Werribee Districts has resuscitated its Western Region Football League division 1 season with a stunning come-from-behind six-point win over Albion at JR Parsons Reserve on Saturday.
Trailing by seven goals midway through the third quarter, the Tigers were staring down the barrel of another heavy defeat, but somehow found a way to get up off the canvas and produce a miraculous comeback.
Tigers co-captain Matt Dean conveyed the relief that was felt by his team as it avoided a fourth straight loss with a first win since May 6.
“We’re not over the moon with how we played, but we’re pretty happy to get the four points, it’s been a while since we’ve got them,” he said.
“It was a strange sort of game to get ourselves in that position to start with and then to get ourselves out of it.
“Our season was almost at the crossroads, so we had to find a way.”
Werribee Districts went into the half-time break concerned by a 20-point deficit.
The Tigers had been in similar positions in the three weeks prior and not handled the situations well at all.
Even after what Dean described as some “pretty frank discussions” between coach Chris Gilham and the players, the Tigers did not immediately respond as the margin blew out to beyond 40 points.
But, at the least, the Tigers endeavour was still there, it was just about cleaning up the skills and limiting the turnovers, which they started to correct the longer the third quarter wore on.
All of a sudden, the Tigers got on a roll, scoring goal after goal, seven in all for the third term, which got them to within a kick at three-quarter time.
It was a spirited fightback from Werribee Districts, one that showed how much this season meant to the players.
It was also a game influenced in the coaches box, with Gilham willing to throw caution into the wind to make some match-winning moves.
There was none bigger than Joey Halloran vacating his familiar position in defence for a ruck-forward role.
“We had to try some things, we couldn’t keep doing the same things, otherwise the scoreline would’ve stayed similar,” Dean said.
“He went forward and into the ruck, which is foreign to him, and helped turn the game.”
Three players – co-captain Brent Morrow (two goals) and forwards Trent Lee (four) and Bailey Siwek (three) – combined for nine of Werribee Districts’ 13 goals.
Morrow was a vital cog as a conduit between the midfield and forward lines.
“He really stood up in that third quarter and took a handful of marks in our forward 50,” Dean said.
It was Werribee Districts strongest team in some time.
The Tigers had VFL-aligned players Andrew Panayi, Alex Johnston and Mitch Hodgetts back in the fold, while Siwek was back from Western Jets duty.
With games against low-ranked sides Wyndhamvale, away on Saturday, and St Albans to come in the next fortnight, Werribee Districts have a chance to get on a bit of a roll and post some more wins.
