Comparing 100-point losses is not the ideal way for Werribee Tigers coach John Lamont to spend his time, but he felt the need to defend his side after its second triple-figure defeat in the VFL this season.
Lamont gave his players a bake five weeks ago for showing a lack of pride after an 111-point thrashing against Geelong at Simonds Stadium.
But Sunday’s 105-point loss to Casey Scorpions, the premiership frontrunners, was a stark contrast to that day.
“It was a much better 100-point loss than the Geelong 100-point loss,” Lamont told
Star Weekly.
“We showed a lot more spirit this time. There were some good aspects to the game.”
Even before the Tigers turned up at Casey Fields, they were behind the eight ball in terms of experience.
The Scorpions were laden with AFL experience, while the Tigers were young from top to bottom.
North Melbourne’s injury list meant any of its experienced players that had previously been involved with Werribee were needed at AFL level, while Werribee’s own list had already been decimated by injury to compound the woes.
But the Tigers turned up in the right frame of mind, switched on and ready to go.
They kicked the first two goals of the game and remained competitive until midway through the second quarter.
That’s when it all fell apart and it was through no fault of their own.
“We kicked the first two goals of the game and had a good first quarter, so we arrived to play,” Lamont said.
“A lot of things we planned for worked. Then, by the 15-minute mark of the second quarter, we were down three players and everything went downhill from there.”
The injury card was dealt to Werribee once again.
First it was Scott Sherlock with a hamstring, then Nick Meredith injured a groin and Sam Wright re-aggravated a foot injury.
Inevitably, the scoreboard turned ugly for Werribee, but the structures held up and the effort didn’t dip.
“Credit to our blokes in the second half – they kept trying and persevering and putting pressure on,” Lamont said.
“Some blokes played from quarter-time on and played out the full three quarters.
“I was pleased with the way they hung in there and didn’t just throw the towel in. I was pleased they showed a bit of character.”
With seven players having season-ending injuries and a further five facing a race against time, Werribee’s injury outlook does not look as though it will improve any time soon.
The remaining Tigers will just have to fight it out as best as they can when they host finals-bound Footscray in the penultimate round at Avalon Airport Oval on Sunday from noon.
