Werribee suffered it's second straight loss on Saturday going down to Casey by 59 points in Round 13. Back in front of fans at Avalon Aiport Oval the Big W trailed all day but got within seven points early in the second half before Casey ran away with the match as the home side played the majority of the match two men down.

Werribee: 1.2 2.6 4.10 7.15 (57)
Casey: 3.0 5.5 13.8 17.14 (116)

GOALS
Werribee: C. Thar 2, R. Kemp 2, W. Buzza 1, B. Malual 1, L. Pinnuck 1
Casey: C. Ellison 6, S. Weideman 3, K. Chandler 2, T. Bedford 1, K. Declase 1, J. Melksham 1, J. Munro 1, G. Grey 1, S. Sparrow 1

BEST
Werribee: M. Sodomaco, H. Garoni, C. Thar, L. Pinnuck, T. Gribble, J. Henderson
Casey: A. Vandenburg, C. Ellison, J. Lockhart, J. Melksham, S. Weideman, K. Declase

HOW IT HAPPENED
Both sides failed to make much progress early in the match and eventually Casey were the first team on the aboard. Their first goal came seven minutes in and led to two more majors before Werribee finally got its first goal courtesy of Louis Pinnuck who kicked truly from beyond 50 at the 20-minute mark. The Big W began the second term two men down having lost key defenders Nick Coughlan and Nathan Cooper to respective concussion and hamstring injuries in the opening quarter. After an early Casey goal Wylie Buzza kicked what would be Werribee’s only major of the second to remain in touch with the Demons. Werribee’s defence, now led by Max Spencer and Jesse Clark along with Nick Hayes who swung back, held firm for more than 25 minutes before Sam Weideman converted late to see the visitors go into halftime with a 17-point buffer.

After battling hard for just two goals in the first half Werribee doubled its tally in the first eight minutes of the third through majors to Ryan Kemp and Connor Thar, and soon trailed by just seven point after missing a couple of other gettable chances. However, Casey responded with five unanswered goals in the space of seven minutes, completely dominating from the centre to jump out to their biggest lead of the match. Kemp added another for Werribee with 10 minutes to go but with Werribee’s limited rotations starting to show, Corey Ellison kicked his second and third to give Casey a commanding 46-point lead at the end of the three quarters. The final terms saw some wayward kicking from both sides with eight behinds and a single Casey goal scored in the first 14 minutes. Bior Malual and Thar kicked majors for Werribee either side of consecutive Casey goals before Ellison snared his sixth just before the final siren. After back-to-back losses Werribee now heads to Port Melbourne to face the Borough.

KEY PLAYERS
Tom Gribble: 25 disposals, 12 contested possession, 8 clearances, 2 inside 50s, 2 tackles
Louis Pinnuck: 25 disposals (18 kicks), 9 marks (1 contested), 9 rebound 50s, 1 goal
Joe Maishman: 25 disposals, 10 handball receives, 4 clearances, 5 inside 50ss, 3 rebound 50s
Michael Sodomaco: 21 disposals at 90% efficiency, 3 clearances, 4 rebound 50s, 5 tackles,
Hudson Garoni: 15 disposals, (10 kicks) 8 marks (4 contested), 8 scores involvements,
Connor Thar: 10 disposals (9 kicks), 3 inside 50s, 2 tackles, 2 goals, 2 score assists

NEXT MATCH
Werribee vs Port Melbourne
Saturday July 17
2pm at North Port Oval

Last weekend saw a much smaller Werribee contingent at local level with seven players loaned out to the Sydney Swans and Gold Coast Suns and a bye in the Geelong Football Legaue. Of the nine Werribe players that lined up for their community clubs several continued to show consistent form.

VICTORIAN AMATEUR FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

Darcy Bennett has had a terrific month for Fitzroy but his perfomance in the weekend’s win over AJAX might have been his best showing in 2021. The young ruckman provided first use to his midfielders and also marked strongly in windy conditions taking a handful of contested grabs both behind the ball and in attack.

Harry Stubbings turned out for Old Scotch in Round 12 playing in a 78-point loss to St Kevins. The speedster displayed good running patterns on the wing, marked the ball well and used his pace to break tackles.

WESTERN REGION FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Dan Nielson had another strong outing For Werribee and Districts with the hulking forward following up a six goal-haul with four goals in his side’s big win over Point Cook. Nielson now has 23 goals on the season and continues to bring great attitude and effort each week. The Round 12 win also moved Werribee and Districts top of the ladder courtesy of percentage after Altona lost to Spotswood.

Liam Holt-Fitz was one of the best for Yarraville Seddon in their 38-point loss to Deer Park. Holt-Fitz went goalless but tackled well and worked hard defensively. Meanwhile, in the same match James Edmonds had quieter possession game but brought some good forward pressure, was clean below his knees and effective with his disposal.

BALLARAT FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Ryan Pendlebury played a different role for Melton South against North Ballarat, filling a need in the ruck. While the Panthers suffered a big loss for the second week in a row Pendlebury competed well at the stoppages and also found plenty of the ball to be among his side’s best players.

Matt Brett was again in the best for Darley who went down to Lake Wendouree by 34 points in their Round 9 encounter. Brett played in defence for the Devils and was able to be freed up at times, taking a few contested marks when he was, while also providing some good drive out of defence.

GOULBURN VALLEY FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Ariek Lual had another solid outing for Seymour in a hard-fought victory over Shepparton. He lined-up across half-back and on the wing in a match played in tough conditions. Lual was composed with the ball while providing a marking option out of defence.

OVENS & MURRAY FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Aiden Johnson split his time 50/50 between full forward and CHF in Lavington’s loss to Myrtleford. Matched-up against one of the league’s best defenders, Johnson displayed his marking ability when there was decent delivery and finished with one goal while also laying some strong tackles.