Hawks come to life with thrilling upset win over reigning premiers

East Wagga-Kooringal produced their best performance yet under coach Jake Barrett to deal the Magpies their first loss of the season, 11.3 (69) to 9.10 (64) at Gumly Oval.

After being held goalless for two quarters, the reigning premiers kicked three of the first four goals of the final term to lead by seven points with seven minutes remaining.

But a combination of poor discipline from the Magpies and a never-day-die attitude from the Hawks saw Jarrad Boumann and Jarrod Turner both kick their fourth goals of the game fight back and get the four points.

High contact on Jerry Maslin off the ball from Tom Yates resulted in a free kick directly in front of goal for Boumann, who kicked truly to narrow the margin to one point with six minutes left.

Michael Cummins then got caught with the ball 50 metres out from goal, then dropped the ball instead of giving the ball to Turner. It resulted in a 50-metre penalty and took Turner to the goal square, where he put the Hawks in front with two and a half minutes to play.

It was a big win for the Hawks, who only seven days prior were humiliated by North Wagga at McPherson Oval.

Barrett conceded a week can be a long time in footy.

"Yeah it is. We were very disappointed last week. North Wagga, their pressure last week was just phenomenal. They got us and they come out and played four quarters, it was a good effort," Barrett said.

"We took that in and said look, we need to be better and we challenged ourselves this week at training. We had a really good week on the track, we fixed up a lot of our structures and our game plan, not that we changed anything dramatically but we just didn't do it the week before.

"We challenged a few blokes as well and you saw today, we applied what we've been practicing.

"But at the same time, it's still the first half of the year. We all know that's the benchmark now and we've got to make sure we train and we set our standards like that all year."

Barrett believes the biggest difference from seven days ago was attitude.

"Definitely. Definitely a big attitude thing," he said.

"It was a good kick up the arse for us but North Wagga well and truly deserved that win. They came out to play but it was definitely an attitude thing for us and we came out and nipped that in the bud this week.

"But like I said, it's a long season and they will be there at the end of the year and so will a lot of other teams. But it was a confidence thing for us and shows that's the standard we've got to hold to ourselves."

Barrett believes one of the biggest things the win will do is prove to his group that they are good enough.

"I guess it was more for us, a bit of confidence to show us that we can do it," he said.

"I think from last week, it was obviously a very deflating loss for us, but just to bounce back like that and come away with the win, it just shows we can do it.

"We know we've got a long way to go and we know we've got to stick to that, especially at the back end of the year. At least it gives the boys confidence now that we can do it and if we stick to our game plan and structures, it works."

The turnaround began in the midfield for EWK, who after quarter time were dominant at the centre clearances.

It was led by Mason Dryburgh in the ruck, who not only gave the Hawks first use but took some marks around the ground and even pushed forward to kick a goal.

Turner, who kicked four, was strong in the midfield and up forward, while Dylan Morton and Jerry Maslin also played their part.

Jarrad Boumann played a pivotal role in attack, booting four, while Brocke Argus also gave the Hawks a spark across half-forward.

The Hawks' defence, undermanned and undersized, also played a big role in the win.

Barrett admitted he put it on his midfield this week.

"North Wagga's mids definitely outdid our mids last week. It was definitely our mids that we put it on today to step up because we know that The Rock are one of the best midfields in the comp," he said.

"You've got Riley Budd and Curtis Steele, I thought he was still very dangerous today, his kicking was lethal and can open you up but we made sure we put the effort in this week and looked at the players they have and put some time into them.

"We've still got a long way to go and there's still things that we can do better. We still went away from a lot of our stuff today at times, especially when The Rock put the pressure on us at the end, I felt like we started to go back to being individuals, individuals trying to win on their own but we've got to stick to the game plan, stick to the structure and trust one another."

The only disappointing note for EWK was a hamstring injury to assistant coach Luke Gerhard. He did it in the first quarter and never returned.

Steele was the best for the Magpies, while Cody Cool and Riley Budd also had solid games in defeat.

While poor discipline late was costly for TRYC, so too was inaccuracy in front of goal.

Full-time

EWK Hawks 3.1 6.3 8.3 11.3 (69)

TRYC Magpies 6.1 6.3 6.6 9.10 (64)

GOALS: EWK Hawks: J.Turner 4, J.Boumann 4, J.Piercy 1, B.Argus 1, M.Dryburgh 1; TRYC Magpies: C.Steele 3, T.Yates 2, J.Kemp 1, J.Roberts 1, D.Biermann 1, J.Prestage 1

BEST: EWK Hawks: J.Maslin, M.Dryburgh, D.Morton, R.Bourne, J.Boumann, B.Argus; TRYC Magpies: C.Steele, R.Budd, S.Wolter, M.Cummins, D.Roberts, D.Biermann.