Western Jets overcame a lacklustre start to overrun Murray
Bushrangers by nine points in the TAC Cup elimination final at Visy Park
on Sunday.
The Jets neglected their defensive responsibilities in an opening term shoot-out in which the sides shared 11 goals.
The unfancied Bushrangers, who qualified for the finals in eighth, held a surprise 17-point lead at the first break.
A recalibration on the Jets’ defensive end would squeeze the life
out of the Bushies attack and go some way to building the
come-from-behind victory.
“It was an ordinary start, but we were able to grind our way back
into the game,” Jets coach Torin Baker said. “I just think our defensive
work was really poor in that first quarter. From quarter time, we were
able to defend much better and get ourselves back into the contest.”
The Jets stemmed the bleeding in the second and third quarters and
had their chances in front of goal, but still trailed by 15 at
three-quarter time.
When the Jets were crying out for a match winner, two of their stars stood up – as they had for most of the season.
Jake Greiser and David Iaccarino produced monster last terms to wrench the game away from the Bushrangers.
Greiser was the cool head in a pressure cooker of do-or-die
football. His skills came to the fore in a 31-possession game, capping a
best-on-ground display with a superb goal out of a stoppage.
“Jake’s four-quarter effort was outstanding,” Baker said.
When the ball was in dispute, it was often Iaccarino who emerged
with it. He finished with three goals, but it was his two crucial
six-pointers late in the game that will stick in the mind.
“He’s really stood up in big moments throughout the year for us,” Baker said.
Winger Lachlan Hickey kept the Jets in the contest when it
appeared a forlorn task and was his team’s equal leading tackler
alongside Pele Manivong with six.
“When things weren’t going super well, I thought he was a real
leader in the way he attacked the game,” Baker said. “He was brave with
his ball use and good defensively as well.”
Not for the first time this season, Baker lauded the never-say-die attitude of the Jets.
“It’s really admirable, the character and the spirit the boys
continually display,” he said. “We’ve had a number of these types of
games. Not every one of them has gone our way, but a lot of the times
we’ve been able to fight hard to overcome some tough situations.”
The Jets will face Calder Cannons in a blockbuster semi-final at
Visy Park on Sunday from 11.15am. Prepare for a heart-stopper if the two
less-than-a-kick thrillers played by these two sides in the
home-and-away rounds are a reliable form guide.
