Tara Murray
Werribee continued its winning streak despite not playing its best football against Richmond in the Victorian Football League on Saturday.
Both teams entered the match undefeated and it was Werribee that got the job done at Avalon Airport Oval, winning 11.7 (73)-7.10 (52).
Werribee started the better of the two sides and led by 22 points at quarter time. It was a margin it would be able to get throughout most of the match and it proved to be the difference in the end.
Werribee coach Jimmy Allan said they managed to do just enough to get the win.
“We played well in patches,” he said. “There’s still a lot of improvement to come for us.
“We got off to a great start, then Richmond got into it and made it hard to keep possession inside our 50.
“We also didn’t make great decisions inside 50 and we need to work on that. We controlled the stoppage work and that was able to hold us in good stead.”
Disposal into the 50 has been a concern at times the last couple of seasons even before Allan joined the club.
He said it was the hardest kick in football to get right.
“The opposition was able to get numbers back,” he said. ‘We didn’t help our forwards by bombing it in
“Our forwards need to do a bit more work getting into positions where they can get the ball easier.”
While Werribee struggled in act, the side’s defence was again a highlight.
“Our team defence was really strong,” he said. “We have not conceded over 60 points which shows we’re doing a lot of things right.
“The pressure and the way our defenders have set up has been really good.. That has kept us in games.”
Hudson Garoni was the only multiple goal kicker for Werribee with two.
Nick Coughlan had plenty of the ball with 33 disposals, while Kye Declase had 30 and Jack Henderson had 27.
Allan said it was a couple of defenders who were the standouts.
“Jalen Pavlidis was outstanding on the weekend,” he said. “He hasn’t played a lotin defence previously.
“With Louis Pinnuck out, Jesse Clark stepped up and played really well. Nick Coughlan, especially late in the game when Richmond were coming hard, was important for the team and he played well.
“Nathan Cooper didn’t have his best game and he’s probably been our best player all season, so it holds us in good stead.”
Allan said the likes of Pavlidis and Clark, who have come in this season and taken on rolls.
Pavlidis joined the club this season, while Clark missed a big chunk of last season injured.
“There’s opportunity for these guys with the turnover of the list,” he said. “Not just in bit part roles.
“They’ve stepped up and we’ll look for a few others to take hold of positions in the next few weeks.”
Werribee is one of four undefeated teams after three rounds and sits on top due to percentage.
Allan said after being on the road the first couple of weeks, it was nice to get out in front of their home crowd.
They will be back out this week against the GWS Giants on Saturday at 12.05pm.
“They had a good win against Sandringham,” Allan said. “They are a high quality side and we will have to be at our best defensively to stop them.
“It’ll be a challenge for our guys and we’re looking forward to playing them, they’re highly rated.”
