Tara Murray
A five-day turnaround proved no barrier for Hoppers Crossing as it recorded its fourth win of the Western Region Football League division 1 season.
Having played on Anzac Day, the Warriors knew they would have their work cut out for them against Deer Park on Saturday.
After a pretty even first half, the Warriors turned up the screws in the second half.
While they increased the margin in the third quarter, it wasn’t until the fourth quarter when their dominance really showed through on the scoreboard.
The Warriors were able to win, 15.10 (100)-5.6 (36).
Warriors coach Steve Kretiuk was thrilled with how his side played in the second half in slippery conditions.
“Deer Park had a pretty good side in,” he said.
“To our guys’ credit they were coming off a five day break. We thought they may have struggled a bit in the second half but they found another gear to push themselves.
“The game was in the balance. In the third quarter we had plenty of opportunities but we were just blazing away and their intercepting players were picking them off.
“We played a lot quicker in the last quarter and lowered our vision and played the way we wanted to and kicked seven goals.”
Nicholas Sing kicked four goals in the win, while Josh Pickess chipped in with three.
Kreituk said he didn’t want to have any input in picking the side’s best players, after a really even performance with everyone contributing.
He was impressed by some of the players, whose impact didn’t necessarily show up in the stats.
“Ezzat Haddara has been OK this season, but it has been hard for him with Ramadan,” he said.
“He played the best game I had seen him play.
“Braden Ferrari at centre half forward sacrificed a lot of his game and was a real workhorse.
“Ash Brown had another 10 intercept marks. Nicholas Poland did the job on Kwame Mcharg. He only had a handful of touches but shut down one of the best players in the competition.”
The win takes the Warriors to 4-1, who sit only behind Caroline Springs who is undefeated but has played one less game.
Kretiuk said they were happy with how the season was going so far, but there was still a lot of room for improvement.
“We had a bit of a hiccup against St Albans a couple of weeks ago, but have recruited things the last two weeks against really good sides.
“Being 4-1 is always good… but there is still a fair bit of improvement in the side.
“We gave a lot of the boys pre-Christmas off, we knew we would be behind the eight ball.
“We thought it would take six to eight weeks to find our feet and we would hopefully get better as the season goes on.
The Warriors this week face Yarraville Seddon Eagles.
Kretiuk said they needed to be switched on mentally if they were to get the job done.
“It is pretty even this year.”
In other matches, Werribee Districts defeated Spotswood, while Point Cook opened its account against Yarraville Seddon Eagles.
