Bees sting Sandy

by AJ BRADY

IN round 12 action in the Victorian Football League (VFL) for season 2008, the 3SER 97.7FM Casey Radio team saw Werribee hang on for an exciting six-point win over Sandringham at Bartercard Oval, Werribee, on Sunday.

Sandringham had had the wood over Werribee in recent clashes, not having lost to the 'Bees since round 18, 2004, coming into this game. However, the Zebras had been in indifferent form in recent times, losing their past two games.

They hadn't lost three games in a row since 2002, and to arrest their recent slide, the Zebras made a whopping nine changes to the team that had been thrashed by 67 points by Port Melbourne the previous week.

Among the inclusions for Sandringham were Melbourne AFL-listed players Jeff White, Nathan Carroll, Daniel Bell and Michael Newton.

As for Werribee, the Tigers had shaken off some indifferent form in the first half of this season, to record a terrific 65-point victory down in Tasmania in the previous round.

The weather greeting the players was very overcast and quite cool. The breeze wasn't terribly strong, just favouring the Watton Street end of the ground. It was only worth one goal.

At the coin toss, Werribee captain James Podsiadly successfully called "heads", and elected to kick with the wind.

All eyes were on the ruck duel between Melbourne veteran White, and young Kangaroos-listed big man Todd Goldstein.

The first quarter saw an interesting battle ensue, with Goldstein (eight hit-outs) just shading the demoted Demon.

The first term was all one-way traffic, in favor of Werribee, as midfielders Robert Castello (nine disposals) and Ben Ross (eight disposals) provided plenty of drive through the corridor, while Scott McMahon (seven disposals) gave some great run off half-back.

Werribee did most of the attacking, as the Zebras looked flat-footed and were chasing tails for the majority of the first term.

The home fans had been slightly perplexed by the Zebras getting favoured by the umpires decisions during the first term, but Sandringham still got some good service in the term from Rod Crowe (nine disposals), Peter Summers (nine) and midfielder Cale Morton (eight).

At the first break, the Tigers had assumed control of the match, taking a 32-point ascendancy into the first change.

Werribee coach Simon Atkins was very pleased with the work of his charges, continuing to stress accountability, defensive pressure and maintaining corridor football. Atkins wanted to try and isolate veteran forward Podsiadly one-out in the goalsquare, with the expectancy that it would take veteran Demon Carroll out of the action, and prevent him from providing good rebound.

Casey Radio new boy Darren Parkin reported that Zebras mentor Andy Lovell made mention of playing attacking football, going all-out to try and get back into the game, rather than going defensive and attempting to stop the margin from blowing out.

The Zebras seemed to heed their coach's words, as they went on the attack right from the first bounce of the second term. With White still being shaded in ruck by Goldstein, it was left to the midfield brigade of Morton (10 disposals) and Bell (nine disposals) to shark Goldstein's hit-outs, and provide forward 50 entries for the rallying Zebras.

Veteran Demon Adem Yze was also extremely productive for the Zebras, collecting 11 possessions for the term, while the 'Bees plan of trying to take Carroll out of the play didn't work, as the Demon veteran ended up gathering seven possessions and three rebound-50s for the term.

Werribee found it difficult to stem the flow of Zebra attacking moves during the second term, with their leading ball-getters for the term being defenders in Scott Howard (seven disposals) and Ben Davies (eight).

While Goldstein continued to ruck well (eight hit-outs and six disposals for the term), and Ben Ross gained six disposals and three clearances, the 'Bees lead at the half was cut to just 10 points.

At half-time, the Casey Radio team enjoyed a fascinating chat with Werribee board member Jim Hudson. Hudson and his family have run a family dry-cleaning business, a successful one at that, in Werribee for 30 years, but have spent the majority of their disposable cash on sponsoring the Western Bulldogs.

Jim Hudson said that he had been approached by the president and some top brass of the Werribee Football Club to assist the local club, and he has now been on the board for two years. Hudson spoke glowingly of the partial alignment with North Melbourne, and made particular mention of the commitment shown to Werribee by Dean Laidley, and senior North Melbourne players such as Leigh Brown.

Hudson contrasted this with the former partnership with the Western Bulldogs, where he criticised 'Dogs coach Rodney Eade for rarely, if ever, coming to watch Werribee, and having little-to-no involvement with the Werribee club. Hudson pointedly said his family had withdrawn financial support from the Bulldogs, despite his nephew, Ben, now being the number one ruckman at the club, and Jim also made mention that many of the Bulldogs lost members had been Werribee people disenchanted with the Bulldogs treatment of Werribee, where the 'Dogs ditched them as soon as an alignment with Williamstown became available.

Another interesting point noted by Hudson was that the VFL have drawn up zones from where each club can recruit players, this to come into effect most likely by 2010. Hudson and the Werribee hierarchy are perplexed, to say the least, that Williamstown will have exclusive access to the Werribee and district area, while the Tigers will be forced to share the Geelong zone with the Geelong VFL side. The Werribee and district area represents a population of approximately 150,000 people, whereas Geelong itself is only around 200,000 people.

After a terrific half-time chat, the Casey Radio team were pumped up for a bit second half in this match. The third term was an enthralling affair, as play became a lot more congested and scrappy, and scoring was more difficult.

Again, the battle in ruck was sensational, with Goldstein continuing to break even with White. Despite McMahon suffering an arm injury, he was quite productive streaming forward during the third term for the 'Bees, collecting eight possessions and three forward-50 entries. He was ably assisted by Werribee small men Ben Ross (seven disposals) and Ben Davies (11 disposals), who provided some good drive through the midfield, as well as winning a lot of in-and-under, contested possessions.

For the Zebras, Newton roamed the forward line well, using his height and strong leap to pull in five marks, three of which were contested. He provided a great attacking target across the half-forward flank, whilst Morton continued his excellent game, gathering 11 disposals and three clearances during the third term, whilst Summers was also productive, running off half-back and gathering eight disposals for the term.

At the final change, Werribee led by eight points, all behinds, after the 'Bees failed to accurately convert on a lot of occasions during the third term, when they had the breeze.

The scene was set for a huge final term, and Zebras coach Andy Lovell sensed the enormity of the opportunity, firing up his charges by telling them in no uncertain terms that they should be able to win from this position, that the game was theirs to take, and the opportunity was staring them in the face.

Darren Parkin reported from the Werribee huddle that Tigers coach Atkins didn't want his team to shut the game down, that they must continue to play bold and daring football and try and take the game by the horns.

The final quarter turned out to be quite an exciting affair. Werribee pulled away early, and seemed to have the game in the bag, before a Nick Sautner-led revival saw the Zebras storm home, and get within one goal with a minute remaining on the clock. The 'Bees managed to maintain possession in the midfield, and snuck home by six points in the end, to inflict the Zebras third straight loss.

The final term saw the two Ben's continue to work extremely well in the midfield, Ben Davies and Ben Ross both gathering eight possessions for the term, whilst the "other" Ben in the team, bleach-blonde half-forward Ben Warren, stood up across half-forward, gathering eight disposals and taking three contested marks in a terrific last term from the big man.

For the Zebras, Yze stood up in the tense final term, gathering seven disposals and three clearances in an attempt to pull his team across the line. He was well assisted by another veteran in Chad Liddell (six disposals), while Crowe (six) and Andrew McConnell (six) were also solid in the final term.

After the match, Werribee coach Atkins told Casey Radio's Phil Pearce how impressed he was with the performance of young players such as Goldstein, Ross, Warren and Davies, and was impressed how the side didn't need to rely on captain Podsiadly to play a stand-out game at full-forward to win the match. Atkins also enthused about the upcoming draw, which sees Werribee play their next three at home, and felt that if the 'Bees could win at least two of those, they should firmly entrench themselves inside the top eight.

Better players for the victorious Tigers included young ruckman Goldstein, who is in line to get a promotion to the Kangaroos AFL side after a terrific performance in just shading Demon veteran White in the hit-outs stakes, finishing with 31 hit-outs in all, as well as being very productive around the ground, finishing with 16 disposals; Davies, who had a superb game in the midfield, finishing with 30 possessions and seven clearances in an excellent workmanlike performance from the little man, his drive in helping the 'Bees get over the line cannot be underestimated; McMahon, who bravely fought through his hand injury, spending only minimal time on the sidelines getting treatment, finishing with 24 disposals and eight marks working at both ends of the ground; nuggetty midfielder Castello, who finished with 23 disposals in another strong performance from the solid rover, who always enjoys getting his hands dirty if it helps his team in any way; Ross, who worked extremely well forwards-of-centre, finishing with 29 disposals and six marks in another excellent performance from the midfielder; and, Scott Howard, the "Constable" relished the tough job in defence, finishing with 20 disposals and five rebound-50s in a solid effort from the Werribee veteran.

Best players for the beaten Zebras included: Morton, who was excellent for the first three terms, providing a lot of run-and-carry through the midfield, finishing the match with a game-high 33 disposals and nine marks in a very productive performance from one of the three Morton footballing brothers; Yze, who worked hard to get to the ball, and providing some silky skills when in possession, finishing with 29 disposals and an 84% effectiveness rate, while the Demons are now looking more towards youth, Yze did his chances of promotion no harm; Newton, who presented extremely wall across the half-forward flank all dayin, finishing with 12 marks and two goals in a strong performance for Sandringham, using his size and leap to perfection; Summers, who was productive all day around the stoppages, finishing with 27 disposals and eight marks in a great performance of desperation to get to contests all around the field, and then be productive at those contests; Crowe, the big man was rock-solid across half-back all day, finishing with 24 disposals and being the best-performed Zebra defender of the day, helping to shut down dangerous Werribee forwards such as Podsiadly; and, Bell, who finished with 23 disposals in a solid effort, and again, he was another who did his chances of promotion no harm.

Next week for Werribee sees the battle of the Princes Highway, as the Tigers take on reigning premier Geelong at Bartercard Oval in a clash the Tigers would fancy themselves in. The task for Sandringham to arrest their recent slide doesn't get any easier, as they must travel to AUSTAR Arena in Ballarat, to face the rampaging North Ballarat side, who are currently equal second on the ladder.

In other Round 12 games in the VFL, and in a bottom-of-the-table clash at Box Hill City Oval, in the televised game, Collingwood surprised some by scoring a 26 point victory over the Hawks in a solid performance from the Magpies. Casey Radio veteran Nigel Carmody was at his enigmatic best for Collingwood, ably assisted by AFL-listed youngster Brent MacAffer; whilst for the Hawks, their best was fast-paced and sharp-skilled little man Steven Kenna.

At Skilled Stadium in Geelong, the Cats got back to some sort of form, accounting for a gallant Tasmania by 28 points, the best for the Cats being young AFL-listed player Nathan Djerkurra; the best for the Devils being Nathan Street.

North Ballarat smashed top-side Williamstown at AUSTAR Arena, also on Saturday, with their best being Blake Grima; the best for the disappointing Seagulls was Liam "Son O' Billy" Picken.

In Sunday action, the Casey Scorpions continued their surprisingly excellent season, accounting for the struggling Bendigo Bombers by 29 points at Casey Fields. The best player for the Scorpions was Shane Birss, while veteran Essendon defender Mal Michael was named best for Bendigo.

Frankston continued their mid-season resurgence, defeating the highly-rated Coburg side by 21 points at Kars Street Oval in Frankston. Best for the Dolphins was veteran Byron Barry, whilst for the Coburg side, they were best served by Andrew Collins.

Finally in Round 12 action, at NAB Oval in Preston, Port Melbourne continued their stunning form, easily accounting for the Northern Bullants by 51 points. Best for the Borough was big half-forward Rees Thomas, whilst for the Bullants, they were best served by Aaron Joseph.

At the completion of Round 12, the ladder sees Williamstown on top with 40 points, followed by Casey Scorpions (36), on percentage from North Ballarat (36) and Port Melbourne (36), then comes Sandringham (24), Coburg (24), Werribee (24), and then rounding out the top eight is the Northern Bullants, also on 24 points.

Then comes Frankston on 20 points, followed by Geelong (20), Bendigo (16), Tasmania (16), Collingwood (12), and on the bottom of the table is Box Hill, with just two wins and eight points from 12 games.

Next weekend, a Melbourne Tigers basketball commitment means the only VFL action on Casey Radio will be the weekly Saturday Morning VFL Show, which will air between 9am-10.15am. For all the interviews, reviews and previews of VFL action, tune in.

Join the team of Kain Pollard, Chris Weaver,Ê Phil Cleary, Peter Banfield, Phil Pearce and myself on 97.7FM radio in Melbourne, or via the web on www.3ser.org.au anywhere else on the planet (click on the "Listen Live" link) and we'll ensure you get your VFL fix.

2 July 2008

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