Despite a bye for the WRFL, fourteen Werribee players again lined up in local competitions last weekend with one bigman back on the field for the first time this season.  

GEELONG FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Emmanuel Ajang – Geelong West
In the best players for the sixth week in a row thanks to a four-quarter performance in an easy win over St Albans. Played inside mid and had some great run and carry as well as kicking two goals.

Keegan Gray – Bell Park
Was second best in a 30-point win at Lara after accumulating 38 disposals with 27 kicks. Provided great rebound off halfback and was brilliant with his decision making and ball use.  

Charlie Byrne – Newtown & Chilwell
Had 23 disposals (18 kicks) and 10 marks (5 intercept) as the Eagles went down to South Barwon by 45-points after taking a two-point lead into the final quarter.

Flynn Young – Newtown & Chilwell
Was lively early but was soon hampered by a finger injury which limited him for the rest the day as the Eagles fell to their fourth loss.

Sam Witherden – North Shore
Lined up in a key defensive post and in the midfield against St Joseph’s and had 23 disposals and six marks in the Seagulls’ 48-point loss.

Cam Anderson – North Shore
Played all over ground in the Round 14 contest with the Joeys. Started back and then went forward before later rolling through the middle. Totalled 15 disposals and three tackles.

ESSENDON DISTRICT FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Darcy Cassar – Keilor
Won the third most possessions for the Bulldogs in a huge win over bottom placed Maribyrnong Park. Worked hard to find the footy 35 times and used it well with a disposal efficiency of 82%.

Lachlan Smart – Deer Park
Kicked six goals for the second week in a row as the Lions registered another massive victory, this time dismantling bottom side Glenroy by 161 points. Tallied 16 disposals and eight marks.

BALLARAT FOOTBAL LEAGUE

Jay Dahlhaus – Sebastopol
Was the leading baller winner for his team for the third straight week collecting 28 disposals (14 contested) while leading the Burras to a 22-point win over North Ballarat. Also contributed two goals and seven tackles against the higher placed Roosters.

Jack Riding – North Ballarat
Played well in the loss to Sebastopol with 22 disposals (13 contested), three goals and six tackles. Worked hard across the day while also displaying his break away ability.

BENDIGO FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Bailey Henderson – Castlemaine (Local Player of the Week)
Had a huge day at Kangaroo Flat with 39 disposals and seven goals. His superb showing included 12 inside 50s and 10 clearances along with 10 marks (3 contested) and eight tackles, as the Magpies fell 23 points short against the Roos.

VICTORIAN AMATEUR FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Jack Boyd – Old Xavierians  
Was good in the ruck and produced some good follow-up from stoppages in a 55-point defeat against second placed Old Scotch. Finished with 20 disposals including 15 contested and seven clearances.

Sam Conway – University Blacks
Back after a long injury absence and showed some good signs in both the ruck and up forward in his return. Contributed two of his sides six goals in a loss to Collegians.

Zayne Galea – Williamstown CYMS
Was good offensively against Old Trinity in a match of two halves which saw the CY’s suffer a disappointing 44-point loss after a goalless second half.

Werribee’s final home game of the 2023 Smithy’s VFL home and away season pits the second-placed Tigers against Collingwood at Avalon Airport Oval on Sunday.

The hosts enter the match 14-2 on the year after comfortably accounting for North Melbourne last weeekend to now sit outright second on the ladder courtesy of the result against the Roos and Gold Coast topping Brisbane a day prior.

This weekend’s opponent Collingwood defeated Carlton in Round 19 and have won six of the past seven games to now occupy 10th position on the ladder. The Magpies' 9-6 record has then tied for points with Footscray and the Blues with a game in hand.

ENTRY DETAILS
Gates open from 10:30am. Werribee members receive free entry and opposition members half price entry. Non-member entry is $10 for adults and concession $5 with kids under 15, free.

ROUND 20
Werribee vs Collingwood
Saturday 6th August, 12:05pm
Avalon Airport Oval, Werribee

Werribee has equalled its longest ever win streak, recording its 13th straight victory with a 57-point defeat of North Melbourne at Arden Street in Round 19.

Trailing at quarter the Big W outscored the Kangaroos 104 to 30 over the next three quarters to triumph 16.14 (110) to 7.11 (53) and secure a finals berth in 2023.

The visitors dominated from stoppages, particularly after halftime against a North Melbourne midfield that included AFL clearance magnets Ben Cunnington and Hugh Greenwood.

Dom Brew was again outstanding in this area for Werribee gathering 12 clearances amongst his 29 disposals, while also tallying a game-high 10 tackles.

Meanwhile, Matt Hanson slotted back in seamlessly on return from injury, contributing 26 disposals, seven clearances and a goal in his first outing since Round 10.

In attack, Hudson Garoni and Nick Hayes each bagged four goals, the latter’s haul was a season-high while Garoni’s total was his best away from home this year.

With a favourable breeze to the city end of the ground Werribee conceded three goals inside the opening seven minutes of the game, but from then on Nathan Cooper and Co. weathered the storm, not allowing North another major for the quarter.

Despite the slow start the Big W would begin to generate some chances at their end of the ground, however they failed to capitalise, registering six minor scores in the first term.

The visitors would eventually get on the board just a few minutes into the second quarter with Garoni kicking his and the team’s first major before adding a second soon after later.

Hayes' first at the 13 and a half minute mark put the Big W ahead and they never trailed again with another goal to the South Australian and further majors to Harry Grintell, Matt Keast and Sam Paea giving the visitors a 26-point buffer at the main break.

The third quarter was a low scoring affair with both teams adding just 1.2 as Werribee took few risks against the breeze.

The Big W controlled the footy with 52% time in possession and a disposal efficiency of 85% while recording a game-high 38 uncontested marks to maintain their halftime advantage.

Matt Hanson’s early goal was one of the offensive highlights for Werribee with the four-time best and fairest winner engulfed by teammates after converting his set shot three minutes in.

Three of the first four majors in the final quarter went the way of the visitors to push the margin out to 37 points before back-to-back goals by the Kangaroos.

However, from the 15-minute mark it was all Werribee with the Big W ending the match with five unanswered goals to secure their 14th win of the season.

Werribee: 0.6 7.9 8.11 16.14 (110)
North Melbourne: 3.5 3.7 4.9 7.11 (53)

GOALS
Werribee: N. Hayes 4, H. Garoni 4, S. Paea 2, M. Keast, M. Hanson, M. Selsby, H. Grintell, S. Mannagh, J. Porter.
North Melbourne: T. Sellers 3, C. Harvey, S. Lowson, J. Edwards, J. Ellwood.

BEST
Werribee: D. Brew, N. Hayes, J. Clark, B. Malual, S. Clohesy, M. Selsby.

ROUND 19 IMAGE GALLERY - VIEW HERE

KEY PLAYERS
Dom Brew: 29 disposals (15 K, 11 HB), 15 contested possessions, 10 tackles, 12 clearances, 3 inside 50s, 2 rebound 50s, 9 score involvements.
Tom Gribble: 27 disposals (16 K, 11 HB), 8 marks, 4 tackles, 6 clearances, 5 inside 50s, 7 score involvements.
Matt Hanson: 26 disposals (16 K, 10 HB), 4 tackles, 7 clearances, 3 inside 50s, 3 rebound 50s, 8 score involvements, 1 goal.
Shaun Mannagh: 24 disposals (15 K, 9 HB), 6 marks, 2 tackles, 10 clearances, 4 inside 50s, 7 score involvements, 1 goal.
Kye Declase: 19 disposals (14 K, 5 HB) at 84% efficiency, 11 marks (1 contested), 4 tackles, 6 inside 50s, 2 rebound 50s, 4 score involvements.
Nick Hayes: 17 disposals (14 K, 3 HB), 11 marks (1 contested), 5 tackles, 4 inside 50s, 10 score involvements, 4 goals.
Sam Clohesy: 17 disposals (12 K, 5 HB), 6 marks (2 intercept), 4 inside 50s, 3 rebound 50s.
Michael Selsby: 17 disposals (11 K, 6 HB), 5 marks, 2 clearances, 3 inside 50s, 9 score involvements, 1 goal.
Hudson Garoni: 13 disposals (9 K, 4 HB), 6 marks, 7 score involvements, 3 goals.

NEXT GAME
Round 20
Werribee vs Collingwood
Sunday 6th August, 12:05pm
Avalon Airport Oval, Werribee

Fourteen Werribee players turned out at local level across seven different leagues this past weekend, with several strongly contributing in blowout wins enjoyed by their team.

GEELONG FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Keegan Gray – Bell Park
Played an important hand in a 19-point victory over North Shore accumulating 36 disposals (20 kicks) at 86% efficiency. Provided plenty of bounce off halfback as well as collecting some nice intercepts.

Cam Anderson – North Shore
Backed up a good performance a week prior in the loss to Bell Park playing on both flanks and deeper forward.  Showed his class with good run and carry while finishing with 19 disposals, three tackles and a couple of contested marks.

Sam Witherden – North Shore
Played most through the midfield again for the Eagles and had a solid day. Was strong in the contest and led by example gathering 24 disposals (14 contested, 7 clearances) along with six tackles.

Charlie Byrne – Newtown & Chilwell
Was best on ground in a thrashing of last placed St Albans. Had a day out across halfback tallying 32 disposals (26 kicks, 8 inside 50s) along with 12 marks in the Eagles’ 10th win of the campaign.

Flynn Young – Newtown & Chilwell
Kicked three goals from six scoring shots in the thrashing of the Supersaints. Totalled 17 disposals and pulled in 10 marks for the day with several nice grabs amongst them.

Emmanuel Ajang – Geelong West
One of the better performers for the Giants in a 70-ponnt loss to reigning premiers St Mary’s. Did a bit of everything playing midfield, forward and in the ruck in the last quarter for 19 disposals, three contested marks, two goals and seven tackles.

WESTERN REGION FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Akol Deng - Yarraville Seddon
Was influential once more dominating at the stoppages to help the Eagles top Hoppers Crossing by 28 points. Tallied 54-hitouts and contributed eight clearances as part of an 18-disposal display.

Sam Clifford – Hoppers Crossing
Had another solid showing with 21 disposals and six marks against Yarraville Seddon. Took the game on and used the ball well in the loss at Hogans Road Oval.

ESSENDON DISTRICT FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Cam McLeod – Avondale Heights
Impacted at different stages in a disappointing 44-point loss to Airport West after trailing by just a point at halftime. Finished with 23 disposals including six inside 50s in the Round 14 defeat.

Lachlan Smart – Deer Park
Bagged six goals as the Lions collect their 11^th win in style with a huge victory over second-last Westmeadows. Found the footy 21 times and had eight marks in the demolition.

BALLARAT FOOTBAL LEAGUE

Jay Dahlhaus – Sebastopol (Local Player of the Week)
Starred again with a game-high 38 disposals, six goals and seven tackles in massive win over cellar dwellers Melton South. Is regaining his touch well and continuing to build his fitness base back up.

Jack Riding – North Ballarat
Was a good contributor in a 19-point triumph over Redan. Gave great effort and provided plenty of grunt work for the Roosters, tallying 24 disposals (18 contested), three tackles and a goal.

BENDIGO FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Bailey Henderson – Castlemaine
Didn’t win as much ball as the past two weeks but worked tirelessly for his touches in a large loss to Eaglehawk. Again, finished as one of the leading ball getters for the Magpies with 28 disposals.

VICTORIAN AMATEUR FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Zayne Galea – Williamstown CYMS
Had 19 disposals and eight marks (4 intercept) in a 31-point upset of De La Salle. Defensively was solid enough but overall, a good blow-out as the league returned from a two-week hiatus.