The Northern Blues have sent an emphatic message to the rest of the competition with a 15-point win over the Werribee Tigers at Avalon Airport Oval Saturday night.
Fresh off an 11-goal win over last years’ runners-up in Port Melbourne, Werribee were heavily backed to make short work of the Blues on the basis of last year’s form.
Yet it was the Blues who jumped to an early advantage with a five-goal opening quarter.
In his VFL debut, Troy Menzel was a bright spark early with some contested grabs across half forward and playing a hand in two first quarter goals.
The eleventh pick overall in last year’s draft kicked off proceedings in the second quarter landing his first goal, before Matthew Watson drifted forward to launch a massive goal from beyond 60 metres.
Menzel’s half forward colleague in Dylan Buckley stamped his authority on the game with a four-bounce run and delivery to a teammate in the goal square, as Kangaroos-listed ruckman Majak Daw gave hot pursuit.
Not done with yet, Buckley then nailed the first of his two goals just moments later as the midfield of Ed Curnow, Heath Scotland and Jaryd Cachia began to get on top, taking a 17-point lead into half time.
The defensive duo of Watson and Simon White became crucial in the third quarter, nullifying their opponent’s effectiveness. Aaron Joseph stood out in his own right, curtailing former Kangaroo, Ben Warren, who was fresh of an 11-goal haul the week before.
Tom Temay’s foot skills came to the fore as he went about amassing 20 disposals from half back before finishing with a quality goal in the final term.
Cachia, performing a shutdown role on Kangaroo Levi Greenwood in the first half, was massive in the second half to finish with 22 disposals and five tackles.
His partner-in-crime, Scotland, showed glimpses of what’s to come when he returns to senior football with a 23-possession display of efficient ball use.
Rob Warnock was again influential in the ruck finishing with 46 of the Northern Blues’ 63 hit outs. A goal from a stoppage free kick late in the fourth quarter deservedly sealed the victory.
However, it was Curnow who arguably took the best-on-ground honours, finishing with 30 disposals (17 contested) and 13 tackles.
Speaking post-match, Curnow highlighted the efforts of Joseph and Warnock as playing pivotal roles in the eventual outcome.
“Guys like Aaron really stepped up. Pretty much all the boys kept it simple and played their role,” Curnow said.
“We displayed that Northern Blues ‘spirit’ that was probably missing last week (against Coburg).
“If we bring that every week, we’re going to be winning more games than we’re not.”
The Northern Blues will play host to Bendigo at Visy Park next Saturday afternoon.
NORTHERN BLUES 5.3 10.6 16.7 20. 10. (130)
WERRIBEE 4.4 7.7 11.11 17. 13. (115)
GOALS: Thomas 5, Marcon 2, Totevski 2, Buckley 2, Menzel , Lambert , Visser , Warnock , Wilson , Watson , Meese , Bransgrove , Temay
BEST: Curnow, Thomas, Cachia, Lambert, Joseph, Warnock
