WOORINEN continued to cement their spot in the Central Murray top five at the weekend, with a hard-fought 31-point win over an inaccurate Swan Hill lifting the Tigers to fourth on the ladder.
It took until the final quarter for Woorinen to shake the Swans, kicking three unanswered goals in the final quarter to eventually claim their eighth win of the season – 8.13 (61) to 3.12 (30).
Swan Hill only have themselves to blame, however, kicking just three goals from 15 scoring shots in the difficult and windy conditions.
Woorinen coach Marcus Demaria was pleased with his team’s ability to restrict the Swans’ ability to hit the scoreboard, with the home side kept goalless in the second half.
“The conditions were terrible but they were the same for both teams, we just had to adapt as best we could and the team that adapts better than the other generally wins the game,” Demaria said.
“It wasn’t too dissimilar to when we played the Mallee Eagles (in round 11) and they adapted to the conditions a lot better than what we did that day.
“I was interested to see how the guys responded after a big game last week (against NNW United).
“The boys put a lot of effort into that game, and I thought we started off a little bit lethargic and it took a little bit for us to crack (Swan Hill).
“To Swan Hill’s credit, they hung in there really well. I thought they were really strong around the contest, but I think some of our players just adapted to the conditions better.
“We were a just little bit more dangerous in our forward 50, especially at ground level when the ball hit the deck.
“We played Arnold (Kirby) forward and he competed very well and brought the ball to ground, but I think the difference in the end and one of the reasons why we broke away was thanks to guys like (Will) Collicoat and Adam Saunders who kicked some crucial goals.”
Collicoat and Saunders were the only Tigers to register multiple goals, with two majors each, matched by Swan Hill’s Ned McKeown, who kicked two of his teams three goals.
While Kirby, Collicoat and Saunders were strong up forward, the work of Henry Thompson earned special praise from Demaria.
“He was huge for us, he started on the ball but with Doug Beames being a late withdrawal, we lost a bit of stability in our back half, so we moved him back to centre half-back” Demaria said.
“His ability to read the play and intercept, especially in those conditions, was first class.
“Jye Barry was another good contributor too, we would have liked to have played him more forward, but we were needing him around the clearances, and in the end he played a bit more on-ball.”
The need to move Barry into the middle came about in part because of the move of Thompson into defence, but also the loss of Brock McLean early in the game to a hamstring strain.
Despite the loss, Swan Hill could still be pleased with their performance, with Nyawi Moore a clear standout with his run and drive off half-back against his former side.
Also among the Swans’ better players were Jarvis Keogh, Kal Heslop and Tom Holdstock, while Toby Thoolen in the ruck, midfielder Elijah Miliado and coach Michael Herlihy worked hard for four quarters.
Herlihy was positive after the match, with the Swans in the game against one of the league leaders until three-quarter-time.
“We were in the game all day,” he said.
“The conditions were shocking and I was happy with our first three quarters, but again we just dropped off in the last.
“We missed chances but so did they and that was just the type of day it was.
“We brought some good intensity and played to the conditions fairly well, we just couldn’t convert again going forward.”
Woorinen will again be on the road this weekend when they play Lake Boga, while Swan Hill will be hoping for another strong performance against a top contender when they face off against ladder leaders NNW United.
SCORES
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final Score |
| Swan Hill | 2.3 | 3.6 | 3.10 | 3.12 | 30 |
| Woorinen | 3.4 | 5.4 | 5.10 | 8.13 | 61 |
VOTES
3 – Henry Thompson (Woorinen)
2 – Jye Barry (Woorinen)
1 – Nyawi Moore (Swan Hill)
