Werribee has final say over Coburg
Sean Cusick
The Age
July 2, 2006
WERRIBEE has shown true grit to fight back from death's door twice to beat Coburg by 10 points in one of the best matches of the VFL season yesterday.
After kicking the first two goals in quick succession, Werribee went to sleep as Coburg piled on eight consecutive goals.
With the Coburg midfield rampant, and Werribee known for poor second-quarter performances, it seemed the writing was on the wall for the home side.
Werribee coach Simon Atkins gave a lengthy quarter-time speech (that was still going as Coburg players took their positions), and stressed that it was time his players fought to get possession of the ball and then make better use of it.
To the delight of the coach known as "the Axe", they followed his orders to the finest detail. The Tigers from Chirnside Park began to attack the ball with ferocity, as gun forward James Podsiadly began to take control.
After imposing Bulldog Will Minson showed remarkable agility in snapping a long goal, Werribee went into half-time brimming with confidence after cutting a 38-point deficit to only two points.
But Coburg regained control in the third term, with Dean Limbach proving dangerous as a replacement forward for Jay Schulz, who had earned a Richmond recall after dominating the Box Hill defence last week. At the final change, Coburg held a 17-point lead.
But Werribee drilled home four goals in the final term and restricted Coburg to one behind to steal a win.
A disappointed Coburg coach Andrew Collins lamented the one that got away.
"The basics of football are the same, no matter what level you're playing," he said.
"When we did get it (the ball), we didn't use it as well as them. They pressured us, we turned it over, they got it, and they used it better than us."
Looking at the positive side, Richmond youngsters Brent Hartigan and Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls were lively, and Limbach finished with five goals.
"He (Limbach) got some good goals, and we were happy with his performance. But, at the same time, it would have been nice to have more than one approach to goal," Collins said.
"In the last few weeks, we've had multiple targets. But today, they shot us down a bit."
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