With games spread across the Anzac Day weekend Werribee players took to the field over several days in four different leagues in the second full week of metropolitan football. 

WESTERN REGION FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Michael Selsby - Yarraville Seddon
Produced another strong display for the Eagles finishing as their best in a 32-point loss to Point Cook. Played the majority of the match in the midfield accumulating 33 disposals, 18 of those contested to go with four tackles. Generally used the ball well and brought great pressure around the ball.

Akol Deng - Yarraville Seddon
Went up against to quality ruckman against the Bulldogs and did well with 12 of his hit-outs to advantage. Around the ground finished with 11 disposals and was named as one of the best.

Sam Clifford - Hoppers Crossing
Found a good amount of football for the second week in a row and generally used it well in a 79-point defeat to Werribee Districts on Anzac Day. Can be even more effective when he brings his trademark run and carry.

GEELONG FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Matt Keast – St Mary’s
Was a key contributor in his first game for the Saints this season. Tallied 29 disposals, 14 of those contested and five tackles in a strong St Mary’s side that defeated Geelong West by 52 points. Kicked a goal but could have easily finished with multiple majors.

Noah Gribble - Geelong West
One of the leading disposals getters for the Giants with 27 touches in their loss to St Mary’s. Battled hard across four quarters starting as an inside midfielder before moving to the wing and then halfback.

Keegan Gray - Bell Park (Local Player of the Week)
Played all over the ground in an 80-point win over North Shore. Was dominant early with rebound before swinging forward in the last quarter, kicking a goal and missing a couple of other chances. Had 20 disposals at 85% efficiency along with nine marks.

Sam Witherden - North Shore
Solid again as the Seagulls were no match for Bell Park. Started at fullback but moved into the midfield after quarter time and was strong in the contest accumulating 24 disposals. Named second best for his team.

Flynn Young – Newtown & Chilwell
Kicked three goals from six scoring shots in a comfortable victory away at St Albans. Was involved in a number of good passages of play as the Eagles run out 106-point winners.

ESSENDON DISTRICT FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Lachlan Smart - Deer Park
Had an impressive outing against former WRFL counterpart St Albans with 25 disposals and a game-high four goals. Was explosive inside attacking 50 and clean with ball in hand as the Lions defeated the Saints by 35 points in their first matchup in the EDFL.

Cam McLeod - Avondale Heights
Named Avondale’s best in a heavy loss to last year’s runner up Aberfeldie. Played the first three quarters forward taking six marks inside 50. However, failed to capitalise on the scoreboard kicking 2.3 before spending the last quarter on the wing. Finished with 19 disposals and 11 marks.

Darcy Cassar – Keilor
Entered Keilor’s clash with Pasco Vale a bit under the weather due to illness. Had 16 disposals for the day, with all but one of them finding a target, as the Blues overcame the Panthers by two goals.

VICTORIAN AMATUER FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

Jack Boyd – Old Xavierians
Played a starring role in helping Old Xavierians to a 10-goal win over Old Melburnians splitting his time between attack and the ruck. Presented well both deep forward and when higher up the ground and booted five goals with three of those in the space of as many minutes in the third quarter.

Zayne Galea - Williamstown CYMS
Was another tough day for The Cy’s with an 81-point loss to Fitzroy but individually built on last week’s performance and looking more comfortable across the duration of the match.

Werribee collected its second win of the 2023 Smithy’s VFL season with a dominant display against traditional rivals Williamstown in Round 5 to reclaim the John Pyne Cup.

The Anzac round victory over the Seagulls was the Big W’s first home win of the season with the 93-point result coming on past players and officials day with a large contingent watching on.

After being plagued by inaccuracy against Geelong just a week earlier, Werribee was clinical in front of goal with Hudson Garoni leading the way.

The key forward’s six majors was a career-high while Connor Thar finished with four to tally his best return at VFL level. Tom Gribble, Dom Brew and Jack Henderson dominated in midfield with 80 disposals and 28 clearances between them.

Shaun Manngah kicked the first of Werribee’s 24 goals five minutes into the contest and then Garoni opened his account two minutes later. Further majors to Dom Brew and Garoni and a goalless term by Williamstown had the hosts leading by 25 points at the first change.

It didn’t take long for Werribee to increase its advantage in the second quarter with Bailey Henderson booting his first Werribee goal after just two minutes before Sam Paea nailed the Big W’s sixth.

Thar was next to hit the scoreboard putting Werribee up by 43 points at the 12-minute mark of the term. After back-to-back Williamstown goals Thar would add his second with four minutes remaining before another Seagulls major reduced the margin to 31 points at halftime.

The second half started with Mannagh again goaling early but from there the the two sides traded majors with Garoni responding on three consecutive occasions following Williamstown goals. His fifth came 24 minutes into the quarter before Paea and Nick Hayes had the hosts up by 48 points.

The third finished with Corey Ellison kicked a late goal for Williamstown which would be the last score for the visitors for nearly half an hour as Werribee ran riot adding 9.3 in the first 23 minutes of the final stanza.

Williamstown’s two fourth quarter majors came a minute apart, but the final highlight would come from the boot of former Seagull Noah Lever who ensured Werribee made it 10 majors in the term when he botted his first goal for his new club.

Werribee’s dominance was evident in the final statistics as the home team ended the match +69 in disposals, +31 in contested possessions and +28 in clearances. The Big W also went inside 50 20 more times and out tackled the Seagulls 74 to 47.

FINAL SCORE
Werribee: 4.3 8.5 14.5 24.10 (154)
Williamstown: 0.2 3.4 7.5 9.7 (61)

GOALS
Werribee: H. Garoni 6, C. Thar 4, S. Mannagh 3, N. Hayes 3, K. Declase 2,, S. Paea 2, D. Brew, J. Henderson, N. Lever, J. Porter.
Williamstown: J. Ottavi 2, C. Ellison 2, M. Walker, D. Andrews, M. Philpot, J. Pongracic, C. Preston.

BEST
Werribee: H. Garoni, T. Gribble, D. Brew, C. Thar, B. Malual, J. Henderson.
Williamstown: 

ROUND 5 IMAGE GALLERY - VIEW HERE

PLAYER STATS
Tom Gribble: 30 disposals (16 K, 14 HB) at 80% efficiency, 15 contested possessions, 11 clearances, 5 inside 50s, 12 score involvements, 5 tackles.
Bior Malual: 25 disposals (20 K, 5 HB) at 80% efficiency, 12 handball receives, 5 marks (1 contested), 6 score involvements, 4 tackles.
Dom Brew: 25 disposals (20 K 5 HB), 14 contested possessions, 10 clearances, 11 inside 10 score involvements, 11 tackles.
Jack Henderson: 21 disposals (14 K 10 HB), 11 contested possessions, 7 clearances, 3 inside 50s, 3 rebound 50s, 9 score involvements.
Kobe Annand: 14 disposals (6 K, 8 HB), 27 hit-outs, 7 clearances, 4 inside 50s, 8 score involvements, 5 tackles.
Connor Thar: 14 disposals (12 K, 4 HB), 3 marks, 5 score involvements, 4 goals, 4 tackles.
Nick Hayes: 13 disposals (8 K, 5 HB), 5 marks (1 contested), 9 score involvements, 3 goals, 4 tackles.
Hudson Garoni: 10 disposals (8 K, 2 HB), 8 marks (4 contested), 9 score involvements, 6 goals.

NEXT MATCH 
Round 7
Werribee vs Essendon
Sunday 7th May, 2:05pm
NEC Hangar, Melbourne Airport

Werribee was well represented across suburban leagues last weekend as most local football got up and running and with it, several players produced notable performances.

WESTERN REGION FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Sam Clifford - Hoppers Crossing
Led all comers in a 17-point loss to Caroline Springs with 35 disposals, five inside 50s, and six score involvements off half-back. He accumulated 141 ranking points, a league-wide high for the weekend.

Michael Selsby - Yarraville Seddon
Had 26 disposals, 18 contested, and used the ball well in slightly wet conditions in a three-goal defeat against 2022 premiers Altona.

Akol Deng - Yarraville Seddon
Was great in the centre bounces and took the points against an undersized ruck. Was serviceable around the ground and went forward at times in the loss to the Vikings.

GEELONG FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Keegan Gray - Bell Park
His cleanliness stood out and also broke the lines at will in a comfortable 64-point triumph over St Albans. Was strong overhead throughout the game and generally showed he was above the level.

Charlie Byrne – Newtown & Chilwell
Had some good moments across the match as the Eagles ran away with a 41-point win at home against Geelong West.

Flynn Young – Newtown & Chilwell
Played his role well in wet conditions and kicked a classy goal from a stoppage in the victory over the Giants.

Noah Gribble - Geelong West
Played as an inside mid and did some really good things offensively in the loss to Newton & Chilwell. Despite being one of the side’s younger players, stood out as a smart, vocal leader in a small, inexperienced midfield.

Noah Lever - North Shore
One of the best for North Shore in a heavy defeat to a Colac. Tackled well and tried hard all day at Windsor Park.

Sam Witherden - North Shore
Very good in his first game back with 22 disposals which included some good run and drive. Amongst the Seagulls who could hold their head high after a tough day.

ESSENDON DISTRICT FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Cam McLeod - Avondale Heights (Local Player of the Week)
Battled admirably through tough conditions in a tight clash against Maribyrnong. Persisted throughout the game and finished with two goals, the last being the match winner after the siren.

Lucas Rocci - Aberfeldie
Was good off half back in the first half and moved into the midfield as the game progressed. Had 19 disposals and five inside 50s as his side fell to Pascoe Vale by four goals.

Lachlan Smart - Deer Park
Worked hard all day and used his run and drive to contribute to a 75-point victory over Westmeadows.

Darcy Cassar - Keilor
In a 102-point thumping of Airport West, had 29 disposals at 75 percent efficiency, predominantly playing on the wing. Offered good run all day and tackled well too.

VICTORIAN AMATUER FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

Zayne Galea - Williamstown CYMS
Was met with a tough St Bernards outfit who came away 89-point victors. Had 13 disposals in defence and should be able to use the match as a platform to continue building form.

By Gerald Lynch

Werribee makes a second straight appearance at Avalon Airport Oval this weekend with an Anzac round clash against western suburbs rivals Williamstown on Sunday.

After a disappointing first home outing of the season with the Big W going down to Geelong by 13 points in Round 4, the home team will look to bounce back with a second consecutive win over the Seagulls.

After losing to Gold Coast in Round 1, Williamstown have rattled off three straight wins over VFL standalone opponents Frankston (away), Port Melbourne (home) and Coburg (home), to currently sit fifth on the ladder.

TEAM NEWS

Round 5 sees a big inclusion with skipper Nick Coughlan making his season and captaincy debut after overcoming a preseason injury. Coughlan’s inclusion is one of four changes for the Big W with small utility Lucas Rocci also included to make his first appearance of 2023.

Midfielder Noah Lever and young tall Sam Paea also come into the side with Jay Dahlhus, Emmanuel Ajang (both injured), Jack Boyd and Matt Keast making way.

GAME DAY DETAILS

Gates open from 12pm with entry costing $10 for adults and concession $5. Kids under 16 are free. Werribee members receive free entry and opposition members half price entry. If you are a Werribee member and haven't yet received your membership card please inform the gate attendant.

Round 5
Werribee vs Williamstown
Saturday 23th April, 2:05pm
Avalon Airport Oval

Round 5 Match Centre

Watch live at afl.com.au