Like an old friend returning, Spotswood is setting the pace in Western Region Football League division 1.
The Woodsmen moved a game clear at the top of the ladder after a 127-point thrashing of Albion away at JR Parsons Reserve on Saturday.
Woodsmen coach Anthony Eames rated the performance up there with some of his side’s best this season.
“I thought we worked the ball as well this week as we have in any game this year,” he said.
The last time Spotswood sat on top of the standings was back in round six, 2015.
Shrewd recruiting and the addition of coach Eames seem to have the Woodsmen back on track as contenders.
Eames will hold fire on any kind of declaration of contention until the Woodsmen have faced all teams once.
“We’ve played a couple of good outfits, so it’s a bit of a gauge of where we’re at,” Eames said.
“We’ve still got a couple of the other good sides to come, so I guess by the halfway stage most clubs will realise where they’re at.
“I think the top six or seven clubs can all beat each other at the moment.”
If Spotswood produces the kind of football it did against Albion, it will be hard to stop.
The Woodsmen moved the ball efficiently and directly, giving their forwards good chances to convert. They did not waste those chances, finishing with 28 goals from just 36 scoring shots.
But it was the collective defensive effort that pleased Eames the most.
“We were putting pretty good pressure on through the midfield,” he said.
“That’s one of Albion’s strengths … they were getting the ball, but they were getting it wide in the forward line as opposed to down the corridor where it could make it a bit easier [to convert].
“I thought our pressure on their midfield limited their ability to get it inside 50.”
In June last year, Spotswood key position player Lachlan Fairley was one of the competition’s hard luck stories.
Fairley tore his ACL and faced up to 12 months on the sidelines – a timeline that would still have seen him on the sidelines.
“It wasn’t quite the 12-month injury that was forecast and he made it that way,” Eames said.
“He worked so hard to get himself into the position where he was right to go for round one.”
Fairley’s football world turned full circle on Saturday when he booted nine goals for Spotswood. So important to the Woodsmen as a swingman, he made the most of his time up forward to be the prime target.
“He presents hard as a forward, he’s a very good defender at the other end – so he’s an important player to us,” Eames said.
Elliott Wood continued his good form in the Spotswood defence. He was named best-on-ground for his work in the back half.
“Woody provides leadership and he managed the backline for us,” Eames said. “I thought our backline was terrific, but Woody was at the forefront. I don’t think he got beaten in any contest.”
Spotswood will host Wyndhamvale at McLean Reserve on Saturday.
The Woodsmen do not need to be reminded of the threat posed by the underdog Falcons.
“They certainly gave Spotty a good old touch up last year,” Eames said. “There’s a few boys very keen to avenge that.”
