WERRIBEE Tigers made a raucous arrival on the nationwide Foxtel Cup scene, annihilating a deer-in-the-headlights Burnie Dockers by 133 points in a one-sided affair at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
The goal procession started from the opening minutes and went some way to cleansing the Tigers of the recent poor starts they experienced in the early rounds of the Victorian Football League regular season.
The Tigers opened up with a nine-goals-to-nil first quarter with twin towers Will Sullivan and Majak Daw ruling the roost in the ruck department. It was not until early in the second term the Dockers finally started to show some fight.
The visitors broke the ice with their first goal through the crafty Zach Mihocek and he made it back-to-back goals shortly after. But the Tigers recaptured their defensive mojo to win the quarter.
The second half was a rout, the Tigers piling on 15 goals to three and showing the kind of exhilarating ball movement that had the pundits mentioning their name in the same breath as the premiership favourites in the pre-season.
Ben Warren, a player who has been in the AFL system for 28 games since being drafted in 2006, could be on the verge of his best season in the system if his opening month with the Tigers is any indication.
The 23 year old has not only impressed with his goalkicking ability – he kicked five against the Dockers – but also his willingness to work hard to provide multiple leads and improve the defensive side of his game. Pack-busting onballers Ben Speight and Levi Greenwood fought it out for best afield honours.
The highlight of the match came in the last quarter when Daw received a free kick smack bang in the middle of Etihad Stadium, evaded man-on-the-mark Jason Laycock, ran his full measure over two bounces and steadied for a goal of the year nomination.
The Tigers move into the quarter-final phase of the Foxtel Cup where they will meet the winner of Ainslie (ACT) and West Perth (WA) on June 9 at a venue to be decided.
This Friday night, the Tigers will host Geelong Cats under lights in a crucial VFL game at Avalon Airport Oval.
The first bounce is at 7.40.
VFL SCOREBOARD
Foxtel Cup: Werribee 26.9 (165) Burnie 5.2 (32). Werribee – Goals: Warren 5, Daw 3, Greenwood 3, McKinley 3, Speight 3, Lynch 2, Purton-Smith 2, Gibson, Hansen, Moloney, Pedersen, Sullivan. Best: Greenwood, Warren, Speight, Gibson, Hansen.
Development: Werribee Tigers 11.9 (75) lt Sandringham 16.16 (112). Werribee – Goals: J Treloar 2, J Tom 2, T Battaglia, F Lucas , T Ruffles, J Risol, J McCormack, J Keras, L Fairley. Best: M Sodomaco, J Keras, S Harrison, J Sheahan, A Kennedy, C Tudor.
