Werribee in on the winners list in 2023 after a stirring 23-point victory away to last year’s runner up Southport on Saturday.

The visitors had winners all over the ground with Shaun Mannagh (40 disposals and four goals), Bior Malual (28 disposals and 11 marks) and Kye Declase (27 disposals and two goals) simply outstanding across four quarters at Fankhauser Reserve.

In Queensland for the second time in three weeks after an opening round loss to Brisbane, the Big W started positively kicking three of the first four goals of the match to lead by 14 points 21 minutes into the opening quarter.

Hudson Garoni and Josh Porter - in his first game of the season, stretched Werribee’s lead to 22 points at the nine-minute mark of the second term but the hosts would hit back cutting the visitors’ advantage to seven points at halftime.

Along with Declase (16 disposals) and Tom Gribble (15 disposals), debutant Bailey Henderson (12 disposals) was amongst Werribee’s top ball winners at the main break.

In the third quarter the Big W’s tall timber continued to dominate at times with Garoni, Porter and Jack Boyd marking strongly or brining the ball to the ground for Werribee’s smaller players. However, Mannagh‘s solitary goal, a long range effort from the top of the 50 metre arc, was the only major of the term for the visitors who took a nine-point lead into the last.

Reward on the scoreboard came thick and fast in the final quarter with Connor Thar goaling after just two minutes before three majors followed in the space of as many minutes. Thar’s third of the afternoon, a brilliant finish from deep in the pocket, marked a fantastic return to VFL football for the crafty small after an injury riddled 2022.

It wouldn’t be all smooth sailing to the finish line for Werribee with Southport not conceding defeat. With the visitors up by 34 points after 10 and a half minutes the Sharks then had seven consecutive scoring shots, but their inaccuracy would prove their downfall. Mannagh would eventually ice the game booting his fourth goal of the day as the final siren sounded.  

FINAL SCORE
Werribee: 3.5 6.7 7.13 12.14 (86)
Southport: 2.2 5.5 6.10 8.15 (63)

GOALS
Werribee: S. Mannagh 4, C. Thar 3, K. Declase 2, H. Garoni, H. Grintell, J. Porter.
Southport: F. Thurlow 4, J. Lockhart, Z. Foot, C. Offermans, T. Fields

BEST
Werribee: S. Mannagh, K. Declase, B. Malual, C. Thar, K. Annand, J. Henderson.
Southport:

ROUND 3 IMAGE GALLERY - VIEW HERE