Centurions so close to win for club great
FOOTBALL can be cruel sometimes.
Moments after the final siren sounded on Werribee’s two-point loss against fourthplaced North Geelong, young defender Callum O’Malley curled on the ground in despair.
Prior to the match, members from both sides lined up for a minute’s applause in honour of his grandfather, club secretary and Werribee great Michael O’Malley.
If ever there was a game the Centurions wanted to win, it was this one.
The home side looked every chance of pulling off the upset of the season after storming back from 25 points down with late goals from Josh Sloan, Bradley Carlton and Luke Cachia.
Werribee’s Darryl Chesterman, a former Western Jet, then had a shot for goal from 40m out, but it wasn’t to be.
“We had Michael’s funeral the day before and he was a founding member of the club,” Werribee coach Peter Mark said.
“Michael’s son Peter is usually my runner but he lined up in the reserves with his brothers Marcus and Liam.
“You then had their cousin Nathan and Callum, the son of Peter, run out with the boys before preparing for the senior game.”
O’Malley finished with 21 disposals while helping key defender Matthew Brown control North Geelong’s energetic forward line.
“He’s a good player, Callum. We just have to get him to that next level of fitness now,” Mark said.
“I’ll be honest, the boys thought we were a real chance today.
“We adapted to the wind up front, but in the second quarter we fell for the old trap of believing the wind was going to do it for us.
“Unfortunately the wind doesn’t mark the ball for you nor does it kick a goal for you.
“We let them back in and they scored up the hill, North started chipping around . . . and it cost us in the end.
“At the end of the day, I like North Geelong and I hope they beat Thomson in the final but we’re all disappointed about today’s outcome.” Game, Name A