WRFL: Hoppers Crossing hold on in thriller against Werribee Districts
A young quartet of defenders with just 29 games experience between them proved pivotal as Hoppers Crossing got a glimpse to the future in a thriller against Werribee Districts.
Western
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The future of Hoppers Crossing is emerging before its eyes.
On the big stage of Anzac Day, a quartet of young defenders stood tall to lead the Warriors to a 11.13 (79) to 11.8 (74) win over local rivals Werribee Districts.
Hoppers Crossing coach Steve Kretiuk said Callum Buckingham, Jayden Danaher, Riley Fisher and Zach Vesty — who have just 29 senior games of senior experience between them — all “stood up” when the pressure was on in a frantic last quarter.
Their performances came after Ashlin Brown, who kicked the first two goals of the last, was swung forward in the final 30 minutes as Kretiuk looked for a match winner.
“We’ve always had a very experienced back line in the past and it’s looking very different this year,” he said.
“Those four guys are either still able to play under 18s or still relatively new to senior footy and I thought they were terrific.
“Werribee’s forwards have always troubled us and to get those sorts of performances was really pleasing.
“It shows there’s a strong future for the club to look forward to.
“We thought we had to roll the dice by throwing Ash forward and he’s a seasoned campaigner who has shown he can impact the game at both ends.”
The defenders weren’t the only players to impress with Chase Guy continuing to develop with “more midfield time” as Mitch Holt added “another couple of strings to his bow” with two goals according to Kretiuk.
The ever reliable Harley Armstrong-Weston was named the best player on the ground with Nick Poland, Dave Barbieri, Jack Dorgan and Jackson Viola also impressive.
Braden Ferrari was the leading goalkicker on the ground with three majors.
“Anzac Day is an important day for us and it was fantastic to get back to winning ways,” Kretiuk said.
“The crowd was one of the biggest I’ve seen at a local game in a few years. We had a lot of guys down against St Albans and it’s pleasing they were able to bounce back because we really needed it.
“The stress levels are certainly higher against Werribee and it wasn’t helped when we almost kicked ourselves out of the game in the third (the Warriors kicked 2.5 to 2.2).”
Kreituk said the playing group had never doubted themselves heading into the game despite the shock Good Friday loss.
“I told the boys to not lose faith,” he said.
“It was one of those days where we could have won the game but we just had a few done.”
The news could get better with a pending clearance for four-time WRFL Team of the Year Reece Miles in place.
“He came down for a kick but we’re not 100 per cent sure what will happen with Reece yet,” Kretiuk said.
“There have been a few guys who have spoken about coming back to the club to have one last kick together but we will see what happens.”
The Warriors are now preparing for a huge clash against Deer Park while Werribee will host Spotswood on Saturday.
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