Tara Murray
Point Cook will take home the points and move on following the opening round of the Western Football League division 1 season.
Facing Parkside for the first time, the Bulldogs managed to do just enough to come away with the points, 7.18 (58)-5.10 (40).
Bulldogs coach Clay Smith said it’s not a match that people would go back and watch.
“It was really scrappy,” he said. “It’s always good to be able to win ugly.
“We’ve never played them before and they were good. It’s nice to see them come up and be competitive in division 1.
“We kept them in the game longer than we should have, but that is football.”
Smith said the most disappointing things for them during the game were things that they could easily fix.
“The way we kicked in front of goal was poor,” he said. “We had seven set shots fall short on the line and there were another six or seven easy ones we missed.
“We gave up three goals from 50 metre penalties which put them on the goal line.
“We still came away with the win, which is what we want.”
He said their skills improved later towards the end of the game which was probably the difference in the end.
Jock Coates kicked three goals for the Bulldogs in his debut for the club, having come from Gippsland.
Smith said one of the older boys in Shaun Wyatt was really good and his composure was really crucial.
He said with such a young side they know they will have periods of inconsistency in games like they did on Saturday.
In Saturday’s team, there were 14 players who were under 21.
“The longer we stay together the better they will be,” Smith said. “There will be that little bit of inconsistency.”
Smith said they still have plenty of time in the club with six or seven players who have been senior players in the reserves.
He said it was the strongest reserves side he’s seen in his three years at the club.
The win is the start of the Bulldogs aim to go one better than last season, when they made the grand final in the first time they’ve played finals.
“We want to put ourselves in a position to challenge again,” Smith said.
The Bulldogs face Altona, which they beat in the preliminary final last year. The Vikings had the bye in round one.
In other round one matches, Werribee Districts started its title defence with a hard fought win against Point Cook Centrals.
The Sharks who were the only team to beat the Tigers last season, pushed them all the way, but fell short 11.17 (83)-10.10 (70).
Bailey Siwek was the Tigers best, with Joshua Grech the Sharks best.
Hoppers Crossing started with a loss to Spotswood, 13.14 (92)-7.16 (58).
The Suns and Wyndhamvale both had wins in division 2, while Tarneit lost to Braybrook.
