Geelong Advertiser |
WERRIBEE Centrals began their season in emphatic style, handing out a 132-point thrashing to Geelong West in their Round 1 clash.
The victory was set up by a eight-goal-to-one first quarter, denying the home side any easy ball and executing their own game plan with devastating efficiency.
Coach Luke Phipps was extremely pleased with his side’s performance but equally aware it is one game into a long season.
“It was a really good start; we got out of the blocks really early. That was the focus before the game.” Phipps said.
“I was pretty confident coming into this game, we’d done the work on the track pre-season and I was fairly confident coming in.
“It’s great to get the four points, it was really good to see the guys just want to finish off what they had started ... (but) it’s only Round 1, so guys can’t get too far ahead of themselves.”
Recruits Matt Smith and Jason Butty were prominent all day with co-captain Smith oozing class through the midfield while Butty registered six majors.
Tyren Montebruno and Michael Cassidy were also influential, the two star players showing their importance when fully fit after being restricted by injury for much of 2013.
However Phipps said he was most impressed with the team-oriented nature of the performance from all 22 players.
“There was no individual effort that I thought was better than the other,” he said,
“I thought the old under-14 adage (applied), it was a team effort. You can’t speak any other way about the game.
“It’s the little things that guys do off the ball that I enjoy more.
“I enjoy the teamwork ... if you do that for your mates, the scoreboard will take care of itself.”
Werribee stamped its dominance on the contest with an explosive first quarter, with spearhead Tyren Montebruno looming large with three goals.
Following an old-fashioned ‘spray’ in the quarter-time huddle from Nick Washington, the Cheetahs kicked three goals.
However, that was the only resistance the Cheetahs provided for the entire match as Werribee piled on the final eight goals of the term, putting the result beyond doubt with an 88-point lead at halftime.
With the heat out of the match, the Centrals continued their clinical performance, as Butty and Montebruno traded goals, benefiting from the commanding display from the Centrals midfield.
Werribee cruised to the final siren with an impressive four-quarter effort, sending a clear warning to the competition that it will be a force to be reckoned with.
The only dampener for the day was Brayden Montebruno being reported for an incident which will come under video review.