IT was a happy homecoming for the Western Jets, recording a hard-fought 26-point win over Northern Knights in TAC Cup football’s long-awaited return to Burbank Oval on Saturday.
The once-were-road-warrior Jets have clocked up the kilometres in recent times, taking ‘home’ games on the road while their Morris Street home underwent major works that included ground resurfacing, improved player warm-up and recovery facilities, and a refurbishment of the grandstand.
Click on the image below for our gallery of the big game.
The Jets took on the short-term pain in knowledge of the glammed-up facilities greeting their return.
Jets regional manager Shane Sexton told the Weekly that while a number of his players had not played at the venue and the home ground advantage might not be prevalent just yet, it was good to trade in the Leyland brothers’ lifestyle for the comfortable surrounding by the bay.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “It’s a first-class operation down there now.
“Not too many of the kids have played there. We’re happy to get back there and not have to travel all over the place.”
The Jets were made to work every step of the way to give their home fans a chance to sing the club song.
They took a narrow eight-point lead into the final change before storming to victory on the back of a five-goals-to-two last term.
With consecutive wins for the first time this season, Steven Kretiuk’s team is starting to find a semblance of the form that saw them compete with the best sides in the competition in the opening month of the season.
A key performance indicator for the Jets is their work rate in the contested football situation. “That’s where we had a drop-off,” Sexton said.
“In recent weeks, we’re working harder in there and it’s starting to return.”
Josh Bench, who went from a crumbing forward last season to a hard-at-it onballer this campaign, led the way for the Jets in that department.
With three of his teammates on state duty, Ajdin Elkasovic thrived on his chance to be an important cog in the midfield, burning the visitors with his foot speed.
Ben Said, with four goals, Brett Bewley, Mitch Ellis, Ashlin Brown and first-gamer James Sicily also stood out.
Scott Greenhough, plucked out of Hoppers Crossing’s senior line-up a fortnight ago, is repaying the faith shown in him by the Jets. A ruckman and lead-up forward, Greenhough was instrumental in Hoppers’ rise up the ladder in the first half of this WRFL division 1 season.
Listed with the Jets last winter, Greenhough was struck down with glandular fever and robbed of a chance to impress in the elite under-18 competition.
The Jets asked AFL Victoria to treat him as a special case due to his medical history and relist him as a 19-year-old, and the wish was granted.
Sexton has been impressed with what the big man has brought to the team in his first two outings and says AFL recruiters will be taking note.
“He has terrific ingredients,” Sexton said. “He’s really competitive in the ruck, fantastic around the ground and a good overhead mark.
“He still has to make improvements to his footy like all the players, but if he keeps playing in the manner he’s doing, who knows?”
■ Go to hobsonsbayweekly.com.au for more pictures from the Jets’ return to Morris Street.
TAC CUP
Western Jets 16.9 (105) d Northern Knights 11.13 (79). Western Jets: Goals: B. Said 4, A. Brown 2, A. Piva 2, J. Sicily, B. Iles, J. Bench, C. Nastasi, M. Aneet, J. Dorgan, J. Walker, S. White. Best: J. Bench, S. Greenhough, B. Bewley, A. Brown, H. Walshe.
