A remarkable second half turnaround has seen Werribee record its fifth win of the season and has the team on the brink of the top four, with a game still in hand.

Facing an undefeated Gold Coast on Saturday, the Big W trailed by 42 points at halftime before clinching a stunning victory by two points in the Round 9 clash at Avalon Airport Oval.

The return of four-time Bruce Montgomery Trophy winner Matt Hanson was huge for the home team as he tallied 32 disposals and two goals in his first game since Round 21, last year.

Alongside Hanson’s brilliant performance, two-time Liston Trophy winner Tom Gribble delivered his best game of the season while fellow midfielders Dom Brew, Shaun Mannagh, Kye Declase and Jack Henderson, captain Nick Coughlan and forward Hudson Garoni were all involved in the big moments.

The match was an arm wrestle early with Werribee holding a slight advantage at quarter time. It took almost 12 minutes for the game's first goal to be kicked by Shaun Mannagh. The rest of the term was back and forth with a late Sam Paea mark and goal giving the Big W a two-point buffer.

The second quarter was completely different from a Werribee perspective with the hosts totally outplayed by the Suns who piled on eight goals to one. Michael Sodomaco’s third goal of 2023 was the only significant highlight for the Big W as they went into halftime with plenty to ponder.

Debutant Jack Riding gave Werribee first blood four and half minutes into the third term, before back-to-back goals to Hanson and Garoni cut the deficit to 25 points. But the margin would remain that at three-quarter time with Garoni’s second major cancelling out the Suns’ only goal.

In the last it took more than seven minutes for a goal to be scored with both teams adding a single behind before Jack Boyd registered the all-important first for Werribee. It would be the start of a dominant 10-minute period for the Big W with their second and third goals kicked with little time coming off the clock.

First a free kick against the Suns for deliberately rushing a behind was converted by Mannagh and then Boyd received a second free kick in the goal square for umpire descent by the Suns players, following the rushed behind decision. Those two scores made the difference just 11 points and Hanson would cut it even further with a goal from 50 putting the home team within a kick.

With Werribee continuing to force turnovers and win every loose ball and one-one-one contest, the chance to go ahead fell to Sam Paea and he made no mistake with his long-range set shot.

With 18 minutes still to be played, Paea’s goal was met with a Gold Coast response at the 24-minute mark before a frantic next seven minutes would end with Werribee reclaiming the lead in the dying stages. They did so when a Suns defender hit the ball into Boyd’s path who found Coughlan inside 50 with the captain dishing the ball over to Garoni streaming into goal.

It would be the final score of the game as the siren sounded with the ball in dispute on the far wing with Werribee securing one of their best wins in recent memory to take their unbeaten run to four games. The Big W’s final quarter dominance showed with 51 per cent time in possession compared to the Suns’ 34 per cent, the highest total and biggest differential of the game.

The home team’s 17 tackles, many of which resulted in Werribee free kicks, was also almost more than what they tallied in the previous two terms combined.  

FINAL SCORE
Werribee: 3.2 4.4 8.4 14.7 (91)
Gold Coast: 3.1 11.4 13.11 (89)

GOALS
Werribee: H. Garoni 3, S. Paea 2, S. Mannagh 2, H. Hanson 2, J. Boyd 2, M. Sodomaco, J. Riding, J. Henderson.
Gold Coast: J. Tsitas 3, M. Chol 3, A. Sexton, N. Moyle, C. Harrington, C. Constable, C Burgess, S. Brock, J. Anderson.

BEST
Werribee: T. Gribble, M. Hanson, K. Declase, S. Mannagh, J. Boyd, D. Brew.