The Werribee Tigers were breathing a sigh of relief after finishing 13 points clear of Coburg Lions in a low-scoring VFL clash at Avalon Airport Oval on Sunday.
Tigers coach John Lamont admitted his side was “probably lucky” to have banked a four-goal lead at half-time because it was second to the ball for much of the second half and in danger of being overrun.
“I was really pleased with our first half where we created a nice lead,” he said. “They won the second half and we were probably lucky we’d created the lead we had. I was just relieved to get the four points, to be honest.”
Jye Bolton was best on ground as the Tigers edged the Lions, 8.12 (60) to 6.11 (47).
The wet and windy conditions dictated a stop-start game, with contested ball the key.
The Tigers dominated this area in the first half, getting first use of the ball and using it to menacing effect.
“We had the initiative around the stoppages,” Lamont said.
“We probably played a bit smarter, knowing when to handball and when to kick in the conditions.”
The pendulum swung in favour of the Lions in the second half when coach Peter German changed his line-up and opted for more one-on-one contests.
The visitors’ fightback was aided by the Tigers’ inaccurate kicking: a return of just 2.5 for the third quarter. “If we kick 5.2 the game is snuffed out, but at the 20-minute mark [of the fourth quarter] it was well and truly alive,” Lamont said.
But the Tigers managed to hold on for their second win in as many weeks to keep in touch with the top four.
A major component was Bolton, who just about covered every blade of grass for the Tigers. The onballer capped a best-on-ground display with two of his side’s eight goals.
“He was clearly our best player through the middle,” Lamont said.
“He had rebounds 50s, inside 50s, won contested ball and got a bit of outside ball.” Mason Wood pressed his claims for selection at the Tigers’ AFL affiliate North Melbourne with another solid performance. Wood was used in a variety of roles from wing to forward and even came to the aid of the defence at times.
Tim McGenniss, Kieran Harper and Tom Gribble did a power of work at the coalface, while Dylan Jones proved an able replacement for the injured Daniel Currie.
The Tigers will look to make it three in a row when North Ballarat visits Watton Street for a 1pm start on Saturday.
“It’s a bit of a local derby because of the North Melbourne connection,” Lamont said. “Having worked at North the past few years, there’s a bit of banter that starts early in the week and towards the last part of the week we tended to split them up at training.
“It’s got a different feel about it and, historically, they’ve been good games.”
