Sometimes football teams just can’t get going during a game, even when they start well. That’s exactly what happened to the Werribee Tigers in their 45-point loss to the Bendigo Gold at Windy Hill last Saturday as Ben Carbonaro reports.
In yet another game where rain and wind played a part, both teams struggled with ball handling early, before finding their way. It was an evenly matched opening quarter as Bendigo scored four goals to Werribee’s three, the home team led by 4 points at quarter time.
In the second term, Bendigo piled on seven goals to one revelling in the conditions and were much cleaner with their ball use. The Tigers had several chances to get back into the game but countless turnovers cost them dearly. Werribee trailed by 38 points at the main break, with the twin prong attack of Justin Maddern and Matt Little doing the damage for the Gold with two goals each, after Scott Gumbleton did not return to the field after quarter time after a knock in the first term.
Missed shots on goal cost Werribee their opportunity to keep themselves in the contest. While the Tigers matched Bendigo on the scoreboard with two goals each, their inability to handle full ground pressure was the difference. Bendigo led by 38 points at the final break.
The Tigers showed some improvement during the last quarter, but it was too late as Bendigo was on top everywhere. Goal kicking was an issue for Werribee as they couldn’t convert several opportunities, and the straight kicking Gold finished with an accurate 17.6 compared to the Tigers 8.15.
Tigers coach Scott West was disappointed with his team’s poor performance after winning the previous five games.
“We didn’t want the contest and they did. We can’t just pick and choose when we want to play good footy. You’ve got to take your opportunities. The only silver lining in the game is that we had the same amount of scoring shots.We didn’t take the game on at all; we just were on our heels.”
Captain Robbie Castello topped Werribee’s goal kickers list with three, while North Melbourne’s Ben McKinley was best on ground for his never give up attitude in a losing team.
Gold’s Maddern and Little both finished with four goals, with Mark Baguley, Tom Bellchambers and Sam Lonergan amongst their best.
This week sees the Tigers take on Casey Scorpions on Saturday at Avalon Airport Oval at 2pm, whilst Bendigo has the bye before they try and continue their five game winning streak against North Ballarat in round 15.
Last Modified on 25/06/2012 16:18