Spotswood has fired a shot across the bow in the shadows of the Western Region Football League division 1 finals.
The Woodsmen showed they will be a force to be reckoned with in September after sealing the double chance with an impressive 41-point win over Werribee Districts at McLean Reserve on Saturday.
The boys in green and gold covered the loss of three of their walk-up starters to record their eighth win in nine starts, 20.15 (135) to 14.10 (94). The absences of playing coach Tom Langlands, rising star David Iaccarino
and VFL-listed Michael Fogarty left Spotswood’s onball division decimated, but they pressed on to deliver the most noteworthy result of the season.
“It was pleasing because we had three of our best onballers not playing,” Woodsmen assistant coach Grant Smith said.
“That’s our centreman, ruck rover and rover out, so it was a massive effort.”
The Woodsmen uncorked a bottle off the top shelf in a 16-goals-to-six first-half blitz.
Their physicality at the contest and dominance in the air was too much for the Tigers to handle.
While it was a recipe for success for what Smith declared as his side’s best half of football for the season, he concedes the Woodsmen will need to find another trick or two to beat the fleet-footed Tigers should they meet in the finals on a bigger ground.
“To kick 16 goals in the first half against the second side is probably as good as it gets,”
Smith said.
“The smaller ground helped us with our bigger bodies.
“In two weeks’ time, we might have to play them again. They’re a lot smaller side. They can spread so a bigger ground could mean a different style of play. We’ve got to be on song to make sure we do something there.”
Jason Cloke brushed off the effects of a sore calf to boot six goals for the Woodsmen.
The taller bodies of best-afield Murray Boyd, Simon Pocervina and James Beha were hard for the Tigers to negate.
Covering the onball losses were a cast of smalls for the Woodsmen, including veteran Will Langlands, Rikki Newton, Matt Fogarty, Shaun Ross, Nathan Dumbleton and Sam Myors.
On the comeback trail from injury, Dumbleton (groin) and Myors (hamstring) offered encouraging signs.
“Those two were probably a bit underdone and will get better in the coming weeks; we’re looking forward to that,” Smith said.
In other matches, Altona was outclassed by Deer Park, losing 3.6 (24) to 27.21 (183).
The Vikings’ slim finals hopes were snuffed out in a goalless first half.
Bottom side Yarraville Seddon suffered a 67-point loss to Hoppers Crossing.
