In a free flowing contest where the only flooding was a flood of goals, the Cats posted 25 – 16 (166) to Werribee’s 17 – 8 (110) to register their third win of the season.
The match opened with the Cats tall forwards making their presence felt, as Shannon Byrnes found Matt McCarthy for a goal and then Ryan Gamble hit Tom Lonergan on the chest for another two minutes later.
A running goal to former Cat James Allan got the home side under way, but goals to Andrew Mackie, then Lonergan, and then Mackie again from another Byrnes assist kicked the Cats well clear.
However, quick goals to Brett Robinson and James Podsiadly closed the margin somewhat, before Lonergan’s third for the quarter kept the Tigers at bay.
A snap goal from Robinson ended an entertaining first term with the Tigers trailing their Western rivals by 13 points.
The Cats had a huge second quarter, kick started by Byrnes goal after four minutes and furthered by a James Byrne steal from a kick in and conversion minutes later.
Lonergan soon snared his fourth after a free kick, before a Shaun Higgins banana went through for Werribee to stem the tide.
A roving goal from the returning Nick Batchelor continued the Cats onslaught, and then Charlie Gardiner got in on the act with a mark and goal.
Byrnes kicked his second of the quarter on the run, before Allan made the most of a 50 metre penalty to score his second for Werribee.
With out the ball being bounced, Mackie was able to reply after receiving a free kick in the middle of the ground and a 50 metre penalty, followed by a dodging and weaving goal from Paul Koulouriotis.
A left foot snap from Bulldog listed Brad Murphy continued the goal feast, and then two more late goals from Byrnes ended a long quarter with the Cats 52 points in front.
It was Robinson and Wayde Twomey who chipped back goals for Werribee in the opening ten minutes of the third quarter, but then Lonergan kicked his fifth from a David Wojcinski pass.
Twomey added a second soon after, then Byrne equalised with his own second goal, before red time goals to Podsiadly and Sam Power gave the home side some much needed momentum.
This was halted by an elusive Jason Davenport, who threaded his way through the defence to score a goal that had the Cats 41 points in front at the final break.
It was Davenport who got the Cats away in the final period too, with his second from a set shot after three minutes, but the explosive Allan was equal to the task again, immediately replying from the centre clearance.
Mackie continued the score board pressure with another, but the one man fight back campaign from Allan continued with his fourth goal.
Sensing a senior recall on offer, Mackie continued his stellar game with his fifth goal, then regular key defender Sam Hunt chipped in with another.
With the contest long over, Cameron Faulkner and Podsiadly continued the damage control with late goals, but a third goal for the half to Davenport and Batchelor’s second kept the Cats percentage booster margin at 56 points at the final hooter.
Cats Coach Leigh Tudor was pleased to see his team hit home the advantage in a match he felt confident that the Cats should win, given the strength of the team he had at his disposal.
“It was a good to get a result that we should have gotten, especially with Werribee having a few injuries. We probably had the best side in for the past two years. We really needed a good win like that and the players stuck to the team rules and deserved it,” Tudor said.
The Cats had a number of players make contributions to the win, the best of them being Mackie, who won the Damien Drum medal with 30 touches, 10 marks and five goals, while Mark Blake gathered 27 possessions in first ruck, Koulouriotis had 26 disposals, Will Slade 22 touches, while Gardiner, Byrne and Lonergan each had the ball 21 times.
“We put six boys in the best players but that could easily have been ten. A lot of players have put there hands up to the match committee (for an AFL match), Tudor said.
Another player who is enjoying a consistent first season is Davenport, who came off the bench to kick three second half goals and Tudor has been very pleased with his team ethic.
“(Davenport) had the fresh legs in the second half and had a real impact. He’s just unselfish and is prepared to do the team things. He can play wing, on ball or forward and he’s just a dangerous player to have in the side,” Tudor said.
Next up the Cats take on reigning Premier Sandringham at Skilled Stadium on Sunday at 1pm (AEST), as they attempt to make it three wins in a row.
