn't as bad as its 0-4 record would suggest.

Border Districts stayed with Naracoorte to half time but the Demons flicked the switch after that, kicking 16 goals in the second half to win by 12 goals. Usual midfielder Tim McIntyre played out of his skin to kick 12 goals for the winners, while recruit Paul Smith continued his consistent form with seven goals for Borders.

Mundulla had a big second half to run out big winners over Lucindale, which had gun Nigel Fiegert in for his first game this season. The league's leading goalkicker Luke Wiese kicked eight goals for the winners and coach Heath Thorpe added five, while Gerard McGrath and Fiegert shared nine goals for the Roos.

Round 4 - May 1, 2010

KYBYBOLITE 5.4, 8.5, 9.8, 14.10 (94)

KINGSTON 1.4, 5.5, 9.6, 12.10 (82)

BEST, KYBYBOLITE: Kelvin Cook, Kevin MARSHALL, Mark Capt SLOTEGRAAF, Ciaran Buckley, Ray JAENSCH, Ryan WOITE.KINGSTON : Jake HYLAND, Jamie AUSTIN, Matthew COOPER, Ben SEMPLE, Michael BAKER, Sam Mahony. GOALS, KYBYBOLITE: Samuel McCracken 5, Jamie BITTNER 3, Stuart SHEPHERD 2, Samuel JOHNSON 1, Mathew DRURY 1, Scott CARBERRY 1, Ciaran Buckley 1. KINGSTON: Trevor Rigney 3, Sam Mahony 3, Stuart Cooper 2, Sam Braidwood 2, Jamie AUSTIN 1, Morgan TRENAMAN 1

NARACOORTE 5.5, 10.12, 18.13, 26.18 (174)

Border Districts 5.3, 9.4, 11.6, 16.6 (102)

BEST, NARACOORTE: TIM McINTYRE, Robert JONES, Nathan SMITH, Daniel Link, Brett GOULD, Michael PARKER. Border Districts: David Vickery, Cameron McKinnon, Paul LIGHT, PAUL SMITH, Sean KING, Jack BURNS. GOALS, NARACOORTE - TIM McINTYRE 12, Mitchell HARTREE 4, Michael PARKER 2, Angus BRUGGEMANN 2, SAM HENSCHKE 2, Brett GOULD 1, Nigel BLOCK 1, Robert JONES 1, Tom PREBBLE 1. Border Districts: PAUL SMITH 7, Sean KING 3, Clinton ROBINSON 2, Rick Adams 1, SHAUN TAYLOR 1, MORGAN CRABB 1, Jack BURNS 1

K L UNITED A Grade 1.9, 4.9, 6.13, 12.17 (89)

PENOLA A Grade 2.4, 2.8, 5.9, 7.11 (53)

BEST, K L UNITED: DANIEL PEGLER, Shane DODSON, Jarrod KROOKS, Travis LANNIN, Peter FIACCHI, Robert FIACCHI. PENOLA:Luke Duncan, Corey GRAY, Matthew Neilson, Kane Ransom, Daniel Hutchings, Daniel FLINT. GOALS, K L UNITED A Grade :DYLAN WEBB 2, DANIEL PEGLER 2, Chris Tuckwell 2, Jarrod KROOKS 1, Robert FIACCHI 1, Brad Witmitz 1. Peter FIACCHI 1, Shain VIVIAN 1, Shane DODSON 1Goals – Penola : Mark LESLIE 2, Tom CLAYFIELD 2, Daniel Hutchings 1, Paul Mullen 1, Kane Ransom 1

BORDERTOWN 6.2, 10.3, 13.7, 19.12 (126)

KEITH 6.3, 7.7, 12.10, 17.14 (116)

BEST, BORDERTOWN: Bradley VALLANCE, Sam SCHNEIDER, Kane CUTHBERTSON, Bradley SIMCOCK, Nicholas HAMPEL, Benjamin MCCONNELL. KEITH: Ryan Menz, Paul MAKIN, Nick HUNT, Andrew Wilson, Jason HEINRICH, Lewis Hender. GOALS, BORDERTOWN: Michael CRILLY 6, Bradley VALLANCE 4, Clint BARRAS 3, Daniel BARTLETT 2, Clint DIMENT 1, Joshua TINK 1, Luke EXTON 1, Bradley WARNCKEN 1. KEITH: Lewis Hender 4, Jason SNAJDAR 4, Anthony DENSLEY 3, Michael BARTLETT 3, Henry JOHNSON 2, Paul MAKIN 1

MUNDULLA 4.2, 9.5, 17.8, 25.10 (160)

LUCINDALE 5.2, 10.2, 14.3, 16.6 (102)

BEST, MUNDULLA: Jason MILLIGAN, Heath THORPE, Luke WIESE, Arthur MOCK, Jason HILLIER, Trent REILLY. LUCINDALE: Floyd FREEMAN, Jamie MCCARTHY, Sam GRAETZ, Ben TEAKLE, Hayden COX, Joe FOSTER. GOALS, MUNDULLA: Luke WIESE 8, Heath THORPE 5, Grady OBST 3, Jonathan MOCK 2, Trent REILLY 2, Boyd PACKER 2, Jake McGRICE 1, Jarred WIESE 1, Benjamin DOUGLAS 1. LUCINDALE: Gerard MCGARTH 5, Nigel FEIGERT 4, Aaron SMART 2, Travis WARE 2, Todd PRICE 1, Kane MCCARTHY 1, Shane MCGURK 1

The Naracorrte Herald Preview of Round 4

SOME testing match-ups will help to sort the top five teams from the rest in this weekend's round of KNTFL games. All five matches are likely to reveal much about the participants, and it wouldn't surprise to see a number of upsets akin to last weekend's round of AFL.

Kingston v Kybybolite

Kyby finds itself in the match of the round for the third straight week, but this time the Tigers would be far from the confident side which took to the field for last week's Anzac Day game.

The Tigers were belted off their own ground by Naracoorte, and it will be interesting to see what their response is after such a positive pre-season and lofty expectations.

Kingston are also aiming high this year and have an identical 2-1 win/loss record to the Tigers, and on their wind-swept home ground the Saints are always tough to beat.

They haven't done a lot wrong apart from losing to a fired-up Bordertown side, so they would be confident of knocking off the Tigers.

Kyby needs more out of its big name recruits or it will be 2-2 and struggling to keep touch with the front-running teams.

Naracoorte v B/Districts

Naracoorte had a couple of significant outs last weekend but is such a well-oiled machine that it mattered not. With James Dixon returning from suspension for this one, they will be eyeing a big win.

Borders supporters had high hopes ahead of last week's game against Mundulla, but they were dashed early and they had to play catch-up for the rest of the day.

Borders have some good players among their new recruits, but many of them appear well short of full fitness and won't be able to sustain effort for a full game.

They have a trump in full forward Paul Smith, but the midfield will have to fire to get him the ball, or he'll have to be shifted again to plug a gap. Naracoorte will win well with forwards such as Dixon, Logan and Gould enjoying themselves.

K/L United v Penola

United has done a great job to gel together so quickly despite having so many new players, and they are a real show of winning three in a row here.

The danger is over-confidence, as they went so long without a win and now having won two on the trot, they don't want to get ahead of themselves.

They will be without in-form recruit Skrypek through injury, but with the Fiacchis going well and most others doing their bit, the Cougars will be primed for this one.

Penola has under-performed after promising quite a bit in the off-season, but on paper they are still a side to be respected. Adam Merrett only needs a reasonable number of chances to kick a bag of goals and if the Eagles can lift just a little across the board, they are not without a chance of recording their first win.

Keith v Bordertown

Keith might have lost a heap of players in the off-season, but if that's hurt the Crows it isn't showing.

The reigning grand finalists are flying high on the performances of the key players in their spine as well as an injection of youth and they will really take some beating.

But Bordertown is capable. The Roosters are a good running side who have great scoring potential and this will be a great game for spectators to watch with free-flowing footy and plenty of goals.

Keith might just have the goods in a hard-fought game.

Mundulla v Lucindale

Last week's bye came at a good time for Lucindale, with a morale-boosting win over Borders followed by a week off to allow them to regroup and maybe line up this week with gun forward Nigel Fiegert in the side.

His presence would make an enormous difference and would allow the Roos to get their good midfielders into the middle rather than have them moonlighting as key forwards.

But the bad news is that Mundulla is fit and firing and with a bit of luck could have been 3-0 rather than 2-1.

Luke Wiese is proving again how difficult it is too match up on him at full forward and with a midfield in great touch providing good supply to him and coach Heath Thorpe, the Moots look good at the moment. They should get the points narrowly.

The Naracoorte Herald looks back on Round 3

NARACOORTE underlined is claims on back-to-back premierships, while surprise packet Kaniva/Leeor United made it two wins in a row in another enthralling round of KNTFL football last weekend.

The match of the round was definitely at Kybybolite on Sunday, where traditional rivals Naracoorte and Kyby did battle in their third consecutive Anzac Day clash.

As in previous years, it was once again the Demons who prevailed, holding the much-hyped Kyby side at arm's length all day and running away to an easy 53-point win.

Brett Gould kicked seven goals and Sam Logan four as the Demons – even without suspended star forward James Dixon and absent rover Matt Gill – proved how much ground Kyby has to make up to challenge the front-runners.

Kaniva/Leeor's recruits shone again as the Cougars caused an upset with a come-from-behind seven-point win over Bordertown.

Bordertown beat Kingston last week and were firm favourites, but the Cougars kicked five goals to one in the last quarter to win their second straight after winning their first in more than a year last week.

The high hopes of Border Districts having a competitive side were blown away by a Mundulla side led by Luke Wiese with 12 goals.

The Moots kicked 14 goals to three after half time to thump the Eagles in their first home game for 2010 by 104 points.

Kingston belted Penola by 75 points and Keith overwhelmed Padthaway by 93 in other games.

ROUND 3 OVERVIEW BY TERRY WILLOUGHBY

In the KNTFL Padthawy were competitive to ½ time but still trailed by 35 pts before Keith really got going. The Keith Crows booted 12 goals to three after ½ time to win easily by 93 pts. Too many talented players to cover proved the Lions undoing, not to mention better teamwork and skill. Jason Snajdar starred with 10 goals, Andrew Wilson and Luke Mitchell,5 goals were also very good. Trent Grosser and Andrew Cheer tried hard for Padthaway. Mundulla atoned for last weeks narrow loss by thrashing Border Districts by 104 pts. They led at every change but raced away in the 2nd half. Luke Weise was unstoppable at the goal-front and slammed through 12 goals, Grady Obst was again impressive, Jason Milligan and Lachlan Duell played well. For Borders it was a different story and only Rick Adams and David Vickery made any impression. Kingston gave Penola a lesson after ½ time with Stuart Ccooper dominating the forward line. Penola trailed by only 8 pts but added only one goal to 12 from Kingston after ½ time. Ben Semple was best afield for Kingston, Stuart Cooper kicked eight goals and small forwards Sam Braidwood and Trevor Rigney chipped in with 3 each. Kaniva-Leeor United’s recruits again led by example to engineer a win after trailing nearly all day. Bordertown held a 20 pt lead at ¾ time and appeared likely winners but they couldn’t hold out the resurgent KLU. Rob and Peter Fiacchi were high in KLU’s best along with Dan Pegler. Mick Crilly with 6 goals gave Bordertown a strong avenue to goal, Clint Williams and Ryan Paget played well but the Roosters just couldn’t hold on.

Round 3 - April 24/25 scores
NARACOORTE 5.2, 11.5, 15.8, 19.11 (125)
KYBYBOLITE 2.1, 5.5, 7.5, 11.6 (72)
BEST, NARACOORTE: Mitchell HARTREE, Brett GOULD, Leigh SYMONS, Robert JONES, Angus BRUGGEMANN, TIM McINTYRE. KYBYBOLITE : Shaun PRICE, Ray V/Capt JAENSCH, Jamie TIDY, Ryan WOITE, Kelvin Cook, Tom COOPER. GOALS, NARACOORTE: Brett GOULD 7, Sam LOGAN 4, TIM McINTYRE 3, Angus BRUGGEMANN 2, SAM HENSCHKE 1, Michael PARKER 1, Jeffrey SELLARS 1. KYBYBOLITE: Scott CARBERRY 4, Samuel McCracken 2, Ray V/Capt JAENSCH 2, Brad REDDING 1, Shaun PRICE 1, Nicholas MARK 1
K L UNITED 3.1, 6.3, 10.3, 15.9 (99)
BORDERTOWN 3.3, 7.6, 12.11, 13.14 (92)
BEST, K L UNITED: Robert FIACCHI, DANIEL PEGLER, Peter FIACCHI, Shane DODSON, Jarrod KROOKS, DYLAN WEBB. BORDERTOWN: Clinton WILLIAMS, Ryan PAGET, Michael CRILLY, Nicholas HAMPEL, Jamie GROSSER, Luke EXTON. GOALS, K L UNITED: Robert FIACCHI 4, JOHN JARRED 4, MATT CORSTENS 2, Matthew SKRYPEK 1, DANIEL PEGLER 1, Brad Witmitz 1, DYLAN WEBB 1, Shane DODSON 1. BORDERTOWN: Michael CRILLY 6, Bradley VALLANCE 2, Jamie GROSSER 1, Kane CUTHBERTSON 1, Clint BARRAS 1, Jed JARRETT 1, Clinton WILLIAMS 1
KINGSTON 3.3, 7.10, 13.12, 19.12 (126)
PENOLA 2.5, 6.8, 7.8, 7.9 (51)
BEST, KINGSTON: Ben SEMPLE, Stuart Cooper, Sam Braidwood, Jake HYLAND, Jamie AUSTIN, Sam Mahony. PENOLA - Kane Ransom, Luke Duncan, Lachlan JONES, paul Mullen, Matthew Neilson, Josh GALE. GOALS, KINGSTON: Stuart Cooper 8, Sam Braidwood 3, Trevor Rigney 3, Dylan RICHARDSON 1, Craig WATSON 1, Kevin Sumner 1, TRAVIS TEDMANSON 1, Ashley STENNER 1. PENOLA: Adam Merrett 3, Mark LESLIE 1, Lachlan JONES 1, Corey GRAY 1, Kane Ransom 1
KEITH 5.7, 10.12, 15.14, 22.17 (149)
PADTHAWAY 0.1, 6.1, 7.2, 9.2 (56)
BEST, KEITH : Andrew Wilson, Luke (Stephen) MITCHELL, Jason SNAJDAR, Shane Semler, Nick HUNT, Paul MAKIN. PADTHAWAY : Trent GROSSER, Andrew CHEER, Bradley GIBBS, Kieron Hicks, MITCHELL GIBBS, Matt Gibbs. GOALS, KEITH: Jason SNAJDAR 10, Luke (Stephen) MITCHELL 5, Michael BARTLETT 3, Timothy GILL 1, Paul MAKIN 1, Andrew Wilson 1, Jonathon Wilson 1. PADTHAWAY: Tom McLennan 3, Andrew CHEER 2, Kynan Mann 1, Scott Galloway 1
MUNDULLA 5.1, 11.5, 20.6, 25.10 (160)
BORDER DISTS 1.1, 5.2, 6.4, 8.8 (56)
BEST, MUNDULLA - Luke WIESE, Grady OBST, Jason MILLIGAN, Lachlan DUELL, Jarred WIESE, Arthur MOCK. Border Districts : Rick Adams, David Vickery, PAUL SMITH, MORGAN CRABB, Sean KING, Paul LIGHT. GOALS, MUNDULLA : Luke WIESE 12, Benjamin DOUGLAS 4, Jarred WIESE 3, Grady OBST 2, Heath THORPE 1, Arthur MOCK 1, Boyd PACKER 1, Sam LUCKETT 1. Border Districts: Sean KING 2, PAUL SMITH 2, MORGAN CRABB 1, Chris Nicholls 1, Steve ANDERSON 1, Jack BURNS 1
PREVIEW OF ANZAC WEEKEND FOOTBALL Thanks to The Naracoorte Herald

EVERY game between traditional rivals Kybybolite and Naracoorte is big, but on Anzac Day on a Sunday, the stage doesn't get much bigger.

The two clubs have played on Anzac Day for the past two seasons – both games going to Naracoorte in thrillers – and it's become one of the biggest dates on the local footballing calendar.

With both A grade sides undefeated after two rounds, neither coach is under any illusions about the importance of the game, which will be a twilight fixture starting at 3pm with the winner taking away the Brian Johnson Shield.

"It's always great to play in game like this, and we're lucky enough to be in an Anzac Day game," said Kyby playing coach Scott Carberry.

"It adds to the atmosphere for sure (and) it's probably the biggest game outside of finals for the year.

"Our guys are certainly looking forward to it and I'm looking forward to it.

"They're always close games no matter where both sides are on the ladder so it should be good."

Similarly, Naracoorte's non-playing coach Brad Richardson said the Demons, reigning premiers, were determined to do well in the clash of traditional rivals on a day of national importance.

"We'll try and get everyone to go to the dawn service Sunday morning," he said.

"I think it's a pretty significant day for everyone and we put a lot of emphasis on that as well.

"It's a big day and everyone stands up that little bit more."

While Naracoorte would be a slight favourite for the main game despite playing away from home, Richardson said not everything was stacked in his team's favour.

League medallist Matt Gill will be missing from the side with a wedding followed by travel commitments, and Kyby had started the season well with its big name recruits shining out.

"I think they might have an advantage in height (and) we know they're going to be up there when it counts.

"(But) our strength is probably we've got eight or nine blokes who all can go through the middle and they're all high quality.

"The depth of our midfielders is something we can rely on."

Richardson said his defenders would have to closely watch the Kyby marking targets including his opposite number Carberry and full forward Sam McCracken.

Similarly, Carberry backed in his midfield.

"I hope that our on-ballers and our ruckmen get first use of the ball and we're hoping our runners off half back can be strong," he said.

"Their two key forwards are a key for them and we're going to have to watch them for sure.

"But just their overall experience, they've played in grand finals and the big games."

A full day of football and netball will start at noon at the Kyby oval, and being the stand-alone game set down for Sunday, it's expected to draw a huge crowd.

On the football field, junior colts will start at noon, reserves at 1pm and the A grade at about 3.20pm after a short ceremony led by the local RSL branch.

The senior colts game will be played under lights from 6pm.

On the netball courts, match times are: noon – under 13A, under 13B, under 17; 1.30pm – A grade, B grade, under 15A; 3pm – A reserves, C grade.

THERE will be plenty of intense interest in matches other than the Anzac Day clash between Kybybolite and Naracoorte in this weekend's round of KNTFL football.

The ladder is delicately poised with many sides on one win and one loss, and with early wins so important, desperation will be high to get to 2-1 rather than 1-2.

Four matches will be played on Saturday, with the Anzac Day game on Sunday. Lucindale will sit out with the bye.

Bordertown v K/L United

Taking confidence from its first win for more than a year last week, United would be confident of being very competitive in this one, too. With so many players switching between these two clubs in recent years – and Bordertown coach Mal Coutts a former United leader – there will be plenty of feeling here, particularly with the new K/L players wanting to continue making a strong impression on the league.

United's biggest problem will be containing the free-running and free-scoring Bordertown side. In Michael Crilly, Tim Harkness and Clint Barras they have three excellent forward targets who can kick a winning score. United has a strong-looking midfield who will win their share of the ball, but if Bordertown was good enough to beat Kingston at Kingston last week, it should be good enough to handle United at Bordertown this week.

B/Districts v Mundulla

It's an understatement to say Borders have a new-look side, with up to a dozen new players taking the field last week, and it's had a positive effect as they nearly pulled off a top win against a Lucindale side that will be around the mark.

Borders have a new cult spearhead in Paul Smith, and obviously if he can kick 10 goals again it will go a long way towards earning a win for his side.

But Mundulla made the finals last year and looks to have improved again, so the Moots won't be a pushover. They have strength all over the field and a couple of excellent forwards themselves in Thorpe and Wiese, along with a quick and reliable midfield.

In what should be a cracking game, Borders will be keen in their first home game and need to win to stay in touch with the top sides, but Mundulla might have the team cohesion when it counts.

Penola v Kingston

The season so far isn't panning out how Penola would have planned, with two heavy losses despite the Eagles seemingly putting competitive sides on the park.

And the task won't get any easier this week against a Kingston side smarting from a surprise loss to nemesis Bordertown. The Saints certainly wouldn't have expected that loss and will be very keen to make amends at Penola's expense.

The Eagles look capable, but Adam Merrett and Luke Duncan need more support from recruits such as the Ransoms. They will also have to work out how to stop Stuart Cooper this week as he no doubt aims to register a goal tally in double figures...easier said than done.

Padthaway v Keith

Keith is still a bit of an unknown quantity having had one win and then a bye, but it's widely accepted that the Crows will be around the mark again this year. They don't look quite as potent as recent years but have put together a young running side which will really take some shackling by Padthaway.

Padthaway has showed enough in its two games to suggest it will be competitive, but a win against a reigning grand finalist is a bit much to ask and Keith should get a win here.

THE NARACOORTE HERALD REVIEW OF ROUND 2

KANIVA/Leeor United won its first KNTFL A grade match in more than a season with a win over Padthaway on Saturday.

Riding on the performances of their many Adelaide-based recruits, who dominated the best player list, the Cougars beat the Lions by four goals to register their first win since beating Border Districts in round 17, 2008.

Saturday's result was up for grabs throughout, with the accurate Padthaway having kicked 9.1 to three quarter time to trail by only 11 points.

But with Robert Fiacchi guiding through six goals for the day, K/L United kicked five goals to three in the last quarter to win by 24 points and prompt wild celebrations.

In the battle for the Tiger Cup, Kybybolite won a hard-fought game over a fast-finishing Mundulla by just nine points, with Sam McCracken kicking seven goals.

Bordertown had the upset of the round with an eight-point win over Kingston at the seaside.

In a real shootout where 42 goals were kicked, Kingston's Stuart Cooper kicked eight goals but his side just fell short.

Lucindale had to pull out all stops to beat a Border Districts side full of recruits.

The Roos were down at three quarter time, but kicked six goals to two, with Todd Price and Gerard McGrath managing six goals each for the winners, to sneak in by 14 points.

Basketballer Paul Smith kicked 10 goals in a dominant performance for Borders.

Naracoorte had a tough first half against Penola but dominated the second with 21 goals to win by 118 points, Matt Gill kicking eight goals for the victors and Adam Merrett six for the vanquished.

NARACOORTE TO STRONG FOR PENOLA by local correspondent “Wing Ding”
In beautiful conditions for footy, old rivals Naracoorte & Penola went at it from the bounce in a very entertaining game. Despite James Dixon being reported & Sam Logan being helped from the ground early in the last quarter the Demons still had too many big guns for Penola to handle winning in the end by 118 points.
Naracoorte started the match with big man Tober in the ruck & Beggs on the interchange bench. Robert Jones was in everything along with Dixon & Logan was leading hard & straight to finish the quarter with two huge goals from well outside fifty. With Zac Donnelly & Michael Parker playing their 100th & Matt Gill playing his last game before overseas duties call, it was a big day for the Dees who looking to make it two from two. Tom Prebble was in everything up forward, pouncing on everything Logan & Dixon missed. But it wasn't all one way as everyone expected, Penola’s Luke Duncan was on top of new Naracoorte centre Leigh Symmons & Adam Merrett was marking everything that went forward, and Penola only trailed by 10 points down at the first break.
The second quarter started in much the same way with Logan on fire up forward. Symmons was starting to take control of Duncan in the middle, with very clean hands & forward thinking bringing others into the game. Down the other end Merrett was having a great battle with young Naracoorte defender Nic Boon. Boon, Jericho & Munro with beautiful clearing 60m kicks were rebounding the ball back to the likes of Hartree, Dixon, Gill, Logan & Parker. All the big guns were starting to stand up for the Demons as they went into the half time break with a four goal lead. In this term it looked as though Naracoorte had found a new goal sneak in young Tim McIntyre who eventually finished the day with five majors.
The third quarter started at a frantic pace & it should have been the Logan and Parker show but they weren’t finishing off the good work from up the field. With Dixon now reported & sent from the field others needed to stand up & stand up they did. Naracoorte put superstar Hartree into the middle which changed the game, the Demons flying to a new level. Matt Gill was on fire up forward kicking everything he got his hands on, finishing with 8 goals. Symmons was now on top in the square, setting up a number of goals feeding the ball out to the fleet footed Robert Jones who's delivery to the forwards is second to no one. With young McIntyre finding his feet, Logan, Parker, Gill & Prebble up forward Penola had no match for the classy Naracoorte outfit. Narcoorte finishing the quarter 8 goals to Penola 2, the game was all over the Demons ahead by 62 points.
The final quarter was all Naracoorte, belting the Eagles off the park. They kicked 13 goals to Penola's 4 in a very polished display. Merrett & Duncan battled hard but they had too few players to contain the likes of McCarthy, Smith, Munro & Gould that go about their job week in week out without all the fanfare. With Dixon back on the ground now the Demons ran riot. Two players that caught my eye were young McIntyre up foward, a colt with a very big future & young S. Henschke on a wing. “The Guru” as they call him from the Demon Inn late in the 5th quarter is a very smart footballer, very quick with mind & seems to think ahead of the game. For Penola, apart from the solid efforts of Duncan and Merrett (6 goals), others to play well were Matthew Nielsen, Mark Leslie and Ben Anderson.
The Demons have some work to do if they are to win another flag, they will be without Matt Gill for the rest of they year. He is a huge loss & they have a height problem in defence. They will be stretched next week against Kybybolite facing the likes of Jamie Tidy, Scott Carberry & Sam McCracken, McCracken in fine early form with 7 goals against Mundulla on the weekend. An easy fix is to stop the ball getting to them with pressure from up the ground. I look forward to a great clash between the arch rivals on Anzac Day. For Penola, they host Kingston and with Stuart Cooper already kicking 18 goals from the first two games, they will have to find a way to contain him if they are to be a chance of posting their first win of the KNTFL season.
A WIN AT LAST FOR KANIVA/LEEOR by the ABC's Terry Willoughby

Kaniva-Leeor United had a morale boosting win over Padthaway. A big recruiting drive paid of with the Fiacchi brothers, Peter and Robert, Matt Skrypek and Dan Pegler adding drive and finishing skills to the wooden spooners of 2009. The 24 pt win may not be a premiership but it builds some hope. Padthaway were not disgraced but just lacked some enough class to finish after leading by 2 pts at half-time. Reigning premiers Naracoorte blitzed Penola by 118 pts finishing with a 13 goal burst in the last qtr. Penola were reasonable in the 1st half but were over-run after that. Matt Gill was best afield and booted 8 goals for Naracoorte but other forwards Michael Parker, Tim McIntyre and Sam Logan also had good games. Leigh Symons and Brett Gould played well and Naracoorte look a top chance for 2 flags in a row. Penola despite recruiting some handy players were never in the game from half-time, only Luke Duncan and Adam Merrett stood out and they also kicked 10 of their team’s 14 goals. Kybybolite, another side to recruit well had a tough battle against Mundulla. The game fluctuated over the 4 qtrs with the Moots leading by 10 pts at ½ t but 14 pts in arrears at the last change. Key forwards Sam McCracken and Scott Carberry booted 7 and 3 goals each to give Kyby a strong avenue to victory and Tom Cooper and Kelvin Cook were strong in defence and midfield. Mundulla’s quiet 3rd qtr probably cost them a win but they fought the game out with Grady Obst, Jason Hillier Darren Weise and Nick Davis playing well. Highly rated Lucindale stumbled to a narrow 14 pt win over Border Districts who seem determined to erase last years poor season. The game was a goalkicking feast with Todd Price and Gerard Mcgrath booting 6 each for the winners only to be outgoaled by Border’s Paul Smith who slammed through 10. Borders led by 10 pts at the last change but couldn’t hold out the greater experience of Lucindale who booted 6 goals to 2 to scrape in by 14 pts. Price, Mcgrath and Kane McCarthy were best for Lucindale but it was the return of 2008 medallist Mark Snowball that was most significant. Paul Smith was an obvious choice as Border’s best and he had good support from Rick Adams, Sean King and Luke Clayson. Bordertown and Kingston also had a goal-fest with the Roosters hanging on to win by 8 pts. There was scarcely more than 10 pts between the teams all day as defences were over-run.

Round 2 scores - April 17, 2010

Kaniva/Leeor United	4.2	5.7	9.12	14.15 (99)
Padthaway	3.1	7.1	9.1	12.3 (75)

BEST, K L UNITED - Matthew SKRYPEK, DANIEL PEGLER, Robert FIACCHI, Peter FIACCHI, MATT CORSTENS, Joshua MERRETT. PADTHAWAY : Andrew CHEER, Adam Mewett, Tron CONGDON, Trent GROSSER, Tom Forgan, Matt Lampard. GOALS, K L UNITED - Robert FIACCHI 6, Brad Witmitz 3, Joshua MERRETT 2, DANIEL PEGLER 1, Matthew SKRYPEK 1, Travis LANNIN 1. PADTHAWAY : Tom McLennan 4, Matt Lampard 4, Bradley GIBBS 1, Kynan Mann 1, Tron CONGDON 1, Scott Galloway 1

Naracoorte	7.3	12.5	20.11	33.15 (213)
Penola	5.5	8.8	10.9	14.11 (95)

BEST, NARACOORTE : Matt GILL, Leigh SYMONS, Brett GOULD, Michael PARKER, Robert JONES, Matthew TOBER. PENOLA : Luke Duncan, Adam Merrett, Matthew Neilson, Mark LESLIE, Ben Anderson, P Mullen. GOALS, NARACOORTE: Matt GILL 8, Michael PARKER 5, TIM McINTYRE 5, Sam LOGAN 4, James DIXON 3, Brett GOULD 3, Tom PREBBLE 2, Leigh SYMONS 1, Mitchell HARTREE 1, Robert JONES 1. PENOLA : Adam Merrett 6, Luke Duncan 4, paul Mullen 1, Kane Ransom 1, Karl Ransom 1, Simon MERRETT 1

Kybybolite	3.2	6.6	11.9	15.10 (100)
Mundulla	5.1	8.4	9.5	14.7 (91)

BEST, KYBYBOLITE: Tom COOPER, Kelvin Cook, David ARNOLD, Scott CARBERRY, Samuel McCracken, Thomas PEARCE. MUNDULLA: Grady OBST, Jason HILLIER, Darren WIESE, Nicky DAVIS, Stuart JEFFRIES, Mark PAECH. Goals: Kyby - Samuel McCracken 7, Scott CARBERRY 3, Jamie TIDY 2, Ciaran Buckley 1, Mark Capt SLOTEGRAAF 1, Samuel JOHNSON 1. MUNDULLA : Luke WIESE 5, Heath THORPE 3, Boyd PACKER 2, Jonathan MOCK 1, SAMUEL EXCELL 1, Grady OBST 1, Darren WIESE 1

Lucindale	5.2	11.4	14.11	20.14 (134)
Border Dists	4.0	10.2	17.3	19.6 (120)

BEST, LUCINDALE - Todd PRICE, Kane MCCARTHY, Gerard McGarth, Hayden Cox, Aaron SMART, Mark SNOWBALL. Border Districts: PAUL SMITH, Rick Adams, Sean KING, Luke CLAYSON, Jack BURNS. GOALS, LUCINDALE: Todd PRICE 6, Gerard McGarth 6, Jamie MCCARTHY 2, Ben TEAKLE 2, Aaron SMART 1, Peter MORTON 1, Bryce SMITH 1, Shane MCGURK 1. Border Districts: PAUL SMITH 10, Chris Nicholls 3, Sean KING 2, Jack BURNS 1, SHAUN TAYLOR 1, CHRISTOPER BURNS 1, Steve ANDERSON 1

Bordertown	5.1	14.5	18.11	21.15 (141)
Kingston	8.2	13.3	16.6	21.7 (133)

BEST, BORDERTOWN : Tim HARKNESS, Clinton WILLIAMS, Christian ASPEL, Bradley VALLANCE, Nicholas HAMPEL, Jed JARRETT. KINGSTON - Matthew COOPER, Stuart Cooper, Michael BAKER, Jamie AUSTIN, Craig COOPER, Trevor Rigney. GOALS, BORDERTOWN - Michael CRILLY 5, Tim HARKNESS 4, Bradley VALLANCE 4, Kane CUTHBERTSON 4, Clint BARRAS 2, Josh BARRAS 1, Jamie GROSSER 1. KINGSTON : Stuart Cooper 8, Trevor Rigney 3, Sam Braidwood 3, Jamie AUSTIN 2, Michael BAKER 2, Sam Mahony 2, Jake HYLAND 1

ROUND 1 SUMMARY THANKS TO

THE NARACOORTE HERALD

THE much-anticipated start to the 2010 KNTFL season lived up the hype on Saturday with a series of enthralling results.

While most of the winning margins were high, the results still proved fascinating as myth was sorted from fact after a pre-season where many clubs recruited well.

Kybybolite's big pre-season appears to have paid off as the Tigers ran local rivals and regular finalists Lucindale off the park to record an 83-point win.

All of the Tigers' recruits shone, with gun forward Sam McCracken and new coach Scott Carberry both kicking five goals in a double act.

Much interest also focussed on the clash between last year's cellar dwellers K/L United and reigning grand finalist Keith, and it also didn't disappoint.

With a raft of new recruits, United wasn't quite good enough to knock over the Crows, but showed enough to suggest it will be around the mark in a 46-point loss.

Reigning premier Naracoorte picked up where it left off last year with a clinical second half performance against Bordertown.

The Roosters were right in it at the long break with a two-point lead, but the inaccurate Naracoorte kicked 13 goals to four from that point to win by 57.

Mundulla romped home in the last quarter to kick seven goals and defeat a manful Penola by 55 points, with coach Heath Thorpe and Luke Wiese sharing 14 goals.

And Kingston unveiled a number of quality recruits as it dominated the first half to run out 70-point winners over Padthaway, Stuart Cooper bagging 10 goals.

KYBY TOO CLASSY FOR LUCINDALE by KNTFL correspondent "Wing Ding"

Kybybolite got its 2010 season off to the best possible start with a 83 point win over Lucindale.

Playing coach Scott Carberry was the stand out player on the ground at Centre Half Forward and if he'd had his kicking boot on would have finished with 10 goals instead of five. Others to play well for Kyby were Ex-West Gambier rover Ciaran Buckley, who was hard at it all day & very polished under pressure when hitting targets & kicking a couple of goals. Ex-East Gambier player Kelvin Cook was solid down back along with young VC Ray (Razar) Jaench playing tight, hard old fashioned footy all day, there no easy kicks for the Lucindale forwards. Ex-East Gambier Full Forward Sam McCracken lead hard & straight all day kicking five goals thanks to very good delivery from Buckley, Ryan Woite, Tom Cooper, Mark Slotegraaf & Stuart Shepherd.
In the ruck, young big man David Arnold had to much leap for Lucindale big man mountain Mark Snowball who was a little under done & will only get better with more footy & games under his belt. Lucindale was a little under manned without gun Nigel Fiegert on the park throwing his weight around. He is expected to return in 3 weeks after the bye. Lucindale Utility Gerard McGrath was good all day in a number of positions and Todd Price featured as well in the better players for Lucindale with his very polished skills and excellent use of the ball every time he had it. Former coach Aaron Smart & Sam Graetz battled hard all day but Lucindale but had no match for the fleet footed Kyby little men.

With the big bodies up forward in McCracken, Tidy, Carberry & Arnold resting in the pocket, big bodies in defence in Kelvin Cook & Ray Jaench & the hard at it Woite, Cooper & Buckley in the middle - Kyby had too much class in the end for the under manned Lucindale that never stopped trying.
With the likes of Michael & Tim Pannell on the sidelines and the return of former coach Lee Curnow later on in the year, the Tigers will take some beating come September.
Round 1 scores - April 10, 2010

Kybybolite 4.5 8.8 13.11 19.13 (127)

Lucindale 1.2 3.3 4.7 6.8 (44)

Best – Kyby : S. SHEPHERD, T. COOPER, R. WOITE, C. Buckley, S. CARBERRY, S. JOHNSON. Lucindale: B. HOCKING, J. FOSTER, G. McGarth, K. PRESS, F. FREEMAN, A. TREGOWETH. Goals: - Kyby S. McCracken 5, S. CARBERRY 5, C. Buckley 2, M. STILSBY 2, J. BITTNER , S. SHEPHERD , R. WOITE( V/Capt) , D. ARNOLD , M. SLOTEGRAAF. Lucindale: G. McGarth , B. SMITH , B. TEAKLE , R. HANDBURY , T. PRICE , S. GRAETZ

Bordertown 4.4 7.9 8.11 11.16 (82)

Naracoorte 2.7 6.13 13.17 19.25 (139)

Best Players: Naracoorte - B. GOULD, M. HARTREE, R. JONES, J. DIXON, K. JERICHO, T. McINTYRE Bordertown - K. CUTHBERTSON, B. SIMCOCK, T. HARKNESS, B. VALLANCE, A. MAIDMENT, C. WILLIAMS. Goals: NARACOORTE - S. LOGAN 4, T. McINTYRE 3, M. PARKER 3, J. DIXON 2, B. GOULD 2, Z. DONNELLY 2, T. PREBBLE 2, L. MUNRO BORDERTOWN Goals: T. HARKNESS 4, M. CRILLY 3, B. VALLANCE 2, C. BARRAS 2

Keith 5.5 8.7 12.12 16.16 (112)

Kaniva/Leeor 2.1 6.4 9.5 10.6 (66)

Best Players: Keith - J. Wilson, R. Francis, A. Wilson, L. COUSINS, B. FARMER, S. Semler. K/L Utd - M. SKRYPEK, R. FIACCHI, N. Meyer, J. MERRETT, J. HICKS, J. WAGG. Goals - Keith: J. SNAJDAR 4, L. COUSINS 3, M. BARTLETT 2, L. MITCHELL 2, J. Wilson 2, H. JOHNSON , M. Telfer , P. MAKIN. K/L Utd - D. PEGLER 2, T. LANNIN 2, S. DODSON , D. WEBB , R. FIACCHI , J. JARRED , P. FIACCHI , S. VIVIAN
Padthaway 3.3 3.6 5.6 8.7 (55)

Kingston 7.2 10.8 15.14 18.17 (125)

Best Players: Padthaway - B. GIBBS, T. Forgan, W. Verco, J. Williams, M. Lampard, A. CHEER. Kingston - T. TEDMANSON, J. AUSTIN, S. Cooper, M. COOPER, T. Rigney, B. SEMPLE Goal Kickers: Padthaway - M. Lampard 5, J. Williams , P. ELSDEN , S. Galloway. Kingston - S. Cooper 10, J. HYLAND 2, S. Braidwood 2, B. SEMPLE , T. Rigney , K. Sumner , S. Mahony
Penola 3.2 5.7 7.9 9.12 (66)

Mundulla 4.0 7.1 12.5 19.7 (121)

Best Players: Penola - M. Neilson, J. DOYLE, L. Duncan, J. GALE, A. Merrett, B. Anderson. Mundulla - T. EXCELL, N. DAVIS, H. THORPE, G. OBST, L. WIESE, B. PACKER. Goals: Penola - A. Merrett 5, K. Ransom , J. GALE , p. Mullen , L. JONES. Mundulla - H. THORPE 8, L. WIESE 6, B. PACKER 2, S. EXCELL , G. OBST

Week one preview - Thanks to the Naracoorte Herald

Thursday April 8, 2010

THE KNTFL is set for a fascinating first round of the 2010 season on Saturday. With a number of clubs picking up big name recruits and other top sides of recent years losing some key players, the competition promises to be more even and certainly more unpredictable. All five of the opening round games carry significant interest in what will be an enthralling start to the year.

Keith v Kaniva/Leeor United

If you had predicted this game to be even remotely close at the end of last season, you would have been packed off to a padded cell. But since then, Keith has lost a big chunk of its twice-premiership side, while perennial strugglers United have recruited half a team of Adelaide guns. It would be bold to suggest the gap has been bridged so much that United could beat Keith for the first time in many years, but the game should be close. United will take a few weeks for all their new players to gel so probably won't win this week, but they should put up a good show.

Padthaway v Kingston

Both of these sides have recruited well and will be looking at improvement on 2009. Kingston made the finals last year and can realistically look at repeating that feat, while Padthaway finished well down the ladder but would be looking at half a dozen wins at least. George Verco will be the key man at Padthaway, giving the Lions a target at half forward, but Kingston has Stuart Cooper at the other end and he should guide the Saints to a first-up win.

Bordertown v Naracoorte

Naracoorte might be the reigning premiers, but they will be nervous going into this one as they would well remember the smashing they got from the Bordertown runners last year. But they will also be better prepared this time, and with a handful of new recruits and the same old names in the key spots, they will line up with a very strong side. Bordertown will again win its share of games with its run and carry style of game, and a win here is not out of the question, but the Demons deserve to be favourites and should start 2010 with a win.

Penola v Mundulla

Both of these sides should improve on last year with a number of impressive new players likely to line up. Penola will be harder and quicker around the middle with the Ransom boys from East Gambier providing grit, but Mundulla will again turn out a solid, disciplined unit with trump card coach Heath Thorpe up forward to lead the way. Mundulla made the finals last year and will be aiming for more of the same, while Penola will also be seeking major round action and can't be ruled out first-up on its own ground. If it's wet, Penola might go better on its home deck, but Mundulla might just sneak in.

Kybybolite v Lucindale

The Kyby Tigers have recruited well with some key position strength and they showed in the Seedmark Cup they're well prepared for a big 2010. Lucindale has lost a lot of players in the mid-range ability area – as well as league medallist Adam Pitt – and its depth will suffer as such, but the Roos can always rely on a strong showing from its top-tier players and won't be a walkover this season. These two sides always put on a cracking show with Lucindale holding the recent edge, but that could turn around on Kyby's home patch this week with its greater depth coming to the fore.

KYBY WINS SEEDMARK CUP

RESULTS FOR PRE SEASON CARNIVAL 2010

1. Kyb/Nar 7 - 5 47 Def Kingston 4 - 6 30 Kybybolite Oval

2. B/Districts 8 - 5 53 Lost to Naracoorte 11 - 6 72 Frances Oval

3. Kybybolite 19 - 7 121 Def Penola 0 - 2 2 Kybybolite Oval

4. Lucindale 5 -5 35 Def Keith 4 - 6 30 Frances Oval

5. Kyb/Nar 6 - 6 42 lost to Naracoorte 15 - 6 96 Kybybolite Oval

6. Kingston 3 -2 20 Lost to B/Districts 8 - 4 52 Frances Oval

7. Kybybolite 8 - 10 58 def Lucindale 4 - 1 25 Kybybolite Oval

8. Penola 5 - 7 37 Def Keith 3 - 8 26 Frances Oval

9. Kybybolite 10 - 3 63 Def Naracoorte 7 - 4 46 Kybybolite Oval

Congratulations to Kybybolite for winning the 2010 Seedmark Cup

DEFENDING DEMONS SETTING UP WELL FOR PREMIERSHIP DEFENCE by Lawrie Colliver

Things are shaping up well for Naracoorte Football Club in 2010, according to their Senior Coach Brad Richardson. The defending Premier appears set for another strong season, having overcome Keith in the ‘09 Grand Final comfortably after a disappointing loss to the Crows in 2008.

“We really want to keep things going this season, having had a good last 5-6 years at the club.” Richardson says in what will be his 4th season at the helm, having taken over from 2006 Premiership Playing-Coach Dean Woosnam.

The team has been training well with good numbers coming out and according to the coach there are few youngsters pushing through for a spot in the senior side. “We’ll have 6 or 7 colts coming up as well, some of them played an A grade game or two last season, which is good for our depth which is a bit better than last year” Richardson says.

The major recruit for the club is Leigh Symonds from West Whyalla, who won last years WFL Mail Medal. “We were lucky to get him as he has a local connection being mates with one of the lads in our side, he got in touch with us and said he was looking for a game so we are pleased to have him.”

The club has managed to keep the majority of the 2009 squad with the only losses for the Demons at this stage, Matt Gill and Zac Donnelly, who are traveling together overseas in May - although there is a slight chance they may be back before the end of the season.

Brad says competition for spots in the top five will be fierce once again. He believes that Kingston will be one of the tougher teams to beat in 2010, having snared 3 big recruits. Whilst Kybybolite and Penola have also recruited well and will also push for a spot in the top five.

Between now and the first round on April 10, Naracoorte takes on Western Border Premier South Gambier in a trail, they then have the Pre-season carnival before an Internal trial.

“We’ve got Bordertown away in the first game and they are another team that should aim hard for a finals berth. They gave us a good touch up last season at Naracoorte, they also have a young side and will be another team that will be around the mark for the top five”

AFL legend David Parkin was at Naracoorte recently for the races and while he was there took training. “David’s philosophy is that it’s not about defending the flag, but shooting for another title. New players will be involved so it’s all about the future and grabbing flags while you can.”

CARBERRY NEW COACH AT KYBY

November 8, 2009 (from our special correspondent)

Kybybolite Football Club has appointed experienced key forward Scott Carberry as its playing coach for season 2010 in the KNTFL.
Carberry has played with the Tigers for the past three seasons and been a very consistent spearhead, kicking 68 goals in 2009, 63 in 2008 and 69 in 2007.
He has enjoyed a long playing career, with stints at Western Border league club East Gambier and Wimmera league club St Michaels, where he won interleague selection for both leagues, as well as Edenhope Apsley in the KNTFL, including two seasons as A grade playing coach.
Carberry replaces non-playing coach Phil Bradley, who was at the helm for the past two seasons when the Tigers finished third of 11 teams in 2008 and eighth in 2009.

DEMONS DO IT IN STYLE

DIXON DOMINATES WITH 7 GOALS

Grand Final, September 19, 2009

Naracoorte	4.5	9.7	13.11	17.15 (117)
Keith	1.0	3.3	5.8	11.8 (74)

Best: Naracoorte - J. Dixon, K. Donnelly, R. Jones, N. Smith, Z. Donnelly, M Parker. Keith - T. Redden, A Willis, A Hough, M. Keighley, R. Francis, S Semmler. Goals: Naracoorte - J. Dixon 7, S. Logan 4, R. Jones 2, M. Hartree, M. Parker, T Prebble, B Gould. Keith - J. Snajdar 3, A. Hough, T. Redden, S. Cook 2, T. McShane, R. Francis 1

Photo: Pete Chatfield, courtesy of the Naracoorte Herald

REPORT FROM TERRY WILLOUGHBY OF THE ABC

Keith were quickly into stride in the KNT Grand final in a quest for their third flag in a row but Naracoorte saw of the challenge. They quickly assumed control with Zane Donnelly on top at the key defence position and with his brother Zak lending valuable support cut out any influence by the Keith forwards. Naracoorte was playing a fast run on game with good backing up which put the Keith under pressure. James Dixon and Sam Logan in the key forward posts were having the better of their opponents with Dixon being particularly dominant with strong marking and goal-kicking from centre half-forward. Jim West was having no impact for Keith and Jason Snajdar was being starved of chances. Naracoorte went further ahead in the second quarter and went into the break with a commanding 40 point lead.

They continued to dominate play through the third quarter although Keith battled hard to stay in the contest, Reece Francis and Tom Redden were doing everything to keep them in it but the Naracoorte defence just shut down any forward moves. Nathan Smith was playing a great captains’ game for Naracoorte and anything that Dixon missed, fellow forwards Hartree and Michael Parker snapped up.

Naracoorte held a 51 point lead at the last change and even though Keith managed six goals to four, they never threatened. Naracoorte were far too strong and quick and won easily by 43 points. James Dixon was best afield with his seven goal display at half-forward for Naracoorte but they had many good players with Zane and Zak Donnelly, Rob Jones and Nathan Smith being among them. Keith were simply outplayed on the day. Tom Redden, Andrew Willis, Al Hough , Mark Keighley and Reece Francis tried hard for the Keith Crows.

THE NARACOORTE HERALD WILL BE PROVIDING ROUND BY ROUND SUMMARIES IN 2010

TPROGRAM FOR THE SEASON

Round 1 April 10th

Keith v K/L United

Padthaway v Kingston

Bordertown v Naracoorte

Penola v Mundulla

Kybybolite v Lucindale

Border Districts Bye

Round 2 April 17th

K/L United v Padthaway

Naracoorte v Penola

Mundulla v Kybybolite

Lucindale v B/ Districts

Kingston v Bordertown

Keith Bye

Round 3 April 24th

Bordertown v K/L United

B/Districts v Mundulla

Penola v Kingston

Padthaway v Keith

Lucindale Bye

April 25th

Kybybolite v Naracoorte

Round 4 May 1st

Kingston v Kybybolite

Naracoorte v B/Districts

K/L United v Penola

Keith v Bordertown

Mundulla v Lucindale

Padthaway Bye

Round 5 May 8th

Kybybolite v K/L United

Bordertown v Padthaway

Lucindale v Naracoorte

B/Districts v Kingston

Penola v Keith

Mundulla Bye

Round 6 May 15th

Naracoorte v Mundulla

Keith v Kybybolite

Padthaway v Penola

Kingston v Lucindale

K/ L United v B/Districts

Bordertown Bye

Inter League against Riverland

in the Riverland May 22nd

Round 7 May 29th

B/Districts v Keith G

Mundulla v Kingston

Lucindale v K/L United

Kybybolite v Padthaway

Penola v Bordertown

Naracoorte Bye

Round 8 June 5th

Keith v Lucindale

K/L United v Mundulla

Padthaway v B/Districts

Bordertown v Kybybolite

Kingston v Naracoorte

Penola Bye

12th June BYE

Round 9 June 19th

Mundulla v Keith

Naracoorte v K/L United

Lucindale v Padthaway

B/Districts v Bordertown

Kybybolite v Penola

Kingston Bye

Round 10 June 26th

Padthaway v Mundulla

Keith v Naracoorte

Kingston v K/L United

Penola v B/Districts

Bordertown v Lucindale

Kybybolite Bye

Round 11 July 3rd

Naracoorte v Padthaway

Mundulla v Bordertown

B/Districts v Kybybolite G

Lucindale, Penola

Kingston, Keith

K/L United Bye

Round 12 July 10th

K/L United v Pad

Lucindale v Kybybolite

Keith v Kingston

Naracoorte v Bordertown

Mundulla v Penola

B/Districts Bye

Round 13 July 17th

B/Districts v Lucindale

Penola v Naracoorte

Padthaway v Keith

Bordertown v Kingston

Kybybolite v Mundulla

K/L U Bye

Round 14 July 24th

Naracoorte v Lucindale

Padthaway v Bordertown

Keith v Penola

Kingston v B/Districts

K/L U v Kybybolite

Mun Bye

Round 15 July 31th

Bordertown v Keith

Kybybolite v Kingston

B/Districts v Naracoorte

Penola v K/L United

Lucindale v Mundulla

Padthaway Bye

Round 16 August 7th

K/L United v Bordertown

Naracoorte v Pad

Mundulla v B/Districts

King v Keith

Lucindale v Penola

Kyby Bye

Round 17 August 14th

Kybybolite v Keith

Mundulla v Naracoorte

Penola v Padthaway

B/Districts v K/L United G

Lucindale v Kingston

Bordertown Bye

Round 18 August 21th

Keith v B/Districts

K/L United v Lucindale

Padthaway v Kybybolite

Kingston v Mundulla

Bordertown v Penola

Naracoorte Bye

G = Goroke games

Medal Presentation

Wednesday 1st Sept

Finals

Elimination 29th Aug

Qualifying 28th Aug

2nd Semi 4th Sept

1st Semi 5th Sept

Preliminary 11th Sept

Grand Final 18th Sept