Football
12 May, 2026
Cougars score gritty win over Kees
Kaniva Leeor United’s senior football side won their fourth consecutive game of the 2026 season, defeating Kalkee in a hard-fought round five encounter on Saturday May 9. Playing at Kaniva, the Cougars kicked 12.13 (85) to Kalkee’s 10.7 (67).
It was the visitors who struck early, with Paddy Mills and Jye Walter both kicking goals in the opening five minutes of the game.
After some missed opportunities, the Cougars got their first two goals through Jacob Eats and then Tom Wilkinson before an Isaiah Adams goal late in the quarter gave Kalkee a 19-17 lead at the first break.
The Cougars appeared to have swung the momentum, scoring the first three goals of the quarter, before goals to Luke Byrne and Jye Walter reduced the home side’s deficit to four (37-33) at half-time.
With good challenges and spoils at the contest from both sides, neither side got the upper hand early in the second half, before late third-quarter goals from Tyler Roos and Blake Dodson gave the Cougars a critical 18-point lead at the final break.
The teams traded goals in a competitive final quarter, with Charlie Maddern’s second goal of the day securing the 18-point victory for the Cougars.
Maddern and Lochie and Jacob Eats each kicked goals for Kaniva Leeor, while Luke Byrne, Paddy Mills and Walter kicked two each for Kalkee.
Along with the key goal kickers, Roos, Dylan Natt and Sam Vivian had strong performances for the Cougars.
Matt Magee was one of Kalkee’s best, doing well in defence to nullify Jacob Eats, while Matt Nield, Paddy Mills and Jacob Harris also had strong performances.
Kaniva Leeor co-coach Jonno Hicks said it was a relentless contest all game so his side’s work rate was critical to them getting the four points.
“It was a real arm wrestle all day,” Hicks said.
“Kalkee jumped us with a couple of goals in that first quarter and from then on it was really contested from both sides and hard to get easy ball movement.
“Kalkee defended exceptionally well with numbers behind the ball when they could, and going forward both teams sort of struggled to really hit the scoreboard effectively.
“I was really happy with our effort but our execution probably wasn’t where it could be.”
Hicks said he was very happy with the performance from the backs, adding that the team’s job was made easier with the early exit of Tanner Smith from the game.
“Our back six has been a real strength of ours,” he said.
“We put it upon ourselves to slow ball movement down going in there to give our backs a chance, and they really stood up.
“There were some really tough contests one on one and our back six worked really hard.
“Obviously Tanner Smith going out early and (Doug) Grining missing the game, we probably got a little bit lucky, but we were also struggling with numbers on our bench.”
The Cougars coach identified Tyler Roos and Sam Vivian has having had strong performances in the midfield.
“Tyler Roos gets a tag every week,” Hicks said.
“But his work rate around the contest and willingness to keep pushing has been exceptional this year.
“Sam Vivian has been having a great year for us and he did again on Saturday.
“He wins a lot of contested footy and, along with his tackle pressure, really helps those guys get the ball to the outside.”