Tara Murray
Laverton got its first sign it is on the right track with a big win in the Western Region Football League division 3.
After a strong pre-season, Magpies coach Tony Jofre was confident they had made inroads on the rest of the competition.
They were competitive in round one against West Footscray, the side that had come down from division 2, so the side was unsure how much improvement they had made.
On Saturday, the Magpies faced North Sunshine.
It was one way traffic from the start with the Magpies kicking 10 goals in the first quarter
They continued to build the lead on the way to a 25.23 (173)-5.9 (39) win.
Jofre said for the club it was a massive moment in showing that what they’ve been doing is working. The club won just three games last season.
“I don’t think the club has had a win that big in 30-40 years probably,” he said.
“Last time we played them, we won by four points. This was the first gauge of how we have improved on field.”
Matt Vorbach kicked five goals in the win, while Ubil Chol kicked four goals.
Jorfe said Jordan Viojo-Rainbow, Vorbach, Antony Pasqua, Jack Burgess and Chol were their best players.
Jofre said the biggest thing for him on the day was not necessarily what was going on in the match. For him it, was seeing how many supporters made the trip to watch the game, something they don’t usually have a lot of.
He said big difference is the culture had changed at the club and there was now a lot of belief in what they were doing.
The weekend was made even better with the club’s women’s side recording their biggest ever win, beating the Roadrunners, 16.18 (114)-0.0 (0).
The men’s side this week faces Sunshine Heights, which Jofre said would be a much harder affair.
He said the club was heading in the right direction in both the senior and junior programs.
“We are a work in progress,” he said.
“Each time we played them last season they beat us by 200-plus points. We’re aiming to reduce that by 25 to 50 per cent.
“We’re looking week by week and see where it takes us.”
In other results, Sunshine Heights accounted for West Footscray, 19.23 (137)-10.4 (64).
Nicholas Howard was the Roosters best.
The Suns beat Tarneit in the other division 3 match, 16.14 (110)-2.4 (16).
In division 1, Altona was too good Spotswood in the second half.
After leading by 11 points at half time, Altona kicked five goals to one in the second half to come away with a 12.6 (78)-6.10 (46).
Yarraville Seddon Eagles lost to Point Cook, 12.11 (83)-7.9 (51).
