Ayden Kennedy on Aaron Black, Brad Mangan on Aaron Edwards, Majak Daw on Ben Mabon, Will Sierakoski on Cam Richardson, Cam Delaney on Ben Warren, Luke Delaney on Cam Pedersen - they were just some of the tantalising matchups which North Melbourne supporters were enthralled by when Werribee took on North Ballarat in the VFL on Saturday afternoon.

With Brad McKenzie, Gavin Urquhart, Max Warren, Levi Greenwood, Ben McKinley and Ben Speight also running around, it meant a combined 18 Kangaroos were on display at Avalon Oval. Seeing them go head to head made the offering even more interesting.

It was all set up to be a VFL blockbuster with friendships cast aside in the interests of club success but turned out to be somewhat of an anti-climax.

The Tigers, through Ben Warren, jumped out to a quick lead with the talented forward kicking two of his side’s first three goals in the opening quarter. From there, the home-side never looked back handing out an 82-point smashing.

Daw was also prominent from the outset, flexing his muscle in the ruck with Mabon and Black rotating through for the opposition. He was also dominant in the air early taking a great grab on the wing despite being outnumbered by two Roosters.

At the other end, Edwards should have been awarded his first major but for an inexcusable goal umpiring blunder. The official incorrectly ruled the kick had missed and signalled a controversial behind.

Edwards tried to question the call but was forced to give up on his protest with the ball coming back into play within seconds of it leaving his boot.

He had a much better result at the other end after the teams changed ends in the second quarter, kicking a goal seven minutes in. However despite being known for his accuracy, he missed two relatively easy shots soon after.

Meanwhile the Tigers weren’t having any trouble with Sierakowski (18 disposals), McKinley (13 disposals) and Warren all contributing to their sizeable half-time lead.

McKinley had his second goal shortly after the start of the second half and North Ballarat was being buried fast.

Speight refused to show them any mercy either with his first major and Daw followed suit squeezing one though from a tight angle close to the three-quarter-time siren.

Pedersen’s (20 disposals, 4 marks) tireless work all around the ground would have impressed coach Scott West as would Greenwood’s (26 disposals) grunt in slippery conditions, Mangan’s ability to keep Edwards (15 disposals, 6 marks, 1 goal) from kicking goals and Kennedy’s (17 disposals, 5 marks) constant mopping up in defence.

McKinley was the dominant forward on the ground but let himself down with some wayward kicking - he ended the day with 2 goals and 7 behinds. He wasn’t alone though with Werribee kicking 13 goals 24 in the drubbing.

“I couldn’t really judge the wind down at the far end…” McKinley told the ABC after the match.

“Before today we had three games left (in the season) and we said that these (games) are our dress rehearsal for the finals so we’ve got to do everything right and play like a finals team…”

Werribee Tigers 3.5 7.10 12.17 13.24 (102)
North Ballarat 1.1 2.5 2.6 2.8 (20)

GOALS:
Werribee Tigers: Warren 3 McKinley 2 Castello 2 Speight Sharp Mather Sierakowski Ross Daw
North Ballarat: McMahon Edwards

BEST:
Werribee Tigers: Ross McKinley Greenwood Wormald Sierakowski Mangan
North Ballarat: Delaney Couch McMahon Delaney Greig McKenzie