Werribee Tigers notched its first win of the Victorian Football League season, but it took three painstaking quarters to get there.
Picture gallery: VFL | Werribee v North Ballarat
The Tigers’ act came together just in time to overrun North Ballarat Roosters by 14 points at Avalon Airport oval on Saturday. They came back from 13 points down at the last change to kick the last four goals of the match.
Tigers’ coach John Lamont was relieved with the breakthrough victory after his side struggled to handle the wet for most of the game.
“The effort was there, I can’t question that,” he told
Star Weekly. “They were trying and having a go but weren’t thinking their way through the game well enough.
“We didn’t adjust to the conditions; we hand-balled too much,” he said.
“I had my doubts as to whether we were going to be able to do it at three-quarter time because we played three quarters and hadn’t really executed as we wanted, but the weather cleared a bit and we were able to play a bit |more possession footy and we prevailed in the end.”
The Tigers were defensively sounder after half-time, strangling the visitors’ scoring.
After booting eight goals in the first half, the Roosters were restricted to a measly 1.4 after the main break. Supply to the Roosters’ forwards dried up as the Tigers got on top in the middle of the ground.
Ruckman Daniel Currie dictated the game for the Tigers, both in the air and on the ground.
Currie is as adept as any big man in the competition when the ball hits the deck.
Onballers Isaac Conway, Jesse Crichton and Matt Hansen feasted off Currie’s work at the stoppages.
“I was really impressed with his game in the wet,” Lamont said.
“He followed up and tackled and got himself involved. He gave those other guys a real chance at it.”
Currie did not have to work one-out in the ruck.
The Tigers have an embarrassment of riches in the big man department and rolled out three capable big players for the game.
The other two, Majak Daw and Dylan Reid, had a major impact both as back-up ruckman and marking targets in attack.
“They both rested forward and went into the ruck and supported Daniel and did a good job,” Lamont said.
“They made plenty of collisions in the air and if they didn’t mark it, they brought it to ground. It was pleasing from the big men.”
The last quarter was played almost exclusively in the Tigers’ half of the ground.
They held the Roosters to one behind in a one-sided fourth term and the weight of possession was telling.
“Our ball-winners around the stoppages kept winning the ball and driving it forward,” Lamont said.
“North Ballarat would try to move the ball out and we were able to defend and keep it in our half of the ground.”
Two youngsters stood up for the Tigers late.
Forward Jason Robinson booted two crucial goals while Joe Maishman was superb on the wing, responding to a challenge laid down by Lamont at half-time.
Nathan Laracy had the biggest shut-down role of the day on dangerous Roosters’ forward Andrew Hooper, keeping him to one goal.
The Tigers head to Port Melbourne on Saturday with a 1-1 record after two matches.
Meanwhile, Werribee is without a win after two development league matches, going down by 83 points to the Casey Scorpions in the curtain-raiser last Saturday.
