And then there was one – Werribee Districts is the last remaining undefeated team in Western Region Football League division 1.
The Tigers go into the Queen’s Birthday break a game clear on top of the ladder after spoiling Altona’s flawless record with a 49-point win in the top-of-the-table clash at Soldiers Reserve on Saturday.
Ominously, Tigers coach Chris Gilham thinks his side has another gear to move up to, but he was impressed with the performance against Altona.
“Our form leading in wasn’t great,” he said. “We were getting the wins but we weren’t playing our best footy.
“Playing a team like Altona, who were also undefeated, was just the challenge we needed … the boys were definitely up for it.”
Werribee Districts went into half-time with a handy 13-point lead.
The Tigers appeared dangerous in attack from the outset, but they did leave some defensive holes in the first half.
“They got a few goals on the slingshot from the back 50,” Gilham said.
“I thought we didn’t defend the corridor well on the way out and we weren’t set up well structurally behind the ball when we went inside 50.”
The second half was even better offensively for Werribee Districts, which piled on 10 goals.
As well, the Tigers were much better organised in defence, restricting Altona to just four goals.
“We continued to score at the same rate, but we were able to dry them up a little bit, so that was pretty pleasing,” Gilham said.
Where the game was won was in the midfield battle.
Will Sullivan’s competitiveness shone through once again in the ruck as he made life a dream for the Werribee Districts onballers.
Rhyce Prismall, the pick of the Tigers onball brigade, Matt Dean, Mark Pozzuto and Daniel Schibeci got silver service from their big man.
A key to Werribee Districts’ undefeated start can be found in its forward line.
The Tigers have built a multi-pronged attack that is hard to match up on.
Five players – Prismall, Trent Lee, Ryan Harrington, Chris Molivas and Cameron Lee – registered three goals apiece against Altona.
“We pride ourselves on the fact we’ve got many avenues to goal,” Gilham said.
“Last year, if Andrew Panayi didn’t play for us due to VFL commitments, we couldn’t kick a winning score. We had to look at it and decided that we really needed to share the scoring load.
“Our aim was to have seven or eight players around the 20-goal mark.”
Meanwhile, Hoppers Crossing had a comfortable 53-point win over Wyndhamvale, but probably missed out on a serious percentage boost because of wayward kicking. The Warriors finished with an unsightly 12.32.
In division 2, Point Cook goes into the break with a 6-1 record after cruising to a 71-point victory over West Footscray.
Manor Lakes was out-classed by ladder leader Yarraville-Seddon to the tune of 53 points.
In division 3, top side Wyndham Suns had to dig deep to stave off a stubborn Glen Orden by 20 points, while Point Cook Centrals pummelled Braybrook by 109 points.
