Late great eight steals the show
MODEWARRE slammed home eight unanswered finalquarter goals to secure a stunning come-from-behind win over Torquay in last night’s Good Friday blockbuster.
Down by five goals at one stage during the match at McCartney Oval, Modewarre ran over the top of the Tigers to win by 35 points.
Torquay’s Jack Heathcote had the chance to extend his team’s 14-point three-quarter time lead, but hit the post early in the final quarter.
From there it was all Modewarre, with Cody Grant and Tom Worpel kicking goals in succession to give the Warriors a sniff — and the momentum.
And the barrage continued after that as the Warriors, in the end, cruised to a comfortable win.
Co-coach Seamus Orr said his side was always going to be hard to stop once it had wrested back momentum.
“They got a few goals on the board (early) and there was a few things we needed to change at halftime,” Orr said.
“We made those changes and got into our style, we had let them dictate to us.
“Then it just takes a few moments, builds momentum and then we just rode that and were able to get back in the game.
“As soon as you get close, even or just in front, you start to feel you are a bit of a chance and it builds belief.
“Once you kick two in a row, it feels like you’re on top. Our mids were doing fantastic work winning clearances, getting the ball forward.
“That allowed us to set up behind the ball and keep the ball in our forward half.”
Frustratingly for the Tigers, the only goal at their end in the final quarter was kicked by a streaker, who ran on to the ground, stole the ball during a pause in play, dashed to the goalsquare and kicked truly from less than 5m out.
A disappointed Torquay coach Dom Gleeson said his side failed to respond when put under pressure in the final term.
“First half was sensational, we played some really good footy. It was a real arm-wrestle there for a while,” Gleeson said.
“We tried to get the momentum in our mindset and totally lost our way.
“It’s something as a coaching group (we will look to fix). We will be disappointed over the next couple of days, but it’s only early in the year with a new group.
“It’s about finishing the game off ( and we have to improve that).”
Orr said young Warrior Jackson Paatsch was a leading light in defence.
“He’s a 17-year-old at the Geelong Falcons and we’ve been lucky enough to get him for the last two weeks. He was taking intercept marks,” he said.
Ollie Butler also stood tall in defence late.
Hasker Dawborn rucked the second half solo, while Josh Finch, Mitch Fisher and Craig Evans all had a big impact in Modewarre’s win. Jesse Douglas and Brendan Wemyss kicked three goals.
For Torquay, Sam Wormald was a standout, as were veteran Ben Raidme and Paul McMahon.
Cameron Lockwood was also named in his team’s best in his debut after joining from Williamstown.
Lockwood, Heathcote and McMahon all kicked three majors.