Werribee Go Down in Opening Home Game
07 April 2025
Footscray snatch victory in the final minute at Melbourne Avalon Airport Oval on Saturday.
It was a special day for the club that ended in disappointment. Werribee unfurled the 2024 premiership flag involving key figures from the 1993 and 2024 premierships. Bruce Montgomery, Frank Lesiputty, Jack Henderson, Nick Coughlan joined President Martin Carter and CEO Mark Penaluna for the pre-game ceremony.
But the celebrations were ultimately spoiled in front of a strong home crowd, as Footscray slotted a goal in the 32nd minute of the final term to snatch a four-point win, 11.12 (78) to 11.8 (74).
Ryan Eyers continued his impressive start in Werribee colours, earning Totally Workwear Player of the Match honours for his strong defensive performance. Senior coach Jimmy Allan said post-match: “Ryan was fantastic again against the Bulldogs. In his short time here, he has shown that he can be trusted to just do his job. His primary focus is to beat his opponent and, again on Saturday, he was able to do it more often than not.”
Dom Brew put together another impressive midfield performance, stuffing the stat sheet with 32 disposals, 20 contested possessions and 16 tackles. Up forward, Hudson Garoni extended his goalkicking streak to 26 games, booting three early majors to give Werribee a fast start.
Footscray burst out of the blocks with the first two goals of the game, before Garoni’s strong contested marking and finishing helped steady Werribee. Tylar Watts then converted a set shot after the first-quarter siren to trim the deficit to five points.
Werribee responded with a dominant second quarter, piling on five unanswered goals. Garoni kicked things off with his third, then found Flynn Young inside 50, who made no mistake with a classy snap.
Cooper Whyte was in the right spot as he continually does to snap a goal, before Dom Brew found Jackson Grundy inside 50, with the North Warrnambool product slotting home the set shot to boot his first goal in Werribee colours in his third game for the club.
Noah Tullio was next to hit the scoreboard, taking full advantage of a 50-metre penalty to kick his first goal at Melbourne Avalon Airport Oval and push Werribee to a 27-point lead at half-time.
Footscray responded with a dominant third quarter, mirroring Werribee’s second-term effort by kicking five unanswered goals to take a three-point lead into the final term.
The last quarter was a tense, goal-for-goal battle, with both sides threatening to take home the HealthWest Cup.
Footscray struck first to push the margin into double digits, before first-year forward Brady Wright clunked a strong one-handed mark and calmly slotted the set shot to bring the margin back to four points.
After a ten-minute arm wrestle, Jake Lohmann read the ball off the pack superbly to snap truly and give Werribee the lead for the first time in the final term.
Bulldogs captain Dan Orgill snapped a goal from a near-impossible angle to reclaim the lead, before winger Myles McCluggage bobbed up with an intercept mark inside 50 and calmly slotted the set shot - his first VFL goal - to put Werribee back in front at the 29-minute mark.
But it wasn’t to be as Footscray found a stoppage goal in the 32nd minute to snatch a dramatic four-point win and spoil Werribee’s premiership flag celebration in a thrilling finish at Melbourne Avalon Airport Oval.
ROUND 3 PHOTO GALLERY - CLICK HERE
FINAL SCORE:
Werribee: 3.1 8.4 8.6 11.8 (74)
Footscray: 3.6 3.7 8.9 11.12 (78)
GOAL SCORERS:
Werribee: H. Garoni (3), J. Grundy, J. Lohmann, M. McCluggage, N. Tullio, T. Watts, C. Whyte, B. Wright, F. Young
Footscray: W. Lewis (3), J. Kellett (2), J. Croft, C. Hargraves, C. Hynes, L. Muratore, D. Orgill, A. Scott
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.
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