ALBION willed itself over the line to beat a rejuvenated North Footscray by 18 points and give new coach Mark Greenshields his first win in charge of the Western Region Football League division 1 club.
At no stage did the Cats feel comfortable during the course of a titanic struggle, but their experienced leaders rose to prominence at key moments late in the game to ensure the hosts claimed their first win of the season.
Greenshields told the Weekly it was a confidence-boosting win for the players after their nightmare of seven days earlier when they lost by 151 points to Spotswood in a grand final rematch.
“It was a pretty hard-fought game,” he said.
“It wasn’t really in anyone’s favour at any stage right until the end.
“The boys were relieved to get that first win on the board.
“First home game of the season and obviously with what happened last week, it was important that we bounced back and bounced back hard.”
The Cats made all the running in the first term to open up an 18-point quarter-time lead.
Throughout the course of the next two and a half quarters, the Cats were challenged and managed to keep the visitors at arm’s length.
When the game was there to be won, it would be two sets of brothers on the Cats side who would prove to be the difference between the sides.
The Stephens boys, onballer Sam and lead-up forward James, and the Davis brothers, new captain Matthew and ball magnet Brent, dragged the Cats to victory.
Sam Stephens was named best on ground after booting four goals from the midfield, but James was not too far behind in terms of his importance.
“They were both terrific,” Greenshields said.
“The work rate of each of them was outstanding.
“Sammy worked himself into the ground, spent a bit of time forward, but basically booted four goals playing 90 per cent of the game on-ball.”
The Cats had four big ins while retaining six of the eight debutants from a week earlier.
They are a young outfit this season and needed every bit of the experience offered by the inclusions of ruckman Julian Storey and playing assistant coach Aaron Tymms.
“They were really important, particularly when the game got tight late in the piece,” Greenshields said.
“It was really good those leaders were able to stand up and really steady the ship.”
The Cats will face another big test when they host Hoppers Crossing in the third round on Saturday.
WRFL SCOREBOARD
Division 1: Albion 13.18 (96) d North Footscray 10.18 (78), Deer Park 8.11 (59) lt Spotswood 28.9 (177), Hoppers Crossing 12.9 (81) lt Altona 20.12 (132), Port Melbourne Colts 35.21 (231) d Sunshine Heights 1.3 (9), Sunshine 18.16 (124) d St Albans 8.12 (60).
Next round (Saturday): Albion v Hoppers Crossing (Parsons Reserve), North Footscray v Deer Park (Hansen Reserve), Sunshine Heights v Altona (Ainsworth Reserve – still to be confirmed), Spotswood v Sunshine (McLean Reserve), St Albans v Port Melbourne Colts (Kings Park Reserve).
Division 2: Caroline Springs 17.19 (121) d Braybrook 10.11 (71), Laverton 5.1 (31) lt Glenorden 30.22 (202), West Footscray 54.29 (353) d North Sunshine 2.3 (15), Wyndhamvale 6.13 (49) lt Coburg Districts 9.7 (61), Yarraville-Seddon Eagles 23.11 (149) d Parkside 6.17 (53).
Next round (Saturday): Braybrook v West Footscray (Pennell Reserve), Albanvale v Laverton Magpies (Robert Bruce Reserve), Caroline Springs v Yarraville-Seddon Eagles (Town Centre Oval), Coburg Districts v Parkside (Cole Reserve), Glenorden v Wyndhamvale (Heathdale Oval).
