Tara Murray
Werribee overcame the conditions and the Northern Bullants to get its 10th win in a row in the Victorian Football League.
Both sides were greeted by wet and windy conditions on Saturday at Avalon Airport Oval, as the Melbourne winter hit hard.
The Tigers were the first to fire and led 45-0 at quarter time.
The Bullants fought back in the second quarter before the Werribee steadied in the second half to come away with a 15.13 (103)-7.7 (49) win.
Tigers coach Jimmy Allan said it was really trying conditions.
“It was really windy for most of the day,” he said. “It seemed to calm down in the second half.
“There was rain in the second quarter.
“I said to the fans after the game that it was a good effort to sit through and brave the conditions. It was freezing.”
On field, it was all the Tigers early on.
Allan said they’ve had their challenges with wet weather at times but in the first quarter they were able to handle it well.
He said they weren’t able to do it consistently for four quarters.
“We had a strong breeze in the first quarter and were really good that quarter,” he said.
“We were 45-0 up at quarter time. They smashed us around the ball in the second quarter and we could not get the ball forward.
“We kicked one point and they got back into the game. We tidied a couple of things up in the third quarter.
“In the last quarter we put the score on the board. At times we just tried to play too cute, perfect football, instead of just getting it forward.
“We didn’t want to use it as an excuse. The first quarter and second half showed we can still play well in those conditions.”
Hudson Garoni kicked five goals for Werribee, while Jay Dahlhaus kicked four goals and Aidan Johnson finished with three goals.
Dom Brew had plenty of the ball with 32 disposals, 13 more than the next best Tiger.
Allan said they again had a number of contributors.
“Aidan Johnson had a strong presence up forward,” he said. “Hudson Garoni played well and got his reward.
“Jay Dahlhaus returned from injury and kicked our first goal and picked up where he left off before injury.
“Dom Brew was his ever reliable self, Daly Andrews had a job on one of their prime movers and did a good job.
“Flynn Young played up forward and made a lot of good decisions.”
Allan said for a rare time this season, he thinks they escaped without any injuries.
While the Tigers got the win, it was a double celebration with Jack Henderson becoming the latest Tigers player to play 100 VFL games.
Allan said it was a special day for Henderson.
“He is very reliable and a really popular player,” he said. “He’s a great player and he embraces the values of the club and sets good standards.
“It was good to have some of his family down and we were stoked to have them down here.”
Werribee has increased its gap at the top of the ladder to six points with Footscray Bulldogs having a draw on the weekend.
The Tigers this week face Port Melbourne at Port Melbourne on Saturday afternoon.
Allan said despite Port Melbourne sitting 15th on the ladder, he was expecting a tough match.
“They’ve had a hard season,” he said. “They will be keen to finish the year on a high.
“We will not be taking them lightly by any stretch.”
