Patersons Stadium
Sunday September 9, 1.15pm WST/3.15pm EST
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Ben McKinley has kicked two last quarter goals to give Werribee a week off and a preliminary final berth.
In a match heavily affected by blustery conditions at Casey Fields, only one of the nine goals scored came against the wind. It was McKinley (13 possessions, 6 marks, 3.3) who stood up when it counted playing deep in the forward 50.
Early in the game Werribee was under siege and if it wasn't for the excellent work of Ayden Kennedy (14 possessions) it could have been trailing by a lot more than just 10-points at the first change. Kennedy continued his strong start by repelling countless Casey attacks throughout the afternoon.
Majak Daw (14 possessions, 25 hitouts) battled well against Melbourne-listed ruckman Jake Spencer and while he split the points, he had a 10-minute spell of quality football in the second quarter that helped the Tigers take the advantage in general play.
"We were really patient from the start of the game when the conditions weren't the most suitable to play in," Daw told kangaroos.com.au.
"Originally during the week I thought Jake might have been playing in the AFL (for Melbourne) so it's exciting to get to play against those AFL-listed ruckman that potentially I'll be coming up against. I did my job and competed well against him."
Daw also praised the work of McKinley, saying the plan in the final quarter was to kick the ball deep into the 50 as much as possible 'to a very capable player one-on-one.'
In the absence of Cam Pedersen who missed a second week with an ankle injury, Brad Mangan (10 possessions) was swung forward again. While he went goalless, he provided a strong target working across half forward.
Malcolm Lynch (15 possessions, 5 tackles) and Ben Speight (12 possessions, 1 goal) both provided a spark at ground level in the forward half. With a lot of congestion and multiple repeat stoppages throughout the day, the effort of the duo in providing pace and spread was crucial.
It was Speight who kicked the opener in the second term to get Werribee going, and Lynch's tackling pressure was a highlight.
Will Sierakowski (22 possessions, 6 clearances) collected plenty of the ball but was uncharacteristically loose with his disposal - perhaps a result of the extremely difficult conditions. Ben Warren (7 disposals, 1 goal, 4 tackles) was also quiet but did some of his best work on the defensive side of the ball.
Ex-Roo Leigh Harding also chipped in with one of the goals of the season when he kicked the ball out of mid-air at a stoppage 20 metres out, on the half-time siren. It gave Werribee a crucial lead heading into the long break.
Casey 2.4.16, 2.5.17, 3.9.27, 3.10.28
Werribee 1.0.6, 4.2.26, 4.7.31, 6.10.46
Goals
Casey: Gent, Riseley, Smith
Werribee: McKinley 3, Speight, Warren, Harding
Best
Casey: Riseley, Magner, Tynan, Sheahan, Panozza, Gysberts
Werribee: Harding, Sierakowski, Hartigan, McKinley, Mather, Sharp
