There were three major arrivals at Avalon Airport Oval on the weekend and each played a significant role in how the day panned out, with Werribee victorious by 25 points.
Winter arrived and brought with it a muddy centre and a cold and windy day for footy. The Prime Minister Julia Gillard arrived and made sure the President’s Lunch was packed and a million photos were taken. The third and final arrival was that of Ben McKinley (pictured) - he came to play kicking the first two goals of the game, and while he was far from the biggest possession winner on the ground, his four goals were as invaluable as was his presence on the ground.
It was not a day for high flying marks and the pretty version of the modern game; it was put your head over it and make the most of every opportunity. Ben McKinley slipped back into the side very comfortably with two first quarter goals as if he had not missed the first half of the season. The highlight of the first quarter though was a brilliant snap shot just on the siren from Ben Brown which gave Werribee a 16-point lead.
North Ballarat took control in the second term and worked their way back into the game and by half time were just two points behind. The Tigers needed to grab the game by the throat in the third quarter and looked like they might with an early Ben Ross goal but some poor kicking in front of goal kept North Ballarat well and truly in the hunt for the four points. Ben Warren produced a ripper late in the quarter to get the Tigers up and running again and Aiden Kennedy was an unlikely goal scorer on the siren to see Werribee up by 16 points.
The sight of Mason Wood on crutches at the three quarter time huddle and Majak Daw having his right knee heavily strapped did nothing to suggest a runaway Werribee win but Ben Speight made a great tackle and from the free kick goaled in the opening minutes of the last quarter to give the Tigers some breathing space. The icing came with goals to McKinley and Isles late in the quarter and the home team got to sing the song celebrating a 25 point win.
Senior coach Scott West was justifiably satisfied as he told Werribeefc.com.au after the game.
Happy with that ? “Very happy with the win, in trying conditions and second game in a week, when you take all those things into consideration it was a good win”.
What about the return of Ben McKinley. He has been in Perth finishing off his Law degree? “I probably wrestled in my own mind whether to play him. But looking at his history with the footy club as a listed Kangaroos player and his ability to get the two groups as one was outstanding especially last year. He did all this pre-season with us and every time he was in Melbourne he came and trained and got involved on match days. So it was probably a no brainer in the end”.
Ben Ross seemed to be on his own down back ? “That was certainly created by them not us. They started with one behind from centre bounces for the whole game and I think he played the role well and gave us some drive”.
Who impressed you?: “Ben Ross gave us run out of half back, Jarred Moore showed his ability to get the footy, Levi greenwood in his 50th game we sent him to Sewell early and he didn’t touch it and then we sent him to Liam Anthony and he didn’t touch it. Really across the board we had many good contributors.”
Next Saturday you head to Frankston what are you expecting?: “That’s what I just said to the guys. We head to Frankston with their bongos and drums and who knows what the conditions will be like on the day. We get a chance to play with a television audience again. It is another big game for us we are 4 and 4 and to be ahead of the ledger would be exactly what we are trying to do”.
Photo: Arj Giese
Last Modified on 03/06/2013 14:35