Centrals racing
THERE’S a sense of timing about Werribee Centrals.
Saturday’s 44-point domination of flag contender Inverleigh locked away a top-three spot and the double chance.
It is a destiny that must have felt miles away in April after starting the season 0-2 and then even more in doubt at 4-4 after eight rounds.
But like a racehorse in the Melbourne Cup, the Centurions are sitting pretty at the clock tower after blasting the Hawks away in a dominant third quarter on Saturday.
How they respond when the whips are cracking at The Gordon TAFE Oval will determine if they are the team to test raging hot premiership favourite Thomson.
And of course, they are the only team to beat the Tigers this season.
Nevertheless, coach Nick Smith couldn’t help but crack a wry smile when speaking of the momentum his team was building ahead of finals.
“It’s not bad form to take into your last round,” Smith said.
“One of the challenges we’ve got is Corio in the last round and (it can be hard when) you’re not playing a contender and all that sort of stuff. This was our last hitout against a finals team, so to win convincingly (is a massive bonus).
“We’ve beaten every team that is going to play finals. We’ve got the win over Thomson, which no one else has.
“So why can’t you go in with maximum confidence that no matter who we play (we can get the result)?”
Saturday’s 14.9 (93) to 6.13 (49) victory in the slop at Inverleigh was set up with a sizzling eight-goal third term.
Centrals were unstoppable straight after the main break, turning a seven-point deficit into a 42-point three-quartertime lead.
It came on the back of eight unanswered goals for the term, with the Centrals’ lethal forward line feasting on some slick ball movement through the middle of the ground.
Daniel Boyd and Daniel Skinner kicked multiple goals, while Nathan Johnson, Matt Miller and Josh Sutton kicked singles for Werribee in the quarter, with Inverleigh having no answers to the onslaught.
“We were talking as a coaching group and I think that third quarter is probably the best quarter of footy we’ve played since I’ve been here,” Smith said.
“It’s a pretty good time to play it when there’s so much on the line and you’re playing a good team and you’re away from home.
“We looked at each other at three-quarter-time and thought, ‘Wow, that’s an unbelievable quarter’.
“I’ve always thought that we’ve had that in us. That’s part of what I love about my group — when they spark and when they get their tails up, they can really get going.
“But considering the way the game was going, I thought it was one of those ones where it would go to the wire. To go into three-quarter-time and all of a sudden be seven goals up was just exciting.”