WERRIBEE Tigers’ reserve yesterday moved on to a preliminary final after clawing their way to a rousing 14-point win over Coburg at TEAC Oval yesterday.
It was a fierce contest for the entire match, with the lead never blowing out, keeping both sides in the game until the final 10 minutes.
With scores deadlocked at 66 apiece at three-quarter time, the ground announcer was running over the various scenarios should the scores be level when the final siren blew.
But the Tigers put paid to any chances of a draw, booting their first of five goals for the final term within the first 20 seconds.
Coach Darren Findlay was particularly pleased with his side’s response in the last quarter.
“We knew it was going to be tight all day,we knew they had a lot of senior players coming back,” he said.
“I thought if we could stay with them until three-quarter time, our leg speed would get us over the line. The last quarter the boys dug really deep and I was very happy with that.”
Retiring great Teghan Henderson starred with four goals.
“He sort of straightened us up a little bit, so it was a really good effort by him. That’s why we picked him, we thought just a bit of leadership and guidance for the guys and the cool hands showed that, I was really happy with Hendo’s performance.”
Matty Scott also earner praise for his effort.
‘Matty has been really good the past two weeks.”
Majak Daw was also impressive with his ruck work, and loomed dangerous as a forward especially early on in the game.
No side had any real advantage for the first three quarters, which was a testament to the way Coburg play, Findlay said.
“Just the way they play their zones and things like that it was a real tight contest.
“I think our stoppage work was maybe not as up to scratch as I would have liked but coming into that last quarter we got the ball on the boot really quick, used the ball really well and got it into our forwards and it resulted in a five goal last quarter.”
He also praised the players’ development over the past few years.
“It was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in footy tell eight blokes they’re going miss out,” he said.
“We had 32 to pick from, it was a real positive considering where they’ve come from two years ago when they finished second bottom.
“This year it’s come together so we’re really happy with the progress.”
Werribee 3.2 8.3 10.6 15.11 101
Coburg 3.5 7.8 9.12 12.15 87
Werribee
Goal Kickers: T. Henderson 4, L. Baddeley 3, B. Moloney 2, L. Garland, J. Perkins, M. Daw, T. Lunardi, M. Scott, M. Notman
Best Players: M. Scott, T. Henderson, N. Schroder, J. Magnabosco, M. Daw, L. Baddeley
Coburg
Goal Kickers: R. Allan 5, B. Fewster 2, N. Westhoff, A. Gilligan, R. Jordon, T. Lucin, M. Ambrose
Best Players: R. Allan, D. Fahey, P. Contin, B. Jakobi, T. Groves, H. Dahl
Last Modified on 30/08/2010 12:06