Wildcats finish strongly to defeat Churchill by 44 points

WOODSIDE continued its climb up the ladder on Saturday with a strong 44-point win over Churchill, cementing second place on the competition ladder and further highlighting what is shaping as a two-horse race at the top of the competition.

The Wildcats ran out 14.14 (98) to 8.8 (54) winners on Churchill’s spacious home ground, a venue that has traditionally proven difficult for Woodside..

Despite the final margin, the game was far from straightforward early. Churchill matched Woodside through the opening half with the contest still well and truly in the balance at the main break.

The Cougars were well served in the first half by Christopher Williams, Travis Nash, Tom Sevenson, Nathan McRae, Jordan Fenech and Hayden Weir, who all found plenty of the football and helped keep the home side in touch.

However, the second half belonged entirely to the Wildcats.

Woodside tightened its defensive structure after halftime and restricted Churchill to just one goal across the final two quarters, while piling on five goals in the last term to turn a competitive contest into a convincing victory.

Coach Hudson Holmes said his side eventually worked its way through Churchill’s contested approach around the stoppages.

“They threw quite a few around the ball which made it contested and again once we grinded it out it opened up,” Holmes said.

Woodside again showcased its multiple attacking options, with Holmes and Brody Stainer each finishing with four goals, while Riley Denovan added three majors.

Holmes said the spread of contributors inside forward 50 continued to be a major strength for the side.

“We do have many options up forward. I think last week we had 13 goal scorers, so it’s good to share the load and not rely on one forward,” he said.

The Wildcats’ defensive setup was equally impressive after the long break, with cleaner ball movement allowing them to make better use of the wide Churchill ground.

“We just had to clean our ball movement up a bit and use the wide ground to advantage,” Holmes said.

“Our defence has been very solid and showed again yesterday, we are getting our matchups right.”

Cooper Ryan, Brody Stainer, Rowan Missen, Joshua Morgan, Joh Fythe and Riley Denovan were all named among Woodside’s best players.

Holmes said the group’s key players stood up across all four quarters.

“Pretty much our spine for the day and were solid for four quarters. Some had roles and some just played great,” he said.

“We are happy with how it’s going, but we are always trying to improve and keep ticking the boxes. We look forward to the bye then have a good run of footy.”

The only sour note for Woodside came with defender Ben Johnson failing to finish the match after suffering another hamstring injury early in the contest.

Johnson has endured an interrupted season after initially injuring a hamstring in round one and only returning to the senior side in the May 9 clash against TTU.