By Lance Jenkinson
Albanvale has secured some big wins during its seven-game unbeaten run in the Western Region Football League division 3, but this was the one they desired the most.
The Cobras had a commanding 48-point victory over Tarneit at Robert Bruce Reserve on Saturday, which ticked all the boxes.
Firstly, it got a bit of payback on Tarneit, a side that had beaten them by 37 points earlier in the season.
This was seen as the “last challenge” for the Cobras after beating all the other teams in the league this season.
A victory like this was also handy reward for the hardy Cobras fans.
Cobras coach Andrew Bryson was also not shying away from the value the win will have for his team’s confidence.
“The major focus for us today was knowing the importance of winning and what it meant for the rest of the season,” he said.
“We really wanted to test ourselves against another top-three side.
Albanvale’s hunger and tenacity was on show from the opening bounce.
PHOTO GALLERY: Albanvale vs Tarneit
The Cobras burst out to a 36-point quarter time lead after a seven-goal-to-one opening term.
“We needed to win that contested footy, which we weren’t great at last time against them,” Bryson said.
Kym Taylor and Ricky Cameron set the tone on the ball for Albanvale.
Not only did they claw around the base of the packs to gain possession, but they were also bounding away from the congestion to gain territory for the Cobras.
“Both of them were the two that set it up for us early,” Bryson said.
The Cobras created scoreboard pressure with 9.2 from 11 scoring shots in the first half to lead at the halfway mark by 48.
“Once we had the scoring opportunities, we needed to convert, which hasn’t been a consistent strength of ours,” Bryson said.
“When we come up against the good sides, we seem to be able to convert early and make the most of the opportunities, which we did today.”
Darren Borg’s shut-down role on Tarneit prime mover Todd Lawrie went a long way to Albanvale singing the song at the end of the day.
The pressure acts of Cobras forwards Bobby Saric and Dean Pace were vigorous.
Albanvale remain half a game back of ladder leader Glen Orden.
The Cobras will hit the road for a danger game against Wyndham Suns on Saturday.
In other division 3 games, Sunshine Heights led at every change in a 45-point win over Laverton.
Braybrook went down by 38 points to Glen Orden, while North Sunshine only managed two goals in a 164-point loss to Wyndham Suns.
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