THE Woorinen Tigers continued on their winning way with a 66-point victory over the Mallee Eagles at Woorinen Recreation Reserve on Saturday.
The match did not reach great heights as a spectacle due to the wintry conditions, resulting in an enormous number of turnovers, but the Tigers’ systematic approach was the difference in the end.
The Mallee Eagles have been devastated by injury over the past few months and again suffered a pre-match blow, with gun ruckman Angus McKenzie withdrawing due to a leg injury sustained against NNW United. The Tigers made only one compulsory change, with the talented Lachie Wright being called up for duties at VFL level.
Veteran Aaron Cadd opened proceedings with a clever snap goal several minutes into the contest after he roved the ball off the pack.
Woorinen suffered a major blow at the five-minute mark, when in-form defender Angus Butterfield had to leave the ground after sustaining a bad shoulder injury.
The Tigers hierarchy had to reconstruct their defensive half. Butterfield’s absence seemed to unsettle the Tigers, with the Eagles applying intense pressure to the ball carrier. The ball rebounded off both back lines and skill errors were frequent in the slippery conditions. Tiger ruckman Arnie Kirby, who is having a wonderful season was a dominant player early in the game and combined with Ben Booth to enable Patrick Veszpremi to kick the first of his five goals.
The Mallee Eagles were getting the ball into their forward 50 on numerous occasions but were not getting reward for effort until Toby Sheahan was able to mark and goal midway through the quarter.
The Tigers seemed to settle late in the term with goals to Lachy Gardner, Jye Barry (two), and another magnificent goal to the mercurial Veszpremi gave them a 30-point lead in at the first break.
The second term was punctuated by skill errors as the Eagles increased their attack around pack situations. Woorinen had kicked six goals straight in the first stanza but their kicking for goal deteriorated dramatically, producing eight points and a solitary goal by Veszpremi in the second term.
The Eagles started to get reward for effort when Ethan Pinchen found Josh Bibby, enabling him to run into an open goal. Big man Sam Dunstan then found the big sticks kicking a lovely 55-metre bomb midway through the term.
The third term would be the Tigers’ best as they took complete control. Barry, Regan Vesty, Mitchel Taylor, Robbie Miller, Kirby and Robert Rush had the ball on a string. The Eagles struggled under the strain, kicking two goals to Woorinen’s seven.
It could have been worse, if not for the efforts of the consistent Harry Allen, ruckman Andrew McDonald, and defenders Logan Nalder, Tom McGregor and Clinton Cummins.
The last term was the Eagles’ best as the Tigers seemed to put the que back in the rack. Dunstan kicked two nice goals and youngster Harry McGregor marked on the goal line for the Eagles’ third for the term as they started to run the ball and hit their targets. Veszpremi dominated the play in the last term to take out best-on-ground honours and had great support from Taylor, Vesty and Miller.
Woorinen had too much system for the Eagles as they run in waves sharing the football, ensuring a high possession rate that will unsettle other premiership contenders this year. The late inclusion of Mitchel Taylor and Veszpremi may well give them the edge they need to win their third premiership since 2018 in a season that has now become more interesting for supporters as we move towards the business end.
VOTES
3 Votes Patrick Veszpremi (Woorinen)
2 Votes Mitchel Taylor (Woorinen)
1 Vote Regan Vesty (Woorinen)
MATCH RESULTS
WOORINEN 6.0 7.8 14.12 17.17.119
MALLEE EAGLES 1.0 3.1 5.4 8.5.53
GOALS – WOORINEN – Patrick Veszpremi 5, Jye Barry, Lachlan Gardner, Matthew Gardner, Joseph Kelly 2, Aaron Cadd, Matthew King, Arnold Kirby, Robbie Miller 1.
MALLEE EAGLES – Sam Dunstan 4, Harry Allen, Joshua Bibby, Harry McGregor, Toby Sheahan 1.
BEST – WOORINEN – Patrick Veszpremi, Jye Barry, Robbie Miller, Taylor Cameron, Mitchel Taylor, Matthew Gardner
MALLEE EAGLES – Harry Allen, Tom McGregor, Andrew McDonald, Darcy McGregor, Logan Nalder, Sam Dunstan
