By LIAM TWOMEY
IT WAS a reply in almost every sense of the word as Altona and Spotswood squared off in another Western Region Football League classic on Saturday. Only months ago, the clubs played in one of the best WRFL grand finals in recent memory which saw Altona defeat the Woodsmen by just one point.
There would be no revenge for Spotswood this time around, as the Vikings held off a late charge to claim a three-point win and get their premiership defence off to the perfect start.
Altona opened up a 42-point lead at the first break on the back of eight first quarter goals.
From there, Spotswood began to slowly peg back the margin a little bit each quarter.
Going into the final break, the Vikings held a 19-point lead, and despite a gallant effort from the challengers, managed to hold on for the 15.7 (97) to 13.16 (94) win.
Altona coach Anthony Eames was happy to get another tough win against one of the competition’s premiership contenders.
“We got off to a bit of a flyer scoreboard-wise, in the first quarter but in saying that the first 10 or 15 minutes was a real battle,” he said.
“I think the score at quarter time wasn’t reflective of how tight the match was.
“To Spotty’s credit, they probably outworked us for the next three quarters and their stoppage work was outstanding.
“We were probably chasing tail after quarter time, so full credit to Spotty, they certainly turned the game around.”
In his first game for Altona, former AFL player Jayden Post wasted little time settling back into his junior club and kicked four goals.
He was well supported on the Vikings forward line by Ben Norton, who finished with three goals and was one of the best for Altona.
“Jayden certainly provided us with a solid target up forward,” Eames said.
“He got a bit of a corky early in the third quarter which slowed him down, but up until that point he was looking really dangerous.
“Jayden has to realise, which he certainly does, that he is going to be a focal point, it doesn’t matter where he goes.
“We just need to be mindful of that. Last year, we didn’t have a goal kicker in the top five and finished on top. He doesn’t need to do all the goal kicking for us and he certainly knows that.
“We can play him down back as well, if we need to and he is open to all suggestions.”
For Spotswood, Dylan Callard and Tom Langlands kicked three goals each while Jason Cloke finished with two.
Altona will look to continue its winning start to the season this week, when the Vikings meet Albion while Spotswood will take on Hoppers Crossing.
