By LIAM TWOMEY
SPOTSWOOD rebounded from its round one loss in the best possible fashion on Saturday, smashing Hoppers Crossing by 57 points in round two of the Western Region Football League season. The Woodsmen flew out of the blocks, booting seven first quarter goals to two and opening up a 30-point lead.
Hoppers Crossing managed to slow the juggernaut in the second term however were unable to peg back the margin.
Another blitz from the Woodsmen, this time in the third quarter, was enough to shut the door on any possible comeback and seal the 17.12 (114) to 8.9 (57) win.
Spotswood coach Chris O’Keefe was rapt to come away with win.
“I was pleased with our ability to play four quarters of footy,” he said.
“Given that last week against Altona we played good footy for three and a bit quarters, it wasn’t enough to get us over the line so our focus was to play four quarters of good footy at the standard that we want to set for ourselves.
“We were able to execute that all day which was good,” O’Keefe said.
“We put quite a big emphasis on getting off to a good start and while we had the scoring end in the first quarter, which certainly helped, we were able to capitalise on the work that we have done all year.”
Matthew Fogarty was a standout for Spotswood to be named best on ground while Michael Fogarty was also impressive.
Up forward, Dylan Callard booted four goals and was well supported by Jason Cloke who kicked three.
“Pretty much all of our players had their moments throughout the day,” O’Keefe said.
“I wouldn’t say that we had any bad players. We have got a number of new guys. I think there were about seven or eight new guys in the team for the win. Those guys are really starting to find their feet after a couple of games and they are only going to further improve as we go along.
“We still have a hell of a lot of improvement left which is promising to know.”
For Hoppers Crossing, Kieran Butty fought hard with four goals and Jarryd Ramsay was named the best player for the Warriors.
Saturday’s results sees Spotswood move up to fifth on the WRFL ladder while Hoppers Crossing remain in fourth.
This week the Woodsmen will take on St Albans and Hoppers Crossing has a bye.
