Cats hold their nerve in thriller against Werribee
GEELONG VFL coach Shane O’Bree says his developing side will grow as a result of Saturday’s thrilling three-point win over Werribee.
The Cats were tested and held their nerve in a tense final term as the relentless Tigers kicked five of the last six goals to eat into Geelong’s 28-point three-quarter-time lead. But Werribee fell just short as the siren sounded with the ball inside its forward 50.
The 12.12 (84) to 12.9 (81) win hands Geelong a timely first victory of the season, following two narrow losses to start 2019.
“The players deserve that,” O’Bree said.
“The first two rounds they have played some good footy, we have just had some lapses. Today I thought we had a super three quarters. Last quarter we were just out on our feet and hanging on.”
Ruckman Ryan Abbott was clearly the most influential Cat, claiming the Damian Drum Medal for best-on-ground, finishing with 36 hit-outs and 16 possessions.
Electric midfielder Quinton Narkle also played his best game for 2019 with 18 touches and a goal, while James Parsons (26 possessions) continued to thrive in his role as an inside midfielder.
Zach Guthrie was again the pick of the AFL-listed defenders with 19 possessions to continue his push for a senior recall. Darcy Fort also stood tall with three goals, 15 possessions and 16 hit-outs.
The Cats looked superb through midfield for large portions of the game but slowly started to fatigue in the final quarter, allowing Werribee to get a foothold in the game.
However, Ben Jarvis’s goal to open the final term and some resolute defending late managed to get Geelong over the line.
O’Bree said the Cats had learnt a lot from last week’s loss where they fell just one point short of their own comeback against Frankston.
“There’s some things we learnt from last week — how to win the game when we were behind,” O’Bree said.
“Today is ‘How do you defend a lead?’ Werribee were coming right at us … they played their game style really well through the middle of the ground, fast football, and we just couldn’t slow them down.
“We had opportunities as well (late, but we were) fatigued and probably bombed away a bit too much which we will learn (from) as a young group.”
O’Bree said the narrow win would deliver a double boost for his developing group of players.
“You probably learn more (in tight games) and you probably gain just as much confidence as winning by heaps as well,” he said.
“It was one of those games, we didn’t want an easy game but we needed to win to get a lot of confidence. I think our players will.
“We are a good little team on our day; we’ve got a lot of young players playing their first year of VFL football. And we’ve got some third and fourth year players on an AFL list that are out to prove a point at the moment.”