WERRIBEE Tigers handed Casey Scorpions only their second loss of the Victorian Football League season at Avalon Airport Oval on Saturday, running out 78-point winners in a one-sided contest.
The highly anticipated clash between Casey, who were second on the ladder, and the third-placed Tigers turned out to be a fizzer as Werribee dominated from the opening siren.
Click on the image below for our gallery of the big clash.
Casey, which had previously lost only to Bendigo, wasn’t at full strength and players struggled to assert themselves as the hungry Tigers went about making up for the ugly loss to Bendigo last week.
Scott West spoke after last week’s game about his players having a poor attitude for the contest and not taking the game on, and on Saturday they rediscovered their best form.
Ben Ross had yet another blinder in the midfield, regularly breaking lines to send the ball forward.
Majak Daw impressed again, kicking two goals, winning taps when in the ruck and taking strong pack marks around the ground.
His counterpart Cameron Pedersen continued to put his hand up for selection with North Melbourne, having another influential game in the ruck.
But the story of the day was Nathan Ablett, who played arguably his best game of football since leaving Geelong in 2007.
He kicked four goals and had a number of assists, and looked dangerous whenever he had the ball.
West said Ablett’s game was reward for effort, after the forward spent time with the development squad earlier this year.
“When he gets it within 45 metres he’s a deadly kick,” he said.
“He was terrific today. He provided decoy leads, got out of space and contested in the air and his hands were terrific to provide opportunities for other guys.”
West said the group should be judged on how it bounced back after a loss like the week before, and said the players were able to turn around their disappointment and get back to playing good footy.
“I got the feeling after last week’s game that they were really disappointed in their performance,” he said. “No one could really put a finger on why, but we dealt with it Tuesday and moved on pretty quick.
“You just have to keep taking the game on and we didn’t just fall over the line today, we played well and won well. It shows it’s all between the ears with our group.”
Robbie Castello (general soreness) and Travis Tuck (illness) were withdrawals but both should be right to play this week.
The full extent of Will Martiniello’s knee injury is not known, but West said he expected he wouldn’t miss more than a month.
