ALTONA Vikings’ scratchy form of the past month of the home-and-away rounds in the Western Region Football League division 1 was nothing but a distant memory after the defending premiers poleaxed St Albans by 70 point in the elimination final at Chirnside Park on Sunday.
Vikings coach Anthony Eames said he had his concerns about his side’s form heading into the finals, but the players took stock and took action when it mattered on the finals stage.
PICTURE GALLERY: Altona Vikings v St Albans
“The boys had a real good chat about it earlier in the week and came up with a few things they wanted to work on,” he said.
“We worked on a couple of areas in regards to pressure and the one-percenters that we hadn’t been doing all that well. That really set the tone for us at the start of the game.
“It obviously was a great result – we’re still alive but there’s still a long way to go.”
The Vikings stretched their 14-point lead at the first break to 32 points at half-time before a third-quarter shoot-out saw each side kick six goals.
Victory was sealed for the Vikings after a stunning nine-goals-to-one last quarter.
Jayden Post, the tall forward once on the books at Richmond, led the way with five goals. Steven Kennedy, in career-best form, was best on the ground with four.
But Eames refused to single out individuals for praise.
“They were both part of a pretty structured and committed team all day,” he said. “They obviously performed well, but there were a number of other contributors right across the day that held their own. You certainly need 22 contributors – you can’t win a final just having two.
“That side of our game, as far as everyone playing their role, was probably what got us across the line.”
The do-or-die football continues for the Vikings this weekend. They will come face-to-face with their final-round conquerors Sunshine Kangaroos in the first semi-final, back at Chirnside Park, on Sunday.
The Roos are coming into the game on the back of an 88-point drubbing from Spotswood, but Eames is wary.
“Apart from that loss, they’re probably the form side of the competition,” he said.
“We know they can certainly play some good footy. They’ve got some really good midfielders, their ruckman is a quality player – [Tom] Millar and is always dangerous against us. And they’ve got Mitch Hahn and Simon Wiggins playing well for them, so it’s not going to be easy by any stretch.
