Werribee came undone in a frenetic 30 minutes of football in Sunday’s 37-point loss to Box Hill Hawks in the VFL at Box Hill City Oval.
The Tigers have a stack of positives to take out of the game, but they will be overshadowed by the all-too-familiar quarter when they let opposition sides get a run on.
This time, the third quarter proved the difference in the game, as the Hawks turned a six-point half-time lead into an unassailable 43-point advantage on the back of a 6.8 to 1.1 blitz.
“Playing for three quarters, as we learned, isn’t enough,” Tigers’ coach John Lamont told Star Weekly.
“Box Hill got on top in the third quarter and we couldn’t wrestle back momentum.
“Your ability to defend differentiates the top teams to the middle teams and the bottom teams.”
It was not only defensively that Werribee had its troubles. Their inability to string passes together – a combination of poor decision making and relentless Box Hill defence – created more work for the defensive side of their game.
The absence of experienced big Majak Daw was another factor. The week before, the Tigers had the luxury of a get-out kick, where Daw would crash the pack to mark or bring it to ground.
With Daw called up for North Melbourne, it had a knock-on effect structurally, with Braydon Preuss having to ruck one-out and inexperienced forwards Ben McKay and Sam Durdin taking the best two tall defenders.
“Majak was a huge out for us,” Lamont said. “It’s great that he’s getting an opportunity at AFL level, but he has meant a lot to our team, without a doubt. The others, [Josh] Porter, he’s going into his third year of VFL footy, while the other two boys, Durdin and McKay, are only youngsters.
“It’s a learning curve for them, and we’re trying to flatten that out as quick as we can,” Lamont said.
Matt Hanson was involved in most of Werribee’s best passages for the day. Hanson had 31 possessions, 25 of which were effective.
The cream on the top of a standout game was his 11 tackles. More performances like this and the Tasmanian will find himself on an AFL list.
“He worked hard through the middle of the ground,” Lamont said. “He’s working in well with the other midfielders and works hard defensively.”
Declan Mountford has created a niche as a defensive midfielder in recent weeks. He kept Box Hill speedster Billy Hartung to manageable numbers.
Tom Gribble had 44 possessions – the same number as the precious week – so his work rate cannot be questioned. The kick-to-handball ratio might have been a tad lopsided for Gribble against Box Hill, with 30 of his possessions handballs, most in traffic.
Nick Meredith bobbed up for two goals and has become a useful swingman in his first season at Werribee, while captain Michael Sodamaco continued his fine form in a rebounding role off half-back. Small forward Robin Nahas proved a handful.
Werribee still has a mathematical chance of reaching finals, but needs to cause a massive upset on the road for ladder leader Casey Scorpions on Sunday.
