By LIAM TWOMEY
ALTONA saw off a fast finishing Spotswood to take out the Western Region Football League’s grand final replay by 17 points on Saturday.
The Vikings made the better start to the contest, taking an 11-point lead into the first break thanks to four first quarter goals.
However, the damage could have been a lot worse, with Altona missing eight shots in front of the big sticks.
Spotswood wasn’t able to capitalise on their opponent’s inaccurate kicking though, as the reigning premier took control of the match in the second quarter.
Altona booted 4.5 to the Woodsmen’s 0.3 and the margin ballooned to 37 points at the long break.
The contest remained even for much of the second half with the two teams trading goals after the resumption of play.
Despite a fast finish from Spotswood they were unable to eat into enough of the margin and Altona was left to celebrate the 14.18 (102) to 12.13 (85) win.
“Our work rate in the first half was some of the best we have done this year,” Altona coach Anthony Eames said.
“Again we fell away late in the game. In saying that and to Spotty’s credit, they stepped up. Even in the third quarter they probably nullified the contest a little bit,” he said.
“We left the door ajar a little bit for them and we had to dig deep in the last 10 minutes.”
Mitchell Turnball was brilliant for Altona throughout the day, kicking three goals up forward and winning a number of important contests.
He was well supported by Anthony Chiu, Reece Miles and Jayden Post who also kicked multiple goals.
For Spotswood, Chris O’Keefe was the standout with a bag of four goals while Murray Boyd was also impressive.
With wins against two of the WRFL’s premiership contenders since the bye, Eames said he was happy with how his side was building.
“Our preparation since that St Albans game, the boys have really stepped up to the plate. We have been training a lot harder. We are getting consistently 50 on the track which is really good.
“I think our form in the last couple of weeks has been reflective of the commitment levels. To progress further though, we need to be better again.”
Saturday’s result sees Altona move to outright second on the WRFL division one ladder with an 8-2 win/loss record for the season. Spotswood is a game behind in third.
This week will see Altona take on Albion and Spotswood meet Hoppers Crossing.
