The Tigers recorded an emphatic 74-run win over Nathalia in round six action.
Classy half century knocks by gun duo Izak Artavilla and Adam De Cicco, along with a brilliant display with the ball from teenager Noah Sneddon, guided Cobram to its fifth win of the A-grade campaign.
The win at Nathalia Showgrounds, Cobram’s fifth of the season, locks them in top spot on the ladder ahead of the mid-season break.
Cobram coach Adam Harwood reviewed the opening six rounds of the season.
“It’s been a good start to the season. It’s just been good to see our youngsters have taken the next step in their careers,” he said.
“Guys like Hugh (Hyde), Lachie (Adams) and Noah have all performed strongly and it’s been great to watch. We have a really good mixture of youth and experience in our side.”
Despite his charges sitting in top spot, Harwood understands ladder positions can chop and change in the new year.
“We haven’t played Katty yet and they look like they have a strong squad so we know there’s still plenty more to play out,” the Cobram mentor said.
“I think the top four is definitely not settled yet, Barooga is a very handy outfit and you know Deniliquin will bounce back. Even Nathalia, if they can keep (Ash) Quinn in the side then they can pose a threat.”
With an eye on Cobram’s performance at the weekend, Harwood described it has an “all-round” effort.
Artavilla’s 63-run knock was his third half-century of the campaign.
The talented batter now has more than 250 runs to his name at an average of 63.0 from four knocks.
De Cicco (51 runs) played a superb supporting role as he raised the bat for the second time in as many innings.
The pair helped Cobram to 8-210 from 45 overs.
Nathalia never quite got any momentum in its run-chase and managed 9-136 in reply.
Sneddon was on fire with the ball and even claimed the scalp of Quinn (41 runs).
The off-spinner was unlucky to not claim a five-for haul and settled for impressive figures of 4-19.
The win was memorable for one 14-year-old junior.
Sonny Rowe made his A-grade appearance and managed to collect a wicket on debut.
The medium pace bowler finished with 1-12 after three overs.
“It was great to get Sonny up for his debut and it was nice to see him get a wicket,” Harwood said.
In the remaining A-grade matches, Katamatite cruised to a seven-wicket demolition win over Katunga.
Led by Mathew Hodge, Katty rolled through the Swans for 54 runs.
Hodge tore through Katunga and claimed 4-15, while Jimmy Irvine chipped in with 2-16.
Katty’s Damian Cupido remained unbeaten on 33 runs as his side chased down the target inside 10 overs.
Barooga faced the bye.
In B-grade action, Strathmerton claimed a comfortable six-wicket win over Nathalia.
Tyler Stephens (3-2) and Jacob Atkin (2-7) starred for the Bulldogs in their dominant triumph.
In the under-16s, Cobram and Katamatite suffered losses to Deniliquin and Finley respectively.