Tara Murray
Newport are ready to attack the second half of the Western Football League division 2 season, having set itself up.
The Panthers sit in fourth spot after 10 rounds, with losses to the top two sides.
Coach Rodney Van Riet said it had been a good season so far.
“We are in a good position at the moment,” he said. “We’re in the top four and we have a lot of improvement to go.
“We want to attack the second half of the season.”
Van Riet said the losses to Sunshine and Albion were disappointing, getting to face those sides early in the season had a lot of benefits.
“We get an understanding of where we are at and where we need to improve,” he said. “We want to improve week by week and be peaking at the right time of year.
“We’re looking forward to facing them again in the back half of the season and hopefully in finals.”
On Saturday, the Panthers came away with a strong win against West Footscray.
The Panthers jumped out of the blocks and had the game in hand at half time.
They fell one point short of doubling their score in the second half, running away with a big 22.22 (154)-10.8 (68) win.
Van Riet said it was a good win for the side.
“They are a hard team to beat at home,” he said. “They’ve been travelling really good so we weren’t expecting that margin.
“We were happy to walk away with that win.”
Josh Rafferty kicked six goals, while Jackson Fullerton kicked four.
It was 15-year-old Khaled El Souki on debut, who kicked three goals, who impressed the coach the most.
Van Riet said with so much depth in the club they were keen to give plenty of players opportunities in the senior side.
“The 18s are going from strength to strength,” he said. “We’ve got some good young kids coming through.
“We’ve got strength in the reserves as well and we’ve looked to bring a few guys on the precipice to develop them as senior footballers for years to come.”
For West Footscray, Eyob Gebreselassie, Jaycob Doyle and Will Clare were named their best.
The Panthers will have a big test this week, facing third placed Wyndhamvale.
The Falcons only loss has come to Sunshine.
“The game will give us a good idea of where we are at,” he said. “It’ll be a tough hard fought game.
“Myself and the whole club are looking forward to it.”
Braybrook was among the other winners in division 2.
In division 1, Spotswood lost to Hoppers Crossing and Parkside beat Point Cook.
