WHEN it comes to finals football, any scoreline will do, as long as it’s your club on the right side of the ledger.
Werribee Tigers coach Scott West was not fussed that it took a soccer-style six goals to three to overcome Casey Scorpions by 18 points in a dour Victorian Football League qualifying final at a windswept Casey Fields on Sunday.
“Some games aren’t pretty and a lot of finals games aren’t pretty,” he told the Weekly.
“To win in that style was a great achievement. They weren’t ideal conditions and we grinded our way to a victory.”
The Tigers conceded two of the opening three goals. Thereafter, it was their defensive systems that got on top, restricting the minor premiers to just one goal in the remaining 3½ quarters.
“Our pressure around the footy was terrific,” West said.
“We had the most tackles we’ve had all year. That’s the way the game was played and we’ve stepped up.”
The Tigers backline was superb. Any time the Scorpions threatened, the likes of Leigh Harding, Kyle Hartigan, Jake Wilson, Scott Sherlock, Sam Wormald and Ayden Kennedy would repel.
Harding was best on ground and it was not just for his work in the back half.
The playing assistant coach put in his nomination for goal of the day when he kicked the ball out of thin air from a stoppage 20 metres out and split the big sticks to ensure a handy nine-point break at half-time.
Rather than focusing on the work of the back six, West said it took a collective effort from the Tigers to cut down the Scorpions’ prime movers and restrict their flow of ball into the 50.
“They did a terrific job, there’s no doubt about it,” West said of the defence. “But sometimes the pressure through the middle of the ground makes their job a bit easier.
“If you can have pressure around the footy, you can turn the ball over in your half of the ground and we did that.”
In the low-scoring game, the output of Tigers target man Ben McKinley proved the difference.
The medium-sized forward was the only multiple goalkicker on the ground with three — and two of those came when the game was on the line in the last quarter.
“He’s kicked 3.4 and we kicked 6.10,” West said. “It’s fair to say his impact was pretty good.”
The Tigers have a bit of time to bask in the glory of their week one finals win and celebrate midfielder Ben Ross’s swoop on the prestigious JJ Liston Trophy award at VFL’s night of nights on Monday at Etihad Stadium.
They have been rewarded with a safe passage to the preliminary final on September 16, where they await the winner of this weekend’s semi-final clash between the Geelong Cats and Box Hill Hawks.
“If you can get a path through the finals, winning the first week and having a break ahead of a prelim is the way you’d take it,” West said.
“This time of the year, any time you can get a little bit of a break to freshen up is really beneficial.”
Werribee will face Coburg in a cutthroat semi-final at Casey Fields on Saturday in the VFL development league for the right to move into the grand final.
VFL finals
Seniors: Casey Scorpions 3.10 (28) lt Werribee Tigers 6.10 (46).
Werribee — goals: B McKinley 3, B Speight, L Harding, B Warren. Best: L Harding, W Sierakowski, K Hartigan, B McKinley, J Mather, B Sharp.
