Wyndhamvale had no shortage of motivating forces driving its hard-earned, 23-point victory over Yarraville-Seddon in Western Region Football League’s division 2 on Saturday.
None was bigger for the Falcons than Daniel Bunworth in his 300th club game.
“We’ve been pretty big on celebrating mile- stones, especially guys within our club,” Falcons playing football manager Nathan Evans told Star Weekly. “Dan’s played a lot of junior games at our club and right through the ranks in seniors.
“He played at the times when we were really down and getting beat a lot … it’s good to see him now get some reward for his hard work and loyalty to the club.”
Bunworth had a day to remember at Wyndhamvale South Oval. Not only did he rack up a stack of possessions in the midfield, he capped them off with a goal.
It was another versatile effort that underlines why Evans has described Bunworth as the “ultimate utility” during his career.
“He can play forward, back, onball, on the wing – anywhere. He’ll match anyone running-wise; he’s run two marathons in the last four months,” Evans said.
“He’s certainly got the fitness levels, but he’s got the agility as well to run and jump and dominate.”
The Falcons were desperate to hit back after suffering their first loss of the season to North Footscray a week earlier.
They also wanted to prove their worth against an in-form Yarraville-Seddon side hot off two wins on the trot.
Evans believes there is a perception that the Falcons tend to go missing when blockbuster games roll around.
“Sides know we’re a good team, but the oppositions’ perception of us is that we get to a big game and we’re not as good as we usually are,” Evans said.
“We know Yarraville thought that way and that came from their own coach on the radio show on Friday night.
“It was a matter of trying to earn a bit of respect back and it’s on us now to show every club, individually, how we’re going to play and that we’re not here to be pushovers any more.
“We’re certainly here for the big dance at the end of the year.”
Nathan Reschke had a monster game in the ruck for the top-of-the table Falcons. Tito Nyawela and Todd Lawrie booted two majors each on a day when goals were hard to come by.
Trailing by nine points at three-quarter time, the Falcons booted four goals and kept Yarraville-Seddon scoreless in the last quarter to run out comfortable winners.
“We were very confident knowing we were coming home with a breeze,” Evans said.
“It was a matter of stopping them when they kicked with it in the third quarter.
“We’ve got the miles in our legs, we’ve got the fitness under our belts. So we knew our guys had the legs to run over the top of them and that’s the way it went.”
In division 1, Jordan Mead produced a scintillating performance with seven goals to guide Hoppers Crossing to a 39-point win over Altona at Hogans Road Reserve.
Werribee Districts fell just four points short of an upset against premiership favourite Deer Park at the John McLeod Oval.
Meanwhile, in division 3, local sides Sanctuary Lakes, Tarneit and Wyndham Suns all had big wins last weekend.
