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THE old cliché ‘a week is a long time in football’ held true on Saturday night, when Werribee Tigers lost by 15 points to the Northern Blues in the Victorian Football League.
Fresh off a 12-goal belting by last year’s runners-up Port Melbourne – a win that saw their premiership odds wound in – the Tigers were shown up by a determined Blues team.
The margin flattered Werribee, which was playing catch-up most of the night. The Tigers kicked three junk-time goals to cut the margin from 33 points.
The first quarter saw the sides trading blows, with the Blues generally looking the better team as they took a five-point lead into the first break.
The Blues’ pressure around the football was immense. Continually the Tigers were pushed out to the boundary lines, cutting off the supply which helped Ben Warren to 11 goals last week.
Around the stoppages the Blues were dominant, forcing errors and turnovers, as well as frequently forcing the ball over the boundary line when Werribee had the pill.
Robbie Warnock was instrumental in the ruck for the Blues, his height and ruck work allowing the Blues to make the most of their clearances. His direct opponent for Werribee, Daniel Currie, left the ground after splitting the webbing in his fingers and though he returned to the field he had less impact.
Tigers coach Scott West paid tribute to Blues for their performance.
“They were terrific tonight. Their pressure around the footy forced us into error. They ran and spread hard both ways.
“To be honest we looked a bit fatigued at times, which is a poor excuse, but they dictated it from the start. We just couldn’t get the score under about nine points. We just couldn’t quite get the next one and then they would get an easy goal.
“Our skill wasn’t as high as it was last week. The Blues seemed to be on us a lot quicker and we fumbled the ball. You can’t afford to do that in footy because it goes back the other way quickly and they score.
“We lost the stoppages quite convincingly and we just didn’t use the ball the way we should have, and it cost us.”
The Tigers are still without captain Robbie Castello, missing with a toe injury, and again West was unable to shed any light on his condition. “It’s a week to week thing.”
VFL SCORESWerribee 17.13.115 Northern Blues 20.10.130
Werribee – goals: Clouston 4, Warren, Daw 2, Wood 2, McGenniss, Brown, Martiniello, Maric, Mather, McDonald, Meredith.
Best – Graham, Moore, Ross, Wilson, McDonald, Clouston.
