VFL Match Report: Round 8 vs Werribee

19/05/2025

On a windy Sunday afternoon, we took on Werribee at Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval.

Photography by Jake Phillips

We kicked against the breeze to start off the game, but that didn’t stop Zak Jones from getting the midfield started with a clearance.

The backs may have been under some early pressure, but the halfbacks were pulling in intercept marks all over, led by Isaac Keeler, who was playing in defence this week.

Lachlan Voss also got amongst the intercept marks, ensuring the damage on the score board was minimal.

With the momentum in the Tigers favour, we took a risk to try and turn the tables - from a kick in, Ethan Williams went straight down the middle, finding Keeler in the centre of the ground. In the end the possession ended up with a throw in deep inside our attacking 50.

Our persistence in attack paid off, as Jonah Campigli was reward with a holding free, and despite the footy being held up in the wind, it floated over the goal line for our first major of the day.

After one quarter, we were down by 21 points.

The second quarter began with a Werribee attack, but Angus Hastie made a strong spoil, getting all ball and stopping his opponent from taking a mark straight in front of goal.

A few plays later, Liam Henry put a pinpoint accurate kick into Billy Richardson who calmly slotted through his set shot from 40 metres out.

As always, Jones was being incredibly lively in the middle of the ground, winning repeated clearances and launching attack after attack into the forward 50.

After Werribee were penalised for a deliberate out of bounds, Jones linked up with Max Heath who marked the ball about 50 metres from goal.

Thanks to the strong breeze, Heath’s thumping kick easily sailed through for another major.

We had started to get on top, which caused the Tigers to give away a free kick to Hunter Clark right on the boundary line just inside 50.

Despite the tight angle and hard to judge wind, Clark read it perfectly as the footy drifted through for another Zebs goal.

To end the period, Werribee had started to have a bit of a purple patch, but back-to-back intercept marks by James Barrat ensured the Tigers didn’t end the half with a goal.

Going into the main break, Werribee were up by 42 points.

The boys raced out of the change rooms for the second half looking like a different team.

For the first 10 minutes of the third, every clearance and possession was won by a Sandringham player, as we had started the term well and truly on top.

The first big clearance went to Clark who launched a deep kick into the forward 50, which saw the ball get out the back, allowing Campigli to swoop on it and quickly get ball on boot before being tackled.

Campigli’s powerful dribble kick bounced straight through for our first goal of the second half.

In what had become a rarity in the third term, a centre stoppage ended up going the Tigers way, however the defence cut their attack short and wasted no time quickly rebounding it back out the other way.

A few link up possessions later, and in a matter of seconds Billy Richardson had taken a nice mark 25 metres from goal near the boundary line, where he made no mistake judging the wind as he kicked a goal.

Going into the last period, the Tigers led by 39 points.

The final quarter started with Voss taking a tough juggling intercept mark off half back to put an end to a Werribee attack.

It was quickly followed by some beautiful ruck craft by Heath, who cleverly tapped it behind his head straight into the hands of his teammate, who then launched the ball into the 50.

Unfortunately, the wind got a hold of it, meaning the ball found grass, but it was no problem for Dan Butler who swiftly picked up the crumbs and snapped through a goal.

Minutes later and Butler was back at it again, this time using his strength to beat out his man in a one-on-one marking contest. Wasting no time, he ran around the corner and snapped in his second goal.

The last play of the day saw Hugh Boxshall work some magic in a tight space as he gathered the ball and, despite being in the middle of several Tigers, snapped through a goal.

In the end, Werribee won the game by 51 points. 

Sandringham Zebras:  1.2     4.4      6.5      9.7      (61)

Werribee Tigers:          4.3    11.4    12.8    17.10   (112) 

Goals: Billy Richardson 2, Jonah Campigli 2, Dan Butler 2, Max Heath 1, Hunter Clark 1, Hugh Boxshall 1.

Disposals: Zak Jones 38, Hugh Boxshall 30, Hunter Clark 27, Angus Hastie 23, Ethan Williams 19.

Visit the VFL/AFL website for full stats.

Our next game is against Gold Coast SUNS at 11:05am on Sunday 25th May at RSEA Park! Entry is FREE.

Written by Thomas Dev Sandringham FC Media