Spotswood drew first blood in the Western Region Football League division 1 finals with a runaway 50-point qualifying final win over Werribee Districts at Chirnside Park on Saturday.
The Woodsmen relinquished control when the Tigers produced one of their best quarters of footy for the season in the third term, turning a 26-point half-time deficit into a shock lead.
PICTURE GALLERY | Spotswood v Werribee Districts
But the experienced Woodsmen steadied in the last quarter, kicking eight unanswered goals and holding the Tigers scoreless to win 20.12 (132) to 12.10 (82) and set up a semi-final showdown with Deer Park.
Spotswood assistant coach Grant Smith said some worrying signs crept into his side’s game during a third quarter in which Tigers forward Ryan Harrington ran riot, booting five of his six goals for the game.
“We slackened off in the midfield a bit. They started winning the stoppages and the clearances, and it put us under pressure,’’ Smith said.
“We had a bit of trouble with Harrington obviously. We couldn’t get the right match-up on him and they delivered the ball to him.
“I thought for three quarters we were pretty solid. But that third quarter … we can’t afford to be doing those things against Deer Park.”
For the most part, the signs were positive for the Woodsmen, with the most promising being the best-on-ground performance of onballer Justin Dorward.
It was a head down, bum up kind of showing from the veteran, who did not once shirk the issue in a physically demanding game and got the rewards with four goals.
“He struggled a little bit earlier in the season with his fitness, so we slotted him into the back pocket where he can link up, play loose and just be smart,” Smith said.
“We left him in there for four or five games while he got his confidence and form back, then we started to put him through the midfield . His last half a dozen games have been awesome.”
Dylan Callard played an important role in defence, not only restricting the dangerous Chris Molivas to one goal but getting under the skin of Tate and Shaun McCutcheon. “[Molivas] sort of cut us up the last two games, so we gave Dylan a job and he had a huge game,” Smith said.
“They tried to rough him up but he handled that pretty well and continued on with his role.
“It played into our hands a little bit because they were more worried about doing that and it took two players out instead of one.”
Not a week goes by without people having to wax lyrical about Murray Boyd’s impact in a Spotswood win, both in the ruck and this time with three crucial goals from half-forward.
Boyd seems to have found another promising interchangeable young ‘big’ in Brandon Walshe, freeing him up to be a strong marking option in attack.
David Iaccarino never stopped running, Simon Pocervina kept presenting and Rikki Newton capped a busy day with three goals.
The Woodsmen will need that and more if they are to have any chance of upsetting the undefeated Deer Park this Saturday.
