Star recruit Jackson Trengove was the star of the show for the Cats, kicking five goals in what was a match-winning performance up forward.
His most telling would come in the final term, where he gathered the ball from a marking contest and produced a class finish to halt a fast-finishing Rochester.
This was after the Tigers closed the gap to seven points midway through the last quarter, with the Trengove major having the Cats regain momentum and power home to an 11.17 (83) to 7.9 (51) victory.
Mooroopna coach John Lamont said the win served as a “relief” after the epic high of the previous week’s famous victory over Echuca.
“It is really rewarding and a bit of a relief to be honest, we had that incredible win eight days ago, and that might have been our grand final and we might have come out today flat as a tack,” Lamont said.
“But we weren’t and that’s where my relief comes from, we got the week very well organised and the boys put together another great performance.”
Greeted with perfect conditions at Victoria Park, intensity was dialled up to the maximum in the opening stages as both teams looked to make an early statement.
And, while the experience of Rochester had it get on top around the ball, they couldn’t make it count in front of the sticks, kicking three behinds to open the scoring.
This opened the gate for the young Cats, who quickly settled and produced some blistering passages of play, allowing Trengove to get on the end of the first two goals of the game.
Rochester young gun Hugh Hamilton would quickly strike back, however, trimming the quarter-time margin to four.
With the breeze at their backs, the Cats would go to work in the second term, getting on top around the contest and dominating the territory battle.
But similarly to Rochester, they couldn’t make it count on the scoreboard, booting seven consecutive behinds, before a goal after the siren finally brought some relief, and a 16-point advantage.
Being kept to just one goal in the first half, the Tigers needed a strong response to start the third.
And coach Steven Stroobants would promptly deliver, nailing a set-shot from the boundary to get his team back within 10.
With the game on a knife’s edge, Mooroopna would regain control, with goals to Lucas Caccaviello, Trengove and a Chris Nield double (including one after the siren), giving it a 16-point advantage at three-quarter time.
But the start of the final term would bring about another momentum shift, with Rochester booting the first two goals to close the gap to single digits.
With all the momentum, the Tigers looked set to pounce, with a free kick and 50m penalty to Hamilton set to cut the margin to one.
But ill-discipline would have the free kick reversed, allowing Mooroopna to go coast-to-coast, with young gun Kydan Atkinson nailing a set-shot to complete the telling 12-point swing.
Trengove’s heroics would then shut the door on the Tigers’ cause, with the Cats finishing full of running to end up 32-point winners.
Lamont was full of praise for his star recruit after the game and said the group was excited at the prospect of playing another game of finals footy.
“JT was really good for us, it was super pleasing to see him play well and it took a bit of pressure off Chris (Nield),” he said.
“There was a bit more of an even mix in our forward line which was good, and even though we missed a few shots, JT being up and about made us look really dangerous.
“Our blokes are absolutely rapt to be playing again next week, they deserve the opportunity and we are riding a pretty high wave of momentum at the moment.”
Mooroopna will face Mansfield this weekend for a spot in the preliminary final, with the day and venue still to be determined.
