WOORINEN have begun their 2025 campaign 2-0 despite “not playing their best footy”, according to senior coach Tim Free, with the Tigers accounting for Tyntynder by 61 points on Saturday.
After dominating possession and controlling much of the contest, the Tigers efficiency in front of goals was poor, kicking 15 goals from 38 scoring shots in the 15.23 (115) to 8.4 (52) win.
It was the second week in a row where Woorinen have failed to fully capitalise on their control of the game, but Free was pleased to go into the Easter break undefeated.
“It’s certainly nice to start the season with a couple of wins, our ambition was to tick off the first two games and make sure that we acquitted ourselves well and I think we’ve achieved that,” Free said.
“We’re probably not playing our best footy to be fair, we’ve been able to dominate large portions of the game and that was certainly the case again on the weekend, but we haven’t had the polish and our finishing hasn’t quite been up to scratch and as a result, we didn’t quite get the reward for effort that we might have been looking for.
“I think the conditions contributed to that somewhat, there was a fair bit of fatigue that set in and I think that may have also played a part late.”
It was a commanding start from the Tigers, who managed to open up a 48-point lead at half-time after restricting Tyntynder to just two goals in the first half.
Jye Barry, Henry Thompson and Jose Miliado were influential around the contest and found plenty of ball around the stoppages, helping the Tigers win the territory battle, with Matt Perry and Hugh Thompson taking full advantage, kicking five goals each.
Despite trailing by eight goals, the Bulldogs failed to relent, with a strong third quarter reducing the margin to 36 points at the final break.
That was as close as the visitors would get however, with the Tigers reasserting their dominance in the last term, with Free satisfied with his team’s attack on the ball and willingness to get their hands dirty.
“We had a pretty even spread across the board, our hunger for the contest early in particular was really pleasing,” Free said.
“In the first quarter we had 14 scoring shots and our midfield was pretty dominant.
“Our forwards presented really well to the footy and our back line were well structured and I felt we had control of the contest and we started to get some reward for that.
“Without having the numbers in front of me, I’m confident the inside 50 count would have been significantly in our favour.
“I think some of those missed opportunities sort of fuelled their (Tyntynder’s) energy a little bit and credit to them, they had an appetite for the contest for longer periods of time based on our inability to put them away earlier on.
“That’s certainly an area where we’re keen to improve because as the season unfolds, we may not have the volume of footy going inside our front half and we’re going to need to be more efficient in front of goal.”
Along with the midfield and forward line, the Tigers were also well served by Matthew Gardner in defence, who was given the task of quietening Bailey Reeves when playing forward.
While Reeves was impactful through the midfield, he was unable to have the same impact up forward, due in part to Gardner’s influence.
Reeves was still one of Tyntynder’s better players, along with Josh Potter, who won the ruck duel against Lachlan Gardner.
Elia Ware was also strong in defence, as was Mick Dedini, while Darcy Bibby was able to impact at ground level through the midfield for Tyntynder.
The challenges don’t get much easier for Tyntynder however, with the Bulldogs set to host the in-form Cohuna Kangas after the Easter break, while Woorinen will take on NNW United on Anzac Day.
VOTES
3 – Matt Gardner (Woorinen)
2 – Hugh Thompson (Woorinen)
1 – Jye Barry (Woorinen)
