WERRIBEE has booked its ticket to the 2012 Foxtel Cup grand final with a resounding 71-point win over Queensland powerhouse Morningside Panthers at the Gabba in Brisbane on Saturday.
The Tigers were overwhelmingly backed to bully the home side into submission in the semi-final, but it was far from a done deal at half-time.
They led by just 14 points at the main break, despite a lopsided inside 50 count of 29-12 to that point.
The delivery into the Tigers forwards was second rate and their conversion left a lot to be desired.
Cam Pedersen, the most consistent performer over four quarters, worked tirelessly in a mobile ruck role.
Pedersen, 25, booted two goals and had 12 possessions in the first two quarters alone.
The North Melbourne-listed player finished with 22 touches for the day to go with 14 hit-outs, eight marks and three tackles in a best-on-ground display.
The third quarter was when the Tigers broke the game wide open.
The Tigers got their skates on from the moment Levi Greenwood wrenched the ball out of the boundary throw-in and snapped a dribbling ball for the first goal out of half-time.
That sparked a run of five goals in the third quarter, including a stunning coast-to-coast team goal finished off by five-goal forward Ben McKinley.
The one-way traffic continued in the fourth with the Tigers enjoying a six-goal-to-nil last term.
It truly was a tale of two halves.
The Tigers made it that by lifting their intensity around the football and making it count on the scoreboard with better conversion.
Majak Daw, the second of the Tigers’ mobile ruckman, stamped his control on the contest from the moment he ran three-deep on the wing to mark authoritatively over a pack in the second term.
Daw was commanding in the air with 16 hit-outs, six marks and three goals, including another entry for the goal of the Foxtel Cup.
He mopped up a Nathan Ablett spillage, beating three opponents to the ball, swivelled in a tackle and kicked a miraculous goal from near the behind post.
Daw’s athleticism and individual highlights were worth the price of admission alone.
Once the Tigers’ running machine got into first gear, there was no stopping them from becoming the western suburbs team in as many seasons to reach the grand final of this competition after Williamstown won the lot last year.
Ben Sharp, Ben Speight, Jordan Keras and Ayden Kennedy were never too far away from the action.
Malcolm Lynch, who appeared to be winded in a tackle at one point, offered plenty of dash across half-forward.
Jye Bolton capped a fine game with a late goal.
A feature of the Tigers was their miserly defence, conceding just 10 scoring shots for the day.
They were put under immense pressure in the first term and set the tone of the game by keeping the door slammed shut.
The Tigers will await the winner of this Saturday’s other semi-final between WAFL side Claremont and VFL rivals Port Melbourne.
The grand final will take place on August 4 at a venue to be determined.
FOXTEL CUP:
Semi-final: Morningside 6.4 (40) lt Werribee 16.15 (111)
Werribee – Goals: McKinley 5, Daw 3, Pedersen, Speight 2, Bolton, Greenwood, Lynch, Moloney. Best: Pedersen, Sharp, Daw, Bolton, McKinley.
