Tara Murray
Altona finally got some reward for effort in the Western Football League division 1 competition.
Having been in all but one of their matches so far, the Vikings have just fallen short on a number of occasions.
On Saturday, the Vikings were able to put it together for longer against Parkside, much to the relief of coach Travis Varcoe.
“It was good reward for our boys,” he said. “We’ve put in a power of work and we were able to reap some rewards after being so close.
“We were able to put all the bits together.”
The Vikings started slow and trailed by 17 points at quarter time. From that point on they were able to kick 13 goals to five to come away with a 13.6 (84)-8.3 (51) win.
Varcoe said the biggest difference for them in the win was being able to score, something they have struggled with.
“We’ve generated enough opportunities to challenge to win games but we haven’t been able to finish it off,” he said.
“They’ve been able to stay the course and fix some bits and pieces. They are a young group that are exciting to work with.
“We’ve implemented some things and some success was coming. We are still finding our best mix.””
Varcoe said even though they started slowly the group was able to stick with the game plan and get their mojo going.
He said when they play their best football they can score quickly and look really good.
“You learn as you go and it’s like nuts and bolts and we’re tightening them.”
Spencer Johnson and Jake Whybrow kicked three goals each for the Vikings. Varcoe said the move of Johnson up forward freed up some other players.
He also highlighted Kyle Crooks, Luke Whatman, Stefan Martin and Ethan Taylor as some of the others who stood out as everyone played their role.
For the Magpies, Jackson Barrett and Dean Simmons were named their best.
The win moves the Vikings off the bottom of the ladder and now percentage ahead of Point Cook Centrals.
Parkside sits above the two teams, also on the same amount of wins.
Varcoe said with the closeness of the competition, every match is crucial.
“Anything can change in one or two weeks,” he said. “Majority of the games are eight point games to be honest.
“You can close a gap or you can create a gap. It’s nice to have that in our competition, anyone can challenge anyone.”
The Vikings have this week off, with just one match on the King’s Birthday weekend.
Varcoe said if he was playing, he would have wanted to continue to playing on, but said it can go either way.
In other results, Spotswood wasn’t able to go with Werribee Districts, losing 17.14 (116)-6.13 (49).
Yarraville Seddon faces Point Cook this Saturday in a standalone match.
In division 1, Braybrook lost to Albanvale by 10 points, North Footscray got the win against Western Rams, Laverton beat Tarneit, Newport lost to Albion and West Footscray was well beaten by Sunshine.
