WERRIBEE’S scintillating run of form in the Victorian Football League came to an end on Saturday with a dispiriting 45-point loss to Bendigo at Windy Hill.
The Tigers went into the contest having won their past five games but were flat and listless for most of the day as Bendigo made the most of their opportunities.
Both teams had 23 scoring shots but the Bombers finished 17.6, as opposed to Werribee’s wayward 8.15.
Click on the image below for our gallery of the big game.
The win was largely set up in the second term, as Bendigo turned a four-point quarter-time lead into a 44-point margin by half-time, booting seven goals to one for the quarter.
The Tigers appeared to lift the tempo after the main break, regularly streaming forward, but could manage only two goals from seven scoring shots.
Tigers coach Scott West urged the group to take the game on in the last quarter, but they were again wasteful, kicking only two goals from six shots.
On an ordinary day for the Tigers, Ben McKinley tried his hardest in spite of poor ball use further up the ground, while Cameron Pedersen continued to stake his claims for selection at North Melbourne with another good game in the ruck. Captain Robbie Castello loomed as their most dangerous forward, and was the only multiple goalscorer for Werribee, with three.
West was blunt in his assessment of the match, telling the Weekly that poor attitude was to blame.
“They [Bombers] had a better attitude for the contest, plain and simple. We didn’t want the contest and they did. We didn’t have the right attitude and we didn’t take the game on at all. It was a performance that was unlike us.
“We have to make sure we bring it every week, we can’t pick and choose when we want to play good footy.”
He said poor use of the football was crucial to the loss and would need to be looked at during the week.
“We bombed it inside 50 and that makes it very difficult for the forwards,” he said.
“Coming off half-back some of our guys weren’t hitting targets and that puts the guy receiving the ball under pressure straightaway.
“We were really wasteful with the ball and wasteful on the scoreboard.”
The Tigers return home to face Casey Scorpions on Saturday in a blockbuster at Avalon Airport Oval.
SCORES:
Seniors: Bendigo Bombers 17.6 (108)
d Werribee 8.15 (63). Werribee Tigers: Goals: Castello 3, Ablett, Mather, Lynch, McKinley, Warren. Best: McKinley, Pedersen, Sherlock, Castello, Lynch, Kennedy.
