By Stuart Teather
THE Western Jets won back some respect in the TAC Cup, comfortably disposing of the Eastern Ranges at Box Hill Oval on Saturday.
Coming off a poor showing against Oakleigh the week before, the Jets came out firing and looked a much-improved side.
An 11-point lead at quarter-time jumped out to a 24 by half-time, and the lead stayed much the same through the third term, before the Jets blew out the game in the final quarter, piling on 4.4 to 1.1 to take a 14.9.93 to 6.9.45 win.
The Jets’ strength all day was their backline, which seemed to be in complete control every time the Ranges went inside 50.
The Ranges struggled to find free targets in their forward line, and Jack Fitzpatrick and Kyle Hartigan took a number of contested marks each in dangerous areas. Jets’ coach Steve Kretiuk said he was pleased his side turned around a month of poor performances.
“It was probably our second best win of the year, in terms of four-quarter efforts,” he said. “We used the footy pretty well and put a lot of pressure on the opposition, which caused some turnovers.
“We were out to make an impression in the game — over the last month we’ve let our stance in the competition slip… We wanted to show that we are a genuine finals contender.”
Kretiuk talked up Fitzpatrick, who was playing his first game back after Vic Metro duties.
“Jack Fitzpatrick is a really important player for us, he started forward and kicked a couple of goals, then we moved him down back. He is a remarkable bloke — he can’t get drafted this year but I think there’s a lot of clubs that will be licking their lips over this bloke.”
He also spoke highly of the half-back line, which was on song despite regular contributor Jayden Post having a quiet day.
“Justin Morris, who played half-back, really rebounded the ball well for us. Matthew Notman played half-back as well, and he played against players five or six inches taller than him… He played out of his weight division too.
“Kyle Hartigan was back at his best again — he’s been down for the last few weeks. Darren Haby was excellent at centre half forward … When he came off the ground he was knackered, and that’s what you want from a centre-half-forward.”
For the Jets, Bryce Carroll kicked three goals, while Jack Sims, Fitzpatrick, Jordan Robbins and Mitchell Banner adding two each.
For the Ranges, the one player to stand up was big man Andrew Renton, who kicked three goals and looked dangerous whenever he was near the ball.
The win bumps the Jets from sixth to second on the ladder, but the side faces a tough ask next week, against ladder leaders Murray Bushrangers.
