WRFL: Caroline Springs beats Altona behind Liam Read’s dominance

A Caroline Springs star who came “from nowhere” is continuing to leave his coach stunned as the Lakers continue to be the early WRFL Division 1 pacesetters.

Liam Read might be in his second season at Caroline Springs but the Lakers continue to marvel at how he came “from nowhere”.

The dominant ruckman was named best afield — his third consecutive mention among his side’s better players — as Caroline Springs became the only undefeated team in the WRFL’s Division 1 competition with a 8.12 (60) to 7.6 (48) win over Altona.

It was also the first time the Lakers had got the better of the Vikings.

Read was influential around the ground as he continued to build a strong case as one of the best ruckman in the competition.

He arrived at the club about a “week and a half” before the 2021 season following a serious knee injury to Brock McGregor before going onto shoulder most of the ruck load.

Coach Brodie Holland said he is still amazed at how Read fell into his side’s lap.

“He’s really built on some of the strong form he showed last season,” Holland said.

“When Brock went down last year, I got on the phones because we needed to find someone to add to our big man department and we couldn’t be happier with the impact Liam has had.

“He’s a great bloke who came in and hit the ground running for someone who hadn’t done a pre-season.

“I thought his tap work was fantastic again on Saturday and our midfielders were able to make the most of the opportunities he gave them.”

Holland said his side was unable to maintain its unbeaten start to the season as they were “ticking boxes”.

Keenan O'Shea was impressive for Caroline Springs. Picture: Local Legends Photography

That included the previous win against St Albans, the Lakers’ first win against that opposition club at home.

Pleasingly for Holland, recruits Courtenay Dempsey, Ryan Allan and Steve Kyriazis all had an impact with two majors.

Mitch Bongiovanni, Josh Cubillo, Keenan O’Shea, Jake Mold and Lachlan Mellon were the better performers for Caroline Springs.

“The coaching staff have been putting more time into getting things right this year,” Holland said.

“That’s meant more time reviewing opposition and preparing for games but it’s also come down to the players putting in massive efforts.

“We feel like we’ve got a list to make the top three but we’re going to still need some luck along the way.”

Will Young finished the day with one goal. Picture: Local Legends Photography

“Altona were missing a few players on Saturday but it was important we took that opportunity against them.

“We’ve had a little bit of luck ourselves so far this season but there is going to come a time where we will be challenged by injuries and it will be up to us to make sure we respond in the right away.”

Holland handed debuts to young guns Lucas Blackman and Tate Wood on Saturday while Josh Vilinskis, who started the season for Deer Park, played his first senior game.

Meanwhile, Simon Maiolo was selected as the Lakers’ 23rd player — an initiative introduced by the WRFL for different points of the season.

It allows a player who is 19 or younger and is yet to play three of more senior games to be selected in the top side.

“Simon played earlier in the year against Yarraville and we thought it was a great chance to give him another player,” Holland said.

“He’s got a great attitude and will be a fine player for us for a long time.”

For Altona, Josh Bench and Connor Menadue — who kicked three goals — were among the better players.

Holland’s men face another big test in the form of Spotswood on Saturday as Altona looks to bounce back against Sunshine.