The Werribee Tigers were unable to kick off season 2011 with a win, going down to traditional rivals Williamstown by 51 points under lights at Avalon Airport Oval on Saturday as Ben Carbonaro reports.
An extensive recruiting campaign and an increased focus on fitness over the pre-season were two ingredients that Werribee had hoped would help them open their new season with senior success.
It was a closely contest opening quarter as both teams looked to kick away with an early lead. The brand of football played was one of pace and high possession game through the midfield. Werribee held a handy nine point lead at quarter time.
After kicking six first quarter goals, the Tigers were unable to maintain this momentum in the second quarter as Williamstown’s strong midfield and defence made forward delivery tough. The Seagulls lead by 10 at the main break.
Much improvement was displayed by Werribee during the third quarter as they managed to keep up with Williamstown. They worked hard to chip away at the deficit, but they still trailed by 16 points at the final break.
The final quarter was where Williamstown ran over the top of Werribee as they piled on seven goals to two, led by Western Bulldogs rookie and assistant coach Mitch Hahn.
Tigers coach Paul Satterley was disappointed with a first up loss and in particular, how his charges used the football.
“We would have liked to have finished off strongly, we thought we were a genuine chance (of winning) going into the last quarter,” he said.
“We had a bit of momentum and hung in there, just our use of the footy at times hurt us.”
Ben Sharp was best on ground for his 22 disposal and 6 tackle performance in the midfield, while Ben Warren was the best of the North Melbourne listed players.
Warren, playing as a lead-up forward, did a lot of work setting up space for his fellow forwards and also managed to boot two goals.
New ruckman Will Sullivan, Ben Speight, Michael Still and Ben Roos all topped the goal kicker’s list with two goals each.
Hahn’s leading, making and general work-rate combined with a six goal bag saw him be named best for the Seagulls.
Werribee travels down the highway to face Geelong in an AFL curtain raiser on Sunday morning and the reserves play Northern Bullants on Saturday.
Werribee Tigers 6 4 9 8 13 11 15 13 103
Williamstown 5 1 12 6 16 9 23 16 154
In the early game
The Werribee reserves opened their season with a hard fought 14.13.97 to 13.11.89 win over Williamstown.
After missing out on a grand final spot by just one game last year, new reserves coach Chris Gilham was hoping to have a win in his official first game in charge.
Fielding a strong team that featured a number of regular senior players, it was Travis Lunardi who impressed with his run and carry through the midfield.
Brad Mangan, Lunardi, Jordan Treloar, Jarrod Risol and last year’s competition leading goal kicker Jase Perkins all booted two goals each for the Tigers.
Last Modified on 07/04/2011 08:30