Werribee will be on a wing and a prayer going into the last two rounds of Hockey Victoria men’s Vic League 1.
The undermanned Tigers need a number of pieces in the jigsaw to fall into place or they’ll be heading for the dreaded relegation.
Fate could be sealed for the Tigers as soon as Saturday evening unless they can pull off an upset win over Brunswick on the road and get assistance from Toorak East Malvern in the form of a win over La Trobe University.
If those two results occur, it will set up a survival showdown between the Tigers and La Trobe in the final round.
Tigers coach Ryan Tout admits an improbable set of circumstances needs to occur for his side to avoid the drop.
“We’re a bit deflated,” Tout told Star Weekly after last Saturday’s 6-2 loss to Geelong.
“Other results made it incredibly hard for us to stay up.
“We’ll have to try to win both games and hope things fall our way.”
The Tigers have lacked a cutting edge in attack all season.
Their only consistent threat in front of goal has been Sam Huxtable, a lethal drag flicker from short-corner situations.
But the leading goalscorer will be absent from the Tigers’ frontline in the final two rounds after breaking his ribs a fortnight ago.
Huxtable’s absence has led to frustration for others Tigers players, who are finding their hard work going unrewarded without the recognised scorer.
“The boys are doing a lot of hard work in the midfield and defence, but we’re not capitalising in the circle and scoring goals,” Tout said.
“[Huxtable] has two broken ribs. He fell on his stick and landed on his ribs.”
A positive to come out of the carnage is the career-best form of defender Adam Hopkins, who has been a pillar on the last line of defence, a springboard from the back and an important voice for his teammates.
“He’s had a stellar last part of the year,” Tout said.
“He’s really tight in defence, his tackling has improved out of sight and he’s not turning over the ball as much.
“He’s grown as the defensive leader in terms of his talking.
“It’s certainly not a role he’s played before, but I really think he’s grown into a leadership role.”
In the women’s Vic League 2, Werribee was pipped 2-1 by MHSOB on Sunday, leaving them a point out of the top four.
The Tigers will meet third-placed Casey in a do-or-die penultimate round blockbuster at the Werribee Hockey Centre at 2pm on Saturday.
