WRFL 2018: Patrick Rose kicks seven goals in Altona’s Division 1 win over Sunshine
PATRICK Rose delivered another masterclass to spearhead Altona’s vital victory over Sunshine in the Western Region Football League.
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PATRICK Rose delivered another masterclass to spearhead Altona’s vital victory over Sunshine in the Western Region Football League on Saturday.
The star forward and former Western Bulldogs rookie bagged seven goals in the Vikings’ 28-point win, 11.16 (82) to 7.12 (54).
Rose’s haul took his season tally to 54 goals from 11 games and left Altona in third position on a congested Division 1 ladder.
PARKSIDE CO-COACH CONDOS FOCUSED ON NOW
“On Monday night he was in hospital and to recover from Monday night to where he was on Saturday, it’s a pretty good performance,” coach Saade Ghazi said.
“He’s having 10 or 12 shots a game, so he’s probably cost himself an opportunity of 70-75 goals right now. That’s being honest.
“He’s very hard to match up, so we play him deep, but now we play him up the ground a little bit as well.
“We just don’t depend on him playing in the goal square. It’s just getting that balance between him and Mitch Turnbull and Elliot Cavallaro when he’s there.
“We don’t want to get one-dimensional and we may have done that a few times this year. So we deliberately have him in the goal square, but then occasionally we’ll throw him up to half forward so we can change it up a bit.”
Altona trailed by seven points at the first break before taking control of the contest.
Young defender Kevin Johnson, who arrived from Yarraville-Seddon over the off-season, played his best game for the club, while Joel Magnabosco, Shae Killey and Kelly Pickard also starred.
Youngsters Ethan Taylor, Matthew Wright, Kyle Blake have emerged, while midfielders Mitch Norton (Williamstown) and Harry Tanner (Richmond) were absent after being called up for VFL duties.
“We’re not just reliant on our top end, as we have been in the last year or so,” Ghazi said.
“We‘re really getting a nice, even spread from the 22 players who are selected.”
Just six points separate first-placed Werribee Districts and fifth-ranked Spotswood, while Deer Park, Altona and Hoppers Crossing are equal on points at 9-3.
After a 6-0 start to the campaign, the Vikings dropped three of their next four games.
But wins over Spotswood and Sunshine in the past fortnight have been desperately needed as they chase the double chance.
“I think it’s getting better and better,” Ghazi said of the WRFL top flight.
“We want a real strong 10-team competition. We want to see the bottom two or three teams winning three or four games a year.
“We don’t want to have a side going down every year. I’m not sure what the future holds regarding that, but we want to see an even competition.
“I suppose with the dominance of Deer Park the last five years, a lot of clubs have had to go out and work harder and recruit more.
“That has probably made the competition better.”
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