Match result: Werribee 11.22.88 defeated Williamstown 11.7.73
Venue: Williamstown
Conditions: Stunning day with little wind. When the sun went behind the clouds it felt quite fresh. 19c

In action

- Majak Daw (15 disposals, 3 marks, 5 clearances, 1 goal, 23 hit-outs)
- Will Fordham (19 disposals, 6 tackles)
- Kieran Harper (19 disposals, 6 marks, 7 tackles, 4 clearances, 6 inside 50s)
- Scott McMahon (19 disposals, 6 marks)
- Kayne Turner (18 disposals, 5 marks, 7 inside 50s)
- Mason Wood (17 disposals, 9 marks, 7 inside 50s, 1 goal)
- Dan Currie (7 disposals, 23 hit-outs)

Development League

- Daniel Wells (14 disposals, 2 goals, 3 clearances)
- Eric Wallace

NMFC.com.au's best: Scott McMahon

Story of the game

The sixth placed Werribee faced the second placed Williamstown and the contest was played with the intensity of a final with plenty of spite and added pressure on the ball carrier from the opening bounce.

Several spot fires broke out during the afternoon but the Tigers managed to hold their nerve despite some inaccurate kicking.

Werribee had an incredible 63-33 inside 50 advantage but failed to capitalise according to North Melbourne development coaches Gavin Brown and Jarred Moore.

“We were all over them early and then let them back into the contest,” Moore told NMFC.com.au.

“We had our chances to put them away in the third quarter too. (We) kicked three goals and seven behinds to their three goals two.

"So we could have buried them but instead, we gave them a sniff and they came back at us like good sides do.”

Brown said the Tigers dominated right from the start.

“When you look at the stats sheet, we dominated all areas really,” he said.

“It was surprising when I looked up at the scoreboard and saw how tight the game was because it felt like we should have been a long way out in front.

“It was a terrific contest.”

The Tigers held a 21-point lead at half-time and threatened to blow the game wide open after the break but failed to take their opportunities and let the Seagulls drag the margin back to within eight points late in the final term.

With all the momentum, a Williamstown player stormed out of Werribee’s forward half and had a clear end-to-end run until Will Fordham laid a game-saving chase-down tackle from behind.

“That was terrific from Will,” Brown said.

“If that Williamstown player had have been allowed to keep running the length of the ground, there would only have been a kick or so in the game. So it was a tremendous effort.”

Fordham’s tackle resulted in a shot on goal for Mason Wood. Although it was from outside 50 on a tight angle, the athletic forward slotted it through and put a final nail in the Williamstown coffin.

While Wood got it done up forward, Veteran Scott McMahon was a standout yet again in defence.

“I thought McMahon was fantastic down back,” Brown said.

“I thought he was really good all day.”

The win at the venue was a rare one for the Tigers; the last time they won at Burbank Oval was back in 2008. On that day Todd Goldstein was the main ruckman while Nathan Thompson, Leigh Brown, Ben Warren, James Podsiadly and Michael Barlow roamed around in the forward line.

Points of interest

1. Daniel Currie made his long-awaited return after a troubling foot injury.

“He played 50 per cent of the game and took two really strong marks,” Brown said.

“He competed really well in the ruck and slipped back into the side seamlessly after missing a lot of footy.

“He’ll really benefit from that run.”

2. Kieran Harper played with some new-found freedom after shaking off niggling injuries which have hampered him all year.

“While it’s not all about possessions, for him he’s been averaging about 12 touches a game so get 19 today was a real boost,” Brown observed.

“We actually said early on that he looked switched on a sharp and that was probably one of the reasons he got a lot more involved in the game.

“He looked more keen and got more of the ball because he had a lot more follow-up efforts and energy.”

3. Mason Wood came into the game a little worse for wear due to illness, but showed great resilience to play out the game and kick the sealer.

“He’s been crook all week and didn’t look great but I thought he battled through it pretty well,” Brown explained.

“He was clearly distressed but his contests in the air were pretty good.”

4. Will Fordham has been working hard to improve his game and took some huge steps forward.

“We’ve been working on his contested side and his defence and it was really pleasing today,” Moore said.

“He’s had 19 possessions but I thought the way he was able to win his one-on-ones was really good.”

5. Kayne Turner is tantalisingly close to an AFL recall after another solid performance.

“Kayne is another one of those guys that averages about 10 to 12 possessions, and today he’s had it almost 20 times,” Moore said.

“He was working really hard up and back and put a lot of pressure on all day.”

Most likely call-up: Kayne Turner, Scott McMahon
Next week: Sunday August 30 v Footscray, 11:42am at Avalon Airport Oval