It was the major scalp that Werribee had threatened to take all Victorian Football League season.
A breakthrough victory over a fully aligned AFL opponent for the first time since returning to stand-alone status.
The memorable seven-point win over Box Hill Hawks at Box Hill City Oval on Saturday will go down as an upset, but it should not come as a surprise.
Werribee midfielder Kurt Aylett said the result meant more to his young side than merely four premiership points.
“It was a great scalp for us,” he said.
“The boys are rapt and it’s one of the best wins we’ve played in.
“Being a full stand-alone team and winning against an AFL affiliated team and one that we hold high respect to and the whole competition does too, we can take some confidence into the rest of the year now, knowing we can match it with anyone.”
Werribee had gone close three times this season against fully aligned sides without tasting success.
In the season opener, it went down to Geelong in a thriller by four points, it came close on the road at Casey before losing by 16 and ran out of time in an eight point loss to Footscray.
Werribee was not going to let this one slip, not after the amount of hard work it put into the contest.
The John Lamont-coached team led by 16 at half-time, but was out-scored five goals to one in the third quarter and some at the ground felt like Box Hill would hold on.
But Werribee produced a remarkable last quarter, keeping Box Hill goalless and scoring late goals through Jake Sharp and Kye Declase to claim a famous win.
Unlike previous games when Werribee had flat patches, this time it produced a near four quarter performance.
Werribee also cleaned up its use of the ball and rebounded well off half-back.
There were no passengers for Werribee as they out-worked the hosts and relished the freedom of the wide expanses of the ground. “It was just a fantastic effort from across the board,” Aylett said.
“We went in with a clear focus on some of the defensive aspects in our game and just really brought the pressure and a relentless attack on the ball.
“Box Hill is a big ground and with the work we’ve done in the pre-season, we had the confidence in our ability to run and carry and use the ball.
“We’ve got such great intercept markers in our team to drive us off the half-back flank and some great runners to get it forward.
“We had a real simple and clear focus going into this week’s game to attack between the arc and really drive the ball forward.”
All the leaders stood up for Werribee.
None more so than captain Michael Sodomaco, who was outstanding in defence.
Aylett had more of a defensive midfield role to perform and did so admirably, Tom Gribble racked up 31 possessions and Ben Moloney was hard at it with 13 tackles to go with two goals.
Sharp relished the chance to play forward, kicking three crucial goals.
“It was an even contribution across the board, but to have the leaders stand up and lead the way was really promising,” Aylett said.
“We have to, we have no choice, it’s the pressure we put on ourselves week in week out.
“Hopefully the young guys are learning a lot from us and we continue to drive and build what is hopefully a powerhouse team in the near future.”
Werribee will host a stand-alone side in Port Melbourne at Avalon Airport Oval on Saturday at 3pm.
The Borough is not just any stand-alone side, they are the premiers of last season.
“Everyone knows they’re the premiers of last year and they’re the benchmark,” Aylett said.
“We had a great win against them last year, but that was last year.
“I know the guys are keen to get into this week’s preparation and really have a good hit-out against them.
“We want to build that fortress at home and make Werribee a tough place to play at.
“We’re working towards that and looking forward to the challenge.”
