A COMMANDING midfield display from Jye Barry and Henry Thompson was a key factor in Woorinen maintaining their unbeaten start to the season after defeating Tooleybuc-Manangatang by 84 points on Saturday.
The 22.11 (143) to 8.11 (59) result was Woorinen’s seventh consecutive win, with the Tigers sitting a game clear in top spot after the first seven rounds of the season.
Despite the final margin, Tooleybuc-Manangatang gave themselves a chance with a strong first quarter, with the home side controlling much of the play with the wind.
They would ultimately be left to rue their inaccuracy in front of goal however, with the Saints kicking a wasteful one goal, six behinds for the term and go into the break 13 points adrift, despite having two more scoring shots than the visitors.
It was a final result that pleased Woorinen coach Tim Free, particularly after quarter time when his team began to get on top around the contests.
“It was a good result in the end and it wasn’t easy at times as they (Tooleybuc-Manangatang) played some good footy, particularly early,” Free said post-match.
“I thought we were pretty fortunate to be in front at quarter time, they probably wasted some opportunities in front of goal and we were reasonably efficient.
“But after quarter time I thought we began to get the game played on our terms more often than not and then we were able to apply some scoreboard pressure as a result.”
Barry and Thompson continued their impressive start to the season to be among the Tigers’ better players, with the pair dominating both around the stoppages and in general play throughout the afternoon.
Taylor Cameron was another of Woorinen’s elite ball users who was able to impact the game off half back and through the midfield, along with Jose Miliado, with Woorinen’s forwards the key beneficiaries according to Free.
“Jye Barry was phenomenal in the midfield, his effort in the contest and at ground level really helped get the ball moving in our direction at times when I thought we were under the pump,” Free said.
“He stood up really well, particularly early in the game and then he had a little bit more support as the game unfolded with Henry Thompson and Jose Miliado starting to get their hands on the footy more often.
“I thought our forwards were really prominent all day, even when we lacked supply early in the game.
“They were really dangerous in front of goal and made the most of their opportunities.
“We know we need to have multiple options up forward or otherwise it becomes too predictable to the opposition and even though Josh Williams played a good game on Matt Perry, Matt still competed really well for us.
“His (Perry) effort was important as it also allowed for Doug Beames to get into some contests that were to his advantage and he was able to finish off his work as well.”
Woorinen’s spread of goalkickers would ultimately prove impossible for the Saints to counter, with Perry, Beames and William Collicoat all finishing the afternoon with four majors, while Miliado also booted three for the Tigers.
At the other end of the ground, Joel Munnich finished as Tooleybuc-Manangatang’s leading goal scorer with three to be among their better players, along with Ethan Johnstone who, in his first match for the Saints, looks to be a player to watch in the second half of the season.
With the exception of Barry, Tooleybuc-Manangatang ruckman Connor Mcdonald was the most impactful player on the ground in the first half, with the mobile ruckman dominating his contest against Lachlan Gardner, before Gardner fought back after the main break to even the ledger around the stoppages.
Also among the Saints’ better players was young defender Rydar Morris and Elliott Chalmers, along with Josh Williams.
SCORES
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final Score |
| Tooleybuc-Manangatang | 1.6 | 2.8 | 4.10 | 8.11 | 59 |
| Woorinen | 4.1 | 9.6 | 16.8 | 22.11 | 143 |
VOTES
3 – Jye Barry (Woorinen)
2 – Henry Thompson (Woorinen)
1 – Connor Mcdonald (Tooleybuc-Manangatang)
