Tara Murray
Hoppers Crossing sits in the top three in Western Region Football League division 1 and isn’t going to give it up too easily.
With Deer Park hot on their heels and a tough run home, the Warriors are keen to ensure that they stay where they are and secure the double chance
Coach Steve Kretiuk said they had battled hard to get where they are.
“We have done the hard yards throughout the year,” he said.
“The position we’re in, we’ve quite vulnerable. The ball is in court and the future will tell.
“We have three big weeks ahead. We have earned that spot at the moment and we want to make sure we keep it.”
The task won’t be an easy one for the Warriors, with the side to face the top two sides in Altona and Caroline Springs in the run home, along with Spotswood.
Kretiuk said they know when they play some good football that they aren’t far off the best side.
He said with some luck they would hopefully get their best side on the park in the next few weeks.
“We haven’t had our best side on the park for even one game,” he said.
“We continue to work our way through it and if we can get everyone on the park at the same time, we are a lot stronger than we have shown.
“It’s the nature of the beast. We’ve been able to blood a few young kids which has given us more depth than we thought we would have.
“When we play our best footy, we’re not too far off the best two sides.”
The Warriors returned to the winners list on Saturday after two straight losses, beating St Albans, 14.13 (97)-6.5 (41).
Kretiuk said it was an important win for the side.
“St Albans beat us last time,” he said. “Their pressure was really good and we had a lot of turnovers.
“We won just about all the states, but not the game. We had to put the pressure on St Albans.
“There was a three to four goal breeze, we managed to kick six goals in the first quarter. We maintained that momentum in the second quarter and throughout the game.
“It was a good win.”
Ezzat Haddara kicked three goals for the Warriors, with nine players hitting the scoreboard.
Kretiuk said that was one of the more pleasing things for him.
Harley Armstrong-Weston was named best on ground.
In other results, Werribee Districts lost to Caroline Springs, while Point Cook was beaten by Altona.
