Werribee Districts has moved into second spot on the Western Region Football League senior ladder after a gutsy 25-point win against Altona on Saturday.
In tough conditions, the two sides were evenly matched in the first half.
But the Tigers made more of their chances around goal to take an 11-point lead into the main break.
After a nasty head injury to Altona’s Ben Fogarty in the third quarter, the match was stopped for more than half an hour as an ambulance was called.
The Vikings said on Monday that Fogarty was fine after the incident.
At the resumption of play, it was Werribee that adjusted first, kicking another three goals and holding Altona to one to seal the 10.9 (69) to 6.8 (44) win.
Tiger coach Wade Chapman was pleased to get the victory in challenging circumstances.
“It was a good performance,” Chapman said. “From the 22 players that took the field, everyone played their role.
“Then, with the circumstances of the Altona player going down, they stopped the game for a while. It was something that Altona probably hasn’t experienced before.”
“I think he [Ben Fogarty] is OK and that is the main thing.”
The Tigers were brilliantly led by forward duo Andrew Panayi and David Briscoe, the pair combining for nine goals.
Around the ground, Matthew Dean, Ben Morton and Tyler Crennan were the standouts for Werribee.
“I thought our whole forward line worked well together, especially our smalls in Andrew and David,” Chapman said.
“We were really happy with how they played. They were clever and the conditions really suited those smaller guys.”
Werribee will meet St Albans in a blockbuster clash this Saturday.
They are the league’s form senior teams.
“They are going to be a really big test for our playing group,” Chapman said.
“We are still a work in progress at our footy club. We still think there is plenty of improvement there, too, which is pleasing.”
