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.

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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

Werribee bounced back from last week's loss to Southport by recording a hard-fought seven-point victory over Williamstown in Round 4.

The Big W led by 18 points at the first two breaks but that advantage was cut to nine points after three quarters before trailing 10 minutes into the final term.

However, Werribee's scoring inaccuracy would not come back to haunt them as a couple of final quarter goals was enough to see the visitors over the line.

FINAL SCORE
Werribee: 4.2 5.8 6.12 8.17 (65)
Williamstown: 1.2 3.2 6.3 9.4 (58)

GOALS
Werribee: N. Hayes 2, H. Garoni, T. Gribble, K. Declase, N. Gribble, O. Hanrahan, M. Sodomaco.
Williamstown: N. Gown 3, J Ottavi 2, J. Gallucci 2, T. Downie, C. Rich.

BEST
Werribee: M. Hanson, K. Gray, N. Hayes, T. Gribble, B. Malual, C. Ham.
Williamstown:

HOW IT HAPPENED

It was a dream start for Werribee with the first centre bounce clearance leading to an opening minute goal from Nick Hayes. The Big W’s second goal wouldn’t come for another 15 minutes when they regained the lead courtesy of a running finish from Michael Sodomaco as Williamstown showed they were up for a fight as they chased their first win of the season. Sodomaco’s goal was quicky followed up by Hayes' second major 18 minutes in and after a couple of late misses a Hudson Garoni conversion with a minute go gave Werribee an 18-point lead at the first change.

Much of the second quarter was dominated by Werribee as Tom Gribble and Matt Hanson took control in the centre of the ground. After two goals against Southport, Gribble bagged the first of the second. But the Big W failed to make the most of their chances from then on adding five straight behinds as they kicked in into a slight breeze. After Nathan Cooper and Lou Pinnuck had orchestrated a strong defensive effort, the Seagulls took some confidence into the main break with back-to-back goals in the final two-and-a-half minutes seeing the margin remain at 18 points.

The second half got underway with two quick Williamstown goals before Noah Gribble provided a much-needed steadier. Werribee again had opportunities to restore their advantage, but they again failed to convert in front of goal and when the Seagulls kicked their third of the quarter at the 22-minute mark the margin was back to 10 points. At that point the hosts had kicked five of the last six goals in the match to set for a thrilling fourth quarter.

It was Williamstown who continued to roll with their momentum and consecutive goals saw them take the lead nine minutes into the final term. Three minutes later Kye Declase was awarded a free kick at the top of the square and when he kicked truly Werribee had its first goal in more than 40 minutes. Soon after Ollie Hanrahan slotted from long range and the Big W were back in front. Noah Gown’s third goal reduced the margin to five points with five minutes to go, but some desperate defending in teh dying stages from Jesse Clark, Charlie Ham and Keegan Gray helped see Werribee home.

KEY PLAYERS

Tom Gribble : 30 disposals (18 kicks), 14 handball receives, 9 clearances, 5 inside 50s, 6 score involvements, 1 goal.
Matt Hanson: 25 disposals (17 kicks), 7 marks (2 contested), 11 clearances, 11 score involvements, 3 tackles. 
Jack Henderson: 24 disposals at 88% efficiency (12 contested possesions), six clearances, 5 inside 50s, 7 score involvements.
Bior Malual: 23 disposals (17 kicks), 15 handball receives, 7 marks, 4 rebound 50s, 3 inside 50s, 7 score involvements. 
Keegan Gray: 22 disposals at 82% efficiency, 9 intercept possesions, 4 rebound 50s, 3 inside 50s.
Ollie Hanrahan: 22 disposals (13 kicks), 5 clearances, 7 score involvements, 1 goal.
Kye Declase: 17 disposals at 94% efficiency, 7 marks (2 contested), 4 inside 50s, 4 score involvements.

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