PORTLAND has opened its account for the 2023 South West Victorian Football Association season, claiming a 4-3 win over Port Fairy on Sunday.
The Panthers fell behind 1-2, with coach Stephen Von Tunk putting their opposition’s goals down to a lack of communication on his side’s part.
Portland corrected themselves in the second half, nailing three goals to take a two-goal ascendancy, and while the Plovers were able to find another one, the Panthers held on for the win.
Von Tunk praised the work of his attacking four, saying they combined very well.
“Things just really clicked for them, Troy (Jensen), Ashton (Watt), Sandy (Trace) and Bodie (Steel) took it to their defence,” Von Tunk said.
“It was good to see that development that we’ve been hoping for out of the young guys… it was about the best our front four have played in a couple years to be honest.
“And it was great to see Anu (Ganugapati) back out there, he’s really important for us.”
The win means that Portland have kept pace with the rest of the league as we approach the midway point of the season, as they’ll now sit a game shy of the top four.
“With players coming back in and our confidence up, I think we’re primed to have a strong back half of the season and make a push for finals,” Von Tunk said.
“It’s playing out much like it did last season, we struggled to get wins on the board early but barely lost a game through the second half of the season.
“I’ve seen how our next opponent Stawell play, they’re a real confidence team, a bit similar to us actually.
“Their front four doesn’t drop back very much, so there’s an opportunity there for us to do a bit of damage, as long as we stay calm.
“It’s a Saturday night fixture this week, so hopefully we can draw a good crowd and go out there and get a win in front of our home fans.”
Portland recorded a clean sweep on Sunday, with the division two side beating Corangamite 4-1, the under-14s winning 6-0 over Port Fairy and the under-12s 2-0 over Port Fairy. The under-17 game against Stawell was postponed to a later date.
