WOORINEN coach Marcus Demaria says his team will need to work on closing the gap between their best and worst football, following the Tigers’ 72-point win over Lake Boga.
Returning to form following their 20-point loss to Kerang seven days earlier, Woorinen climbed to fourth with the 18.14 (122) to 7.8 (50) victory.
After breaking away to a 16-point lead by quarter-time, the Tigers midfield dominated proceedings, giving the parochial home crowd plenty to cheer about despite the wet and slippery conditions.
While pleased to return to the winners’ list, Demaria acknowledged that there was still plenty of work to do for his team ahead of a challenging fortnight, which includes games against Balranald and Tyntynder.
“I thought in patches we played some awesome footy, but at other times we looked like a completely different team,” Demaria said.
“We need to work on closing the gap between our best and our worst.
“We started off very well, then it got a bit scrappy through the middle parts of the game before we managed to break it open again in the last quarter.”
Lake Boga went into the match without a recognised ruckman, Kai Everett’s void filled by Taylor Johnstone and first-gamer Charlie Bryan.
This opened the door for Woorinen’s Arnold Kirby to dominate proceedings, after Demaria challenging his star ruckman in the lead-up.
“His (Kirby) tap work around the ground was first class, but we needed a big game out of him and I put it on him a bit before the game and he certainly made the most of it,” Demaria said.
“It was unfortunate that young Everett was out, but Arnie’s (Kirby) ruckwork was exceptional and he helped us get on top and win the midfield battle.
“The start of the third quarter was the best example, I think we won four centre clearances in a row where he just tapped it down the throat of one of our players and ended in a score.”
It was a sentiment that was echoed by Lake Boga coach Dean Helmers, whose young side continued to show improvement despite their inexperience.
“Our guys tried really hard, but going in without a ruckman against Kirby is not ideal,” Helmers said.
“We are probably the youngest list I’ve seen at senior level, so it will take a bit of time, but our ball movement in patches was incredible to watch.
“The boys played some brilliant footy in patches. We struggled early in each quarter due to Woorinen’s midfield dominating, but we finished most quarters very strong.
“We faded out late in the game, but it was a really encouraging effort, scoreboard aside.”
Kirby helped pave the way for Woorinen’s onballers to have a significant impact, Jye Barry, Henry Thompson, Mitch Uhlhorn and Tom Langford on the wing were the main beneficiaries.
Thompson’s move into the midfield in recent weeks could well be permanent, with the attacking half-back equally impressive as his best afield performance against Kerang.
Midfielders Kadek Irvan, Rory Colville and Brodie Tonkin were among the Magpies’ better players, along with Zac Warne, Josh Wills and Dylan McCosh.
However, the Tigers are expected to be without Clayton McCartney for the next month after the lively forward suffered a game-ending hamstring injury.
McCartney’s name adds to a growing injury list ahead of a must-win clash against Balranald, with Josh Stone and James Gleeson also sidelined with soft tissue injuries.
Lake Boga will host Tooleybuc-Manangatang this week.
FINAL SIREN
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final Score |
| WOORINEN | 5.1 | 7.8 | 11.10 | 18.14 | 122 |
| LAKE BOGA | 2.3 | 2.5 | 5.7 | 7.8 | 50 |
VOTES
3 – Arnold Kirby (Woorinen)
2 – Jye Barry (Woorinen)
1 – Henry Thompson (Woorinen)
