Werribee is through to a third successive preliminary final after accounting for the Casey Scorpions by 40 points at North Port Oval. After a hard fought, evenly contested first half, the Tigers kicked out to a five-goal advantage on their way to a well-deserved win, and will now meet Box Hill next Sunday.
Scott Clouston starred in defence again, the midfield brigade shared the workload, and both Addam Maric and Ben Warren kicked four goals – the latter after spending time in unfamiliar territory up the ground. “I just wanted to get him (Warren) involved in the game and try to open us up a bit down forward with Ben Brown there. It probably didn’t work as well for us, but we still had our chances,” Coach Scott West said. With Casey in control in the ruck and around the stoppages early, Werribee defied the odds to kick out to a three-goal advantage, courtesy of an inspirational tackle and goal from Jackson Davis.
But the Scorpions responded, and a couple of poor Werribee disposals across half back proved costly, as Casey shot out to a two-goal lead midway through the second term. Ben Brown soccered off the ground to begin a string of five successive goals, as Ben Ross cashed in from point blank range and Clouston launched a goal from outside 50 to reclaim the lead in a see-sawing contest. Straight after the break, Werribee produced one of their best plays for the afternoon, as a chain of handballs involving Sam Wormald and Ayden Kennedy led to a Jye Bolton goal.“I think we kicked three or four coast-to-coast goals, and that’s as good a footy as you’ll probably see, and it was really pleasing,” West said.
The Tigers’ class by hand and foot became more evident as the match opened up, and benefitted from some fantastic forward pressure from the likes of Davis, Maric and Ben Speight. As Werribee’s lead increased, Dan Currie and Will Sullivan became more influential in the ruck, while Ben Ross and Scott Sherlock were pivotal across half back and running through the midfield. In-and-under midfielders Will Martiniello and Jarred Moore again found plenty of the ball, while Luke McDonald recorded another impressive finals performance and a 60 metre goal.
The Tigers now look forward to next Sunday’s game against Box Hill, with a place in the Grand Final there for the taking. “It’s going to be tough, coming up against a team that’s had a break and that’s been really good all year… We’re going to have to be at our best to compete,” West said. “Teams want to create their own history and that’s what we’re trying to do, and Sunday’s another step in that.”
2013 Peter Jackson VFL
Casey Scorpions 4.3 7.6 9.10 12.12 (84)
Werribee Tigers 5.2 9.4 15.5 19.10 (124)
GOALS:
Casey Scorpions: Smith 4 Best 2 Gillies Petropoulos Gent Taggert Lindsay Magner
Werribee Tigers: Maric 4 Warren 4 Davis 2 Meredith McDonald Clouston Bolton Sherlock Martiniello Brown Sullivan Ross
BEST:
Casey Scorpions: Jetta Smith Riseley Petropoulos Panozza Sellar
Werribee Tigers: Clouston Maric Ross Bolton Moore Sierakowski
Last Modified on 10/09/2013 11:04