West Footscray on the winners list for the first time since 2019

West Footscray sang the club song for the first time in over 1300 days on Saturday as several recruits fired in a new look Roosters team.

It feels as if the dark clouds have finally been disappeared from over West Footscray.

After 1311 days of pain, the Roosters are back on the winning list in the Western Region league.

The first four points since 2019 came against Laverton on Saturday afternoon as they prevailed 11.4 (70) to 7.7 (49) in tough and slippery conditions.

Just one player, Ethan Murphy, was part of the last West Footscray senior side to win a game.

Murphy played an influential role with two goals and was named among his side’s better players.

After being relegated to Division 3 at the end of last season, the Roosters went about hitting the reset button including the appointment of Troy Beamond as coach.

At the weekend, there were fresh faces aplenty with 12 players taking to the field as West Footscray players for the first time with another three playing their return games.

West Footscray broke a 1311-day drought with a win over Laverton. Photo: Kel Rowe/West Footscray

“The win was great for the club, you could mean how much it meant to people who had been through some of the hard times,” Beamond said.

“Throughout the game we had moments that we’re going to learn from. When we got out to a bit of a lead, Laverton managed to get back into it.

“Importantly in the last quarter we were able to put our heads down and hold them off. It’s a good start to the season.”

Stand-in captain Josh Barker starred with three goals in a best on ground display while Dylan Toulmin, Matt Grubb, Matt Turcinovich and Nicholas Howard were also impressive.

It was an impressive display for the Roosters who remained without a handful of walk up starters including marquee recruit Chris Long and Kane Liossis.

West Footscray coach Troy Beamond. Photo: Kel Rowe/West Footscray

“The good news is we’ve got no long-term injuries and guys should be back in the next couple of weeks,” Beamond said.

“We’ve got a bye in Round 3 which will also be helpful. We’ll get some players back in the next couple of weeks which will help with the contested side of the game which is going to be a big factor at our ground obviously.

“We think our style is going to be suited to the bigger grounds though.”

In other Division 3 results, Albanvale proved to be too good for Sunshine Heights running out 29-point winners.

Tarneit recorded a 143-point victory over North Sunshine.