Above: Captain Dom Gleeson, in his club record equalling 135th game, celebrates victory.
BY MICHAEL ESPOSITO
WERRIBEE’S elimination final win against a depleted but brave Box Hill side felt more like a relief than a triumph.
After Box Hill’s AFL affiliate Hawthorn announced it would rest eight players for the weekend’s match against Gold Coast, Werribee became unbackable favourites at $1.01 while Box Hill drifted to $15.
They were extraordinary odds for a finals game between two sides who have not exactly been models of consistency this season.
This was a game that defied convention. It was not the blow-out the odds suggested. Werribee had to grind out a win and was in serious danger of being over-run halfway through the last term.
The wind was strong but not advantageous. Werribee coach Paul Satterley thought it was a five-goal breeze, but just 10 of the 20 goals kicked were downwind. Ben McKinley and Robbie Castello kicked three goals each for Werribee, in a game that captain Dom Gleeson equalled Werribee’s games record.
Satterley admitted being concerned about the betting market framing his side as absolute certainties.
“You hate even seeing that stuff because you just worry that players read it and read too much into it, but as I said to the boys in finals if you win by a point you win, and you get through to the next one and then you can re-assess,” he said. “It was one of those days where all the pressure was on us.
“We always said that they were going to be young, enthusiastic, fit and they would run out the game to the end and I think it turned out that way. But I think when all the momentum was going their way there was some crucial contests which we won.”
When McKinley put the Tigers five goals ahead early in the fourth quarter, the Hawks could have thrown it in, but instead took command of the game and kicked the next three goals.
But a stirring cameo from Ben Ross, who had sat out two quarters with concussion, booted two goals late in the term to seal victory, Werribee running out winners 26-point winners and booking a semi-final clash against Casey at TEAC Oval on Saturday.
Casey defeated Werribee by 44 points at Casey Fields in round 21, but Satterley is expecting a much grittier contest.
“They had an unbelievable side in that day. They really beat us on the spread, and their pace was pretty good for them that day so I think smaller ground will help us at Port Melbourne,” Satterley said.
“We played pretty well there early in the year. Casey ground there’s so much room to spread into, where I think the Casey game will make it a bit more of a scrap.”
“I think we’ll go into the mindset that Box Hill had today, we’ve got nothing to lose against a team that will go in as favourites.”
Matthew O’Dwyer was sensational for Werribee across half-back, picking up 34 possessions and mopping up with aplomb. He’s clean possession under pressure was a highlight of what was a relatively scrappy, sometimes uninspiring match.
“He probably sent a message to a lot of recruiters out there that he’s a very capable player,” Satterley said.
