By Tara Murray
Newport is finding its feet in the Western Football League division 1 competition.
Competing in the top flight for the first time, the Panthers have put two wins on the board early in the piece.
The second of those wins came on Saturday against Sunshine.
Coach Ali Hamad said they had shown some really pleasing signs early in the season and were able to put it all together on Saturday.
“We played Sunshine late in the season last year and lost by 110 points and now we’ve beaten them by 50 points,” he said.
“That’s a 160 point turnaround in eight months. We’ve had 18 new players in the squad and it’s going to take some time to gel.
“It’s pleasing some of the things we’ve been doing as we learn the style we want to play. It was always going to take four to six weeks.
Hamad said coming up against a side they had played the past couple of years made things a bit easier this week.
They knew the ground and many of the faces on the other side with many of the Panthers faithful out in force at the game.
“It was nice to get one over them,” Hamad said. “It was a great team effort.”
The Panthers led at every break throughout the match with the margin blowing out to 50 points at the final break.
The Kangaroos were able to win the final quarter, but couldn’t really cut into the margin with the Panthers winning, 18.10 (118)-11.6 (72).
Omar Saad kicked five goals for the Panthers, while Kamal Badra kicked three goals.
Mustafa Mesto, who kicked three goals, was named their best.
Hamad said Joel Freeman didn’t get the reward on the stats but played a key role for the team and bringing the ball down to the likes of Badra.
He said Muhammad Saad and Lukmain Haddara provided a lot of run and carry from the middle of the ground.
Having settled into the top flight, Hamad knows that the challenges have only just begun.
“We’ve got Yarraville and Altona, teams that are well credentialed in this division and known for their programs.,” he said.
“We’ll see where we are against the top sides in the division. We hadn’t played Spotty before, we haven’t played Werribee [Districts], Hoppers Crossing.”
Overall things are going well at the Panthers with both their under-18 teams and reserves sitting undefeated.
In other results, Altona got the win against Point Cook Centrals, 14.12 (96)-7.8 (50).
Kai Coghlan, Mitchell Van Den Berg and Connor Bulley were the Vikings best,
Yarraville Seddon got another win on the board, accounting for Spotswood, 15.14 (104)-8.15 (63). Wil Kliszewski, Corey Hitchcock and Tyson Brazel stood out for the Eagles, while Nathan Haylock, Lachlan Heriot, and Jack Charleston were the Woodsmen best.
Werribee Districts beat Caroline Springs in the other match.
North Footscray, Braybrook and West Footscray were among the winners in division 2.
