The second quarter was a deadlock until the 24th minute when Brady Wright, who kicked three goals last week on debut, got on the score sheet again with the first goal of the term. Essendon hit back quickly to take a seven-point lead into the main break.

Harry Grintell was a standout in his new half-back role, racking up 16 disposals and seven marks in the first half, while Malual showed no signs of slowing down with 13 touches by halftime.

The game turned in the third quarter as Werribee stormed ahead with six unanswered goals and seven in total for the term, opening up a 33-point lead at the final break.

Flynn Young continued his strong start to the season, igniting the scoring with Werribee’s first two goals of the quarter.

Tylar Watts and Noah Tullio registered their first goals in Werribee colors.

Watts, playing his fifth game for the club, took an intercept mark 15 meters out before calmly converting.

Tullio, an 18-year-old small forward, played his junior footy for Werribee Districts. Speaking with Star Weekly prior to the season, Tullio said, “To play here was a no-brainer. I was training around the corner. Some of the boys are travelling for two hours, and I’m five minutes down the road”.

Hudson Garoni, Cooper Whyte, and Jay Dahlhaus also hit the scoreboard in a commanding quarter.

Essendon fought back with the first two goals of the last quarter, but a clutch goal from Jake Smith - threading the needle with a tight set shot—sealed the win, pushing the margin back to 25 points late in the game.

Werribee ran out 23-point winners to claim its first victory of the season.

Midfielder Dom Brew delivered a best-on-ground performance, with Jimmy Allan praising his impact; ‘Dom got back to doing what he does best. He quelled the influence of a very dangerous stoppage player and then won plenty of the ball himself. Not many players can do that.”

Down back Ryan Eyers impressed for the second week running while Jaelen Pavlidis was equally strong, finishing with 16 disposals and eight marks.

Sam Conway made his season debut and battled well against 300-game AFL ruckman Todd Goldstein, recording 26 hitouts and seven clearances. Louis Pinnuck rounded out Werribee’s best with a dominant 32-disposal, 18-mark performance.

ROUND 2 PHOTO GALLERY - CLICK HERE

FINAL SCORE:
Werribee: 2.3 3.5 10.11 11.12 (78)
Essendon: 3.0 4.6 5.8 7.13 (55)

GOAL SCORERS:
Werribee: H. Garoni (2), F. Young (2), B. Malual, J. Smith, N. Tullio, T. Watts, C. Whyte, B. Wright
Essendon: J. Eckersley (3), J. Busuttil, A. Day-Wicks, K. Gerreyn, V. Vissentini

Following our recent 2024 VFL Premiership success, the Werribee Football Club is excited to announce that our full suite of membership packages are now available for 2025.

2024 will forever be remembered for the drought-breaking Premiership, and in 2025... WE’RE GOING AGAIN. ARE YOU?

Sign up as a member for 2025 via this link.