A DOMINANT first quarter has helped ladder leaders Woorinen extend their unbeaten start to 2025, with the Tigers recording an 82-point win over Kerang at Riverside Park last weekend.
The visitors piled on six unanswered goals to blow the contest wide open before quarter time, while restricting the Blues to just a solitary point in a commanding first term display.
Despite Kerang rallying after the break, Woorinen again put their foot down at the beginning of the second half, kicking another five unanswered goals before running out comfortable 16.17 (113) to 4.7 (31) winners.
The win sees the Tigers sit a game clear on top of the Central Murray ladder with a 5-0 start to the season, while also relegating Kerang from fifth to eighth.
Woorinen coach Tim Free was full of praise for his team after the match, especially their ability to cash in on the scoreboard when they had the momentum throughout the contest.
“It was a good performance across the majority of the game,” Free said post-match.
“There were different stages where we probably lowered our colours a little bit, but we were able to do enough damage when we had momentum in our favour to get the result we were looking for
“The first and third quarters I thought we moved the footy really well, it was built on applying pressure in the contest and then being able to spread and hit up our forwards inside 50.
“That was pleasing to be able to do that across those two quarters in particular.
“We probably missed a few opportunities late to create a larger margin at the end of the game, but we have to be really pleased with the overall performance.
“Kerang applied some really good pressure at different stages and that really challenged us, they probably weren’t able to maintain that across four quarters and we were able to capitalise on that at different stages.”
Although Woorinen were dominant for much of the first and third quarters, Kerang managed to hold their own in the second and last terms, with the Blues competitive both at the contest and on the outside, where their speed and outside run caused the Tigers problems.
Those moments were few and far between however, with the ladder leaders’ defence earning special praise from Free.
“I thought our back line were tremendous, they won their individual contests but also set us up with switching the play,” Free said.
“We ran the footy quite well from our back half and linked up well through the midfield.
“I felt we also some matchups inside forward 50 that were dangerous and we were able to get on the end of a few and hit the scoreboard, particularly early, to set the game up.”
Matt Perry was one of those players that were dangerous inside 50, with the Tigers’ full forward finishing with five goals for the match, with William Collicoat another solid contributor with three majors.
But it was the Tigers’ engine room that was the difference in the result, with Taylor Cameron prolific across half back all afternoon and Henry Thompson continuing his good early season form with his ability to impact around the stoppages and winning the contested ball.
Lachlan Warburton was also among Woorinen’s better players, along with Jye Barry and Kane Reid, with the Tigers’ engine room controlling possession for much of the game.
Marty Kelly and Tyson Clingan worked hard for the home side in the middle, while Rylee Gitsham continued his good start to the season to be among the Blues’ better players, along with youngsters Jonah McKnight, Cooper Meehan and Flynn McKnight.
The only downside for the visitors is a back injury to Josh Stone, with the veteran to undergo assessment this week to determine its severity.
VOTES
3 – Taylor Cameron (Woorinen)
2 – Henry Thompson (Woorinen)
1 – Lachlan Warburton (Woorinen)
SCORES
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final Score |
| Kerang | 0.1 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 4.7 | 31 |
| Woorinen | 6.2 | 8.5 | 13.9 | 16.17 | 113 |
