Tara Murray
The challenge of going from the worksite to the football field proved nothing for Werribee as it made it three wins in a row in the Victorian Football League.
A Wednesday night match up with Richmond proved something new for Werribee, but you couldn’t have told by the way Werribee started.
Werribee took the early lead and were able to build it through the first three quarters to lead by 41-points at the last break.
While the Tigers won the last quarter, the damage had been done with Werribee winning 13.13 (91)-8.6 (54).
Werribee coach Michael Barlow said it was a pretty unique situation for the group playing a mid week game.
“We had blokes coming from work sites and offices,” he said. “It’s a pretty unique challenge we had to get them prepared for.
“It changes things slightly as for most of them it was a workday. They sacrifice a large amount to be a VFL footballer.”
Facing a side made up of predominantly AFL-listed players, Werribee got the job done around the contest to set up the match.
Barlow admits they were slightly inaccurate in the first quarter, which could have let them open up a larger lead.
He said they were really happy with the heat they had brought to the contest.
“There’s always elements we would really like to improve,” he said.
“Our contest work has been really good since my time back at the club in 2019. It’s a highlight of what we do.
“Ball movement and team defence… The last three to four weeks these are elements that we’ve tried to improve.”
Jay Dahlaus and Hudson Garoni kicked three goals each, while Tom Gribble (34 possessions) and Ollie Hanrahan (32 possessions) had plenty of the ball.
Barlow said Louis Pinnuck played his best game that he had seen, while Hanrahan played a really strong game in the front half.
He was also pleased with the game of Reuben William who had the job on Sydney Stack.
For the second straight week, Barlow said they could have easily put team effort in the best players.
“In particular the last two weeks, the mainstays who have been here for a long time have been by no means outstanding,” he said.
“The leadership group have played their roles quite well, but haven’t stood out. It’s a mixture of guys from outside the leadership group that we’ve named in our best.”
The win, Werribee’s third in a row, moves the side to just outside the top eight.
Barlow said while three wins in a row was nice, it just evens the ledger after three losses in a row earlier in the season.
Werribee this week faces Geelong, which is just a game ahead of them.
Speaking on Thursday, Barlow said with a 10-day break, they would use this week as they bye week, rather than last week.
“The guys all had a quite weekend last weekend,” he said.
“We’ll review the game today and we’ll rest and recover. We won’t see them again until Tuesday.
“Geelong is one of the best sides in the competition, it’ll be a good test.”
