WHERE do you possibly begin to describe Hoppers Crossing’s phenomenal 29-point shoot-out win for the ages over St Albans in the Western Region Football League division 1 at Kings Park Reserve on Saturday?
Let’s start with the cold hard facts.
The sides made a mockery of their defensive structures to pile on 46 goals – they combined for a whopping 291 points and did it with great accuracy, registering goals with 46 of 61 scoring shots.
Twists and turns lurked around every siren.
You could have excused the Warriors fans if they thought they were in for a routine four premiership points as it looked that way with a 32-point half-time lead.
Warriors coach David Mitchell did not have a worry in the world at the long break, but 30 minutes later the expression on his face changed dramatically.
The Saints had somehow managed an 11-goals-to-two third quarter on a day when the wind did not overly favour one end.
Warriors skipper Brad Murphy has never seen a game change so rapidly in such a short space of time as it did on Saturday.
“That third quarter was one of the most amazing quarters that I’ve ever been a part of,” he said.
“They were absolutely flying and we couldn’t stop them no matter what we did.
“We put loose men behind the ball, we changed out set-ups and we tried different things. Once a side gets their tail up, it’s hard to stop.”
Mitchell was fuming at the three-quarter-time huddle – he had just seen a five-goal lead turn into a 20-point deficit.
While the Warriors were powerless to stop the Saints run on in the third, they knew why it occurred.
“We were second into the contest,” Murphy said. “We were missing tackles. We got a fair old spray and it was well deserved.”
The Warriors’ only chance to avoid a hellish week on the training track was to return fire in a similar fashion.
They did just that with a stunning 10-goals-to-two final quarter.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Murphy said: “We were unstoppable in the end.”
The match-winning move came when new recruit Luke Wilson was moved into the forward line. The former Taylors Lakes swingman played the first three quarters in defence before a trip into attack yielded four goals and a number of contested marks.
“He was the difference in the end,” Murphy said.
Shannon Downey and Kade Carey booted four goals apiece and Aaron Williams contributed three.
Aaron Ramsay was the most consistent ball winner across the four quarters and now that he is at full fitness is showing why he is so highly rated at Hogans Road.
“He was quiet the first two games because he broke a rib in one of the practice games,” Murphy said.
“Now he’s getting consistency of game time and winning those in and under contests.”
