Cleeland’s charges trailed throughout the entire first half, but rattled the Swans after the break to eventually steal a 11.16 (82) to 12.5 (77) win at Blighty.
Were the Bombers efficient? No.
But did the result reflect a stern resolve? Absolutely.
Cleeland said the victory was definitely nervy, but it gives him and his teammates a fair idea of what needs working on ahead of its next hit out in two weeks.
“On our behalf, in a nutshell, it was probably a bit ordinary,” he said.
“But credit to Katunga, they fully brought it to us, they played really well and we probably didn’t stand up to that enough for much of the game.
“In the end it was a bit of a scrappy affair.
“The first half Katunga completely controlled and we were a little bit lost at sea I guess.
“After half-time, we regrouped and came out in the third quarter and that was what won us the game in the end.
“We got back in front and managed to cling on even though Katunga got in front in the last quarter.
“We sort of feel like we snuck away with one that we probably shouldn’t have in the end but finding a way to win is a bonus for us.”
Katunga bought all the pressure and energy it could muster to stun Waaia in the first quarter.
A “fumbly” showing by the Bombers found the reigning premier down by 12 points at quarter-time, then 13 at the half-time break, and something had to give.
Whether the Bombers wiped down their hands or otherwise, a cleaner showing with ball in hand powered them along to the chocolates despite some wayward kicking.
“We got back to basics and stripped it right down, started to win the footy and that’s the easiest way to win a game of footy I suppose — if you’re actually getting your hands on it,” Cleeland said.
“We got a lot more inside 50s and a lot more shots on goal.
“If we didn’t kick so poorly we probably could’ve kicked away with it properly in the third quarter, and if it wasn’t for our inaccuracies we probably should’ve won by a lot more.
“Credit to them, they stuck it out and they fought with us the whole time and we only scraped over just as you can see.”
While the Bombers’ coach stayed clear of singling out standouts for his side, Ash Holland was good for his two goals while Charlie Burrows added two more to his regular season tally of 78.
Katunga spearhead Brayon Kearns slotted four and Viv Russo was also a force for the Swans.
Waaia now has two weeks to prepare for its preliminary final bout and there is no shortage of touch-ups needed in the eyes of Cleeland.
“We’ve got plenty to work on for sure, we need to get a bit cleaner around the contest,” he said.
“We’ll try and iron that out and add a bit more to our defensive side of the game.
“I think we probably went too far into the offensive side without really focusing on that defence which cost us a bit.
“We’ll try and implement a little bit of that stuff and see how that goes for us come prelim time.”
In the other qualifying final, Strathmerton trounced Tungamah courtesy of a first-half blitz on Sunday.
The Bulldogs slotted 14 majors across the first two quarters to emerge 18.9 (117) to 6.6 (42) winners at Jerilderie, booking a spot in the second preliminary decider.
