By Marcus Uhe
“When hunters sniff blood in the water, they kill!”
That was how Wandin coach Nick Adam finished his three-quarter-time address on Saturday with his Bulldogs having breached the 100-point mark and holding off a Narre Warren side that remained up for the fight.
The contest carried extra significance for the Bulldogs, who had never previously beaten the Magpies, and including a loss last season in a semi-final.
It shaped as a potential precursor to September action before the first bounce and the quality of football was deserving of a September stage.
“The preparation piece was really important for us,” Adam said.
“So the moment we got off the ground on Sunday, we were really purposeful in the way we went around being able to be the best version of ourselves today.
“We want to be in moments against teams like that, because that’s challenging and testing yourself.
“Tuesday was cool in review and we talked about what we did well and there was a focus even from that moment about the stuff that we do well that’s going to challenge them.
“We were pleased for the most part that we were able to execute it.”
The Bulldogs opened the contest with the first four goals and played some scintillating football in the process, attacking the corridor for the quickest path to their potent forward line.
Aaron Mullett was electric early, kicking three in the first term and making his opponents look second-rate on occasions.
He took a one-handed mark in the goal-square with a defender hanging off him, and another where he was forced to turn on a dime, under pressure after his mark wasn’t paid, and snapped truly from 40 metres out.
Wandin were fast with the footy and accurate, where Narre Warren struggled to move the ball and kicked poorly in front of goal, kicking 2.5 in the opening term to Wandin’s 6.1.
Another fast opening to the second quarter forced the premiers onto the back foot once again, and before you knew it they had 10 on the board early in the second term.
Jordan Jaworski handballed over his head to a running Pat Bruzzese who finished from long range for a stunning goal that reflected their confidence in how the game was unfolding.
The reigning premiers needed a lift, and they got it in the form of skipper Jake Richardson.
Having struggled to influence the contest for much of the game, he begun working higher and higher up the field with Lachlan Benson playing closer to goal in the absence of Will Howe.
Benson’s goal at the 10-minute mark sparked a run of four in a row for the Magpies who clawed their way back into the match-up.
Their other talls ahead of the ball, in Logan Hiscock and Riley Siwes, both hit the scoreboard to close the half, along with Richardson, and the contest hit the intermission with a gap of 23 points and a distinctly different feel to how it appeared it would play-out early in the second term.
The first goal of the half was always going to be significant and it went the way of the Bulldogs, much to the delight of their home fans sitting in the grandstand.
Peter Gentile had a kick smothered in his defensive 50 and then gave away a free kick 25-metre penalty that gifted the critical opener to Tom Merlino.
The two sides traded majors for much of the term in a proper mountain shootout with their respective big names coming to the fore.
Clint Johnson kicked three for the quarter and Mullett his fourth, but Narre kept answering the challenge through the likes of Mitch Tonna, Tom Toner and Tom Miller.
By halfway through the quarter the Magpies had control of the game and were playing the contest on their terms.
Matt Gentile’s goal in the 25th minute made the contest a 15-point game, the closest the two sides had been since the opening five minutes.
A 21-point gap at three-quarter-time meant the game was up for grabs, prompting Adam to channel his best Leigh Matthews impression.
He could not have asked for a better start with goals to Harrison van Duuren and Brodie Atkins providing a metaphorical punch in the mouth to the reigning premiers.
They began to ice the clock early in the final quarter, appearing to fatigue coming off a short turnaround from their contest with Mount Evelyn on Sunday.
Narre Warren’s inaccuracy in the last quarter returned to haunt them once again, kicking 2.6 to concede any opportunity to erase the deficit as the Bulldogs finished 38-point winners.
The hoodoo was finally off the back for Wandin, and Adam could hardly wipe the smile off his face post-game, admiring his side’s ability to whether the storm thrown at them by the reigning premier.
“I said to the boys after the game, you put all the work in for days like this,” he said.
“They’re a good football side and they’ve been the best side in this competition for five, six years.
“I felt like in the semi-final against them last year, we got really overwhelmed when they got momentum and there was basically a 10-15 minute period that cost us the game.
“That was something that we talked about a lot; in games like this, you’re not going to have it on your terms all day.
“We played well against Mount Evelyn last week, no doubt, but we had it on our terms for the most part.
“And I’m not going to say it’s easier, but when the opposition has momentum, your ability to be able to limit what they’re doing to you on the scoreboard, is key.
“I think it was growth as a group, but also we spoke a lot about the fact that we’re the 2023 version of this side and what happened in the past, we were 0-5 (against them) and it was time to turn it into 1-5.”
While delighted with what he saw, he was quick to put the win into context.
The season is only two weeks old, and the Magpies were missing a number of key players through injury, such as Howe and Kurt Mutimer.
Magpies coach Shane Dwyer said they were “touch and go” for Saturday and doesn’t expect them to be on the sidelines for too much longer.
“They would have been handy today,” he said.
“We’ve got a few to come back which is positive, over the next six weeks or so we’ll get them back.”
Not singing the song after four quarters of footy is a rare occurrence for the Magpies, with Saturday being only their second loss since the beginning of 2022.
Dwyer drew on the positives, pleased with his side’s resilience when Wandin had a run-on.
“We could have rolled over and got blown out of the water,” he said.
“We felt we played seven-eight minutes of footy on our terms in each quarter, probably not so much the last but definitely the first three, and we were still in the game.
“We always knew it was going to be hard, particularly out here.
“It’s probably the hardest ground to play on and they play it really well.
“They (Wandin) topped them up really well and they’re going to be the benchmark.”
