The 201 centimetre ruckman’s 13 possessions, 7 marks and 30 hit-out game just what the Tigers needed to take control of the match against Essendon.
“Cuz (Currie) played a very good game in the ruck, he was one of our best for sure,” North Melbourne’s head of development John Lamont told NMFC.com.au.
“It was a pretty steady sort of game from him, he rucked well and followed up. It was warm out there and he also had a lot of game time. I really liked his game.”
Werribee coach Scott West agreed after the 19-point win.
“He’s been outstanding. Obviously he broke his thumb mid-year against Geelong down there, and came back and as I said, he’s been very good for us since he’s been back,” West commented.
“His ability to be able to read the play, especially in that third quarter, to read the flight of the ball and take some contested marks topped off his game as well as his ruck work.”
Ayden Kennedy (20 possessions, 8 marks) worked tirelessly in defence at North Port Oval.
“Ayden played a good, positive game and rebounded pretty well. He defended well, penetrated the game and linked in effectively with the other blokes in the back half,” Lamont added.
Jordan Gysberts (24 possessions, 5 tackles) worked hard through the middle of the ground and was a noteworthy contributor.
“Jordan was really good in the second quarter of the game in particular. He was solid, used the ball pretty well. He did a good job, particularly in and around the stoppages.”
Despite being ineligible to take any further part in Werribee’s finals campaign due to an insufficient amount of games at VFL level, Scott McMahon (16 possessions) and Taylor Hine (17 possessions) were pivotal in the win.
“For blokes that can’t go on and play any further part, Scott and Taylor had a really good impact and never stopped working,” Lamont said.
“Taylor started in defence, then moved up to the wing. He moved the ball well at times and battled valiantly after copping a dramatic blow to the head and going off with the blood rule.
Tim McGenniss (15 possessions) played an influential role yet again for the Tigers.
“Tim did a good job playing on one of their key players, Ben Duscher, and kept him to about a dozen possessions while still getting plenty of the footy himself. He was disciplined and played well.”
Ben Speight also had a successful day out with 13 possessions and 3 goals.
“Ben played with a bit of speed, he was solid enough and did some good things. He penetrated the game with good run and carry. He needs to do a bit more defensively I reckon, but he’s come a long way, especially in the last few weeks.”
Kieran Harper’s run of bad luck continued when he left the field early in the third term, with 12 possessions and a goal to his name.
“Kieran had three shots at goal in the first half, did a couple of good things. He hurt his ankle again and took no further part after that. Hopefully he’ll come up okay for next week.”
North development coach Jarred Moore (26 possessions) continues to be one of Werribee’s most valuable performers and took another step toward claiming the Liston Medal.
Werribee will play Casey in the semi-final at North Port Oval next Sunday and could benefit from the inclusion of Will Sierakoski and Levi Greenwood.
Werribee Tigers 1.4 9.8 12.9 17.14 (116)
Essendon 6.2 6.2 10.5 15.7 (97)
GOALS:
Werribee Tigers: McKinley 4 Speight 3 Maric 3 McDonald Harper Bolton Martiniello Sodomaco Ross Warren
Essendon: Dell'Olio 5 Hams 2 Gumbleton 2 Browne Colyer Ambrose Bate Tipungwuti Ashby
BEST:
Werribee Tigers: McDonald Currie Moore Kennedy Ross Sodomaco
Essendon: Firman Dell'Olio Hams Ambrose Freezer O'Brien
