Werribee heads to the Gold Coast in Round 6 to face the Suns in the club’s first interstate match of the new VFL era.

Despite suffering a second straight home loss on the weekend Werribee has won both of its away matches this season.

The Suns return from the bye with a 2-2 record having won their opening two games before losses to Carlton and Sandringham.

There are four changes for Werribee this week with Reuben William and Jay Dahlhaus both returning to the side while Ethan Jackson and Lochie Smart will make their VFL debuts. 

Jackson joined the club this season from Tasmanian State League team Clarence while Smart has starred in the WRFL in recent years with Sunshine and now Deer Park.

Out of the team are Matt Hanson and Jesse Clark (both injured) and Saad El-Hawli and Loagn Wagener. See the Round 5 team below.

ROUND 6
Werribee vs Gold Coast
Sunday May 1, 11.05pm
Metricon Stadium complex, Queensland
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Werribee let slip a first home win of the season going down to Carlton by 19 points in Round 5.

Up by 17 points at quarter time in front of a strong crowd at Avalon Airport Oval on Saturday, Werribee's advantage was cut to 10 points at halftime before the Blues took a one-point lead into the final term.

Werribee regained control early in the last thanks to goals from Hudson Garoni and Josh Porter but that was all the home team could muster with basic skill errors and the loss of Matt Hanson and Jesse Clark impacting the Big W late as Carlton (4-1) surged home finishing the match with five unaswered goals. 

FINAL SCORE

Werribee: 3.7 5.9 8.11 10.14 (74)
Carlton 1.2 4.5 9.6 14.9 (93) 

GOALS
Werribee: S. Mannagh 2, J. Henderson 2, H. Garoni 2, B. Malual, J. Porter, L. Rocci, M. Sodomaco.
Carlton: B. Crocker 3, N. Cahill 2, J. Carroll 2, J. Cripps 2, P. Dow, B. Kemp, T. Williamson, W. Hayes, L. O’Brien.

BEST
Werribee: J. Henderson, K. Gray, N. Hayes, T. Gribble, B. Malual, C. Ham.
Carlton:

HOW IT HAPPENED 

For the second week in a row Werribee started the stronger of the two sides and after a couple of early misses by Ollie Hanrahan, Michael Sodomaco produced another opening quarter goal while Lucas Rocci, in his first game of the season and playing as a small forward, followed up by slotting the team’s second to see the Big W jump out to a 14-point lead after seven and half minutes. Carlton soon registered its first scores, two behinds, and after an uneventful next 10 minutes Shaun Mannagh kicked Werribee’s third to give the hosts a 20-point buffer.

After finishing the first quarter with three straight behinds Werribee’s inaccuracy continued early in the second term with two minor scores inside the first five minutes. With the Big W missing out on the chance to go further ahead, Carlton got itself back into the game with the next five scoring shots, three of which were goals, to lead by a point, 15 minutes into the second. However, Werribee quickly wrestled back the momentum as Jack Henderson nailed a long-range set shot and Bior Malual converted after marking 15 metres out to see Werribee go into the main break up by 10.

The hosts started the second half positively with Hudson Garoni kicking truly after four and a half minutes, before a couple of rushed behinds took Werribee’s score to 6.11 for the day. Back-to-back majors for Carlton in the space of four minutes pegged the margin back, but the Big W once again responded when challenged with Henderson and Mannagh each bagging their second goals to help restore a three-goal advantage. The back and forth continued with Carlton adding three straight goals before Fogarty missed a shot after the siren.

Despite being down two rotations with Matt Hanson and Jesse Clark out of the game, Carlton’s one-point buffer was quickly erased in the last. After an early Josh Porter miss Garoni goaled before Porter made no mistake with his next chance just before the nine-minute mark. The next eight minutes passed with just a single Werribee behind but with basic skill errors starting to creep in again Carlton fired back with majors to Dow and Cripps. With scores level at 73-all Werribee should have regained the lead through Malual 21 minutes in and from there the Blues seized their opportunity. They took just over a minute to kick their third major of the term before two late goals sealed the result.  

KEY PLAYERS

Tom Gribble : 40 disposals (23 handballs), 18 handball receives, 6 clearances, 7 inside 50s, 6 score involvements, 3 rebound 50s.
Kye Declase: 28 disposals (20 kicks), 14 handball receives, 7 marks, 7 inside 50s, 8 score involvements.
Jack Henderson: 28 disposals (15 contested possessions), 6 clearances, 5 tackles, 6 score involvements, 2 goals.
Ollie Hanrahan: 26 disposals, 15 handball receives, 7 marks, 4 tackles, 6 score involvements.
Shaun Mannagh:  23 disposals (16 kicks), 12 contested possessions, 6 clearances, 5 inside 50s, 5 tackles, 2 goals.
Michael Sodomaco: 18 disposals (13 kicks), at 83% efficiency, 10 handball receives, 5 rebound 50s, 3 clearances, 1 goal.
Sam Conway: 10 disposals, 4 marks (3 contested) 24 hit-outs, 5 clearances.

VIEW MATCH GALLERY

WATCH MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

NEXT MATCH

Round 6
Werribee vs Gold Coast
Sunday May 1, 11.05pm
Metricon Stadium complex, Queensland

The most talented young footballers from across Australia will be in action at Werribee’s Avalon Airport Oval on Friday (April 22), as part of the 2022 NAB AFLW U18 Girls National Championships.

The NAB AFLW National Championships are the highest level of state and territory representative football, as part of the AFL’s Talent Pathway Program, and have been taking place across the country over the past month.

Friday’s triple-header begins at 10am with a clash between Western Australia and the Allies, comprising players from Tasmania, Northern Territory, New South Wales and ACT.

The match will be followed by a battle between undefeated sides Victoria Metro and South Australia, who have both recorded big wins across their opening two games of the Championships.

The final match of the day pits Victoria Country against Queensland, where both sides will be looking to register their first win of the competition.

MATCH SCHEDULE

10am - Allies vs Western Australia
12:15pm - Vic Metro v South Australia
2:30pm - Vic Country v Queensland

Werribee will look to build on last week's triumph over Williamstown with a first home win of the season when the club takes on Carlton at Avalon Airport Oval on Saturday.

Heading into Round 5 the Big W sit just outside the top eight with two wins and a loss, while third-placed Carlton suffered their first defeat last time out, after starting the season with three straight victories.

Werribee's side is relatively unchanged for Saturday's clash wiith small defender Lucas Rocci coming in for his first game of the season at the expense of young forward Sam Paea. See the Round 5 team below.

Club memberships are a great option offering free entry to home games, half-priced entry to away games, discounts on merchandise and benefits with sponsors & partners. Become a member HERE.

Entry for non-members is $10 for adults and concession $5.

ROUND 5
Werribee vs Carlton
Saturday April 23, 2.05pm
Avalon Airport Oval, Werribee