Western Jets bounced back from an opening round defeat in the sweetest possible way thrashing rivals Calder Cannons by 31 points in the TAC Cup second round at Highgate Recreation Reserve on Saturday.
Jets’ coach Torin Baker was thrilled his team could reap the rewards of hard work after a first round slip-up.
“It was nice for the boys to get some reward after just dipping out [in a narrow loss to the Northern Knights] last week,” he said.
“There’s a healthy respect [between the Jets and Calder] because a lot of the players know one another, they go to school with one another, and they play in local football competitions with and against each other.
“It’s a good healthy rivalry that we’ve got, but we certainly respect the Cannons for the way they go about their footy.”
It was a more refined Western Jets that took to the field on Saturday.
Just like the week before, the Jets enjoyed the lion’s share of the midfield battle, but this time they made it count, with much better transition from midfield to attack.
“The midfield battle was probably the telling factor in the game,” Baker said. “Over the course of the day, we were consistently winning the clearance battle … a number of our mids had really solid games, so they generated enough ball forward for us.
“Whereas last week we didn’t make the most of our inside 50 entries early, this week we were at least kicking to our forwards’ advantage.
“We were much more dangerous as a forward group. Playing together another week just helped with that chemistry.”
Judah Dundon has started the season on fire for the Western Jets, and was once again a driving force with his precision kicking.
“His kicking has been something we’ve relied on from a team point of view,” Baker said.
“He’s one who is consistently hitting targets for us, which is pleasing.”
Lachlan Fogarty showed why he is on course for a big say in destiny of Vic Metro’s under-18 national championships.
Fogarty’s ability to work hard both ways has endeared him to his coach and his teammates.
“He had a fantastic game again,” Baker said.
“It’s his work rate, pressure on the opposition and ability to win clearances.
“We won’t have Lachie until the last two games of the year now … he’s got the AFL Academy game this weekend, and then we’ll break for Easter and school football will start.
“He’ll play for five or six weeks, then he’ll go on and play for Vic Metro at the national championships, and go back to school footy,” Fogarty said.
Xavier O’Halloran caught the eye in just his second game for the Jets at TAC Cup level, while Cameron Rayner, Harrison Bult and Zak Butters were among the best. Jacob Smith, the son of former Western Bulldogs’ star Rohan, put a goal on the scoreboard.
Jake Hazik was the Jets’ only multiple goalkicker with two, which is no surprise considering his side only managed to turn 11 of 30 scoring shots into goals.
Western Jets will host Sandringham Dragons at Burbank Oval in Williamstown on Saturday at 11am.
