By Brent Diamond
North Melbourne have suffered further injury woes with ruckman Majak Daw suffering a left ankle injury and first-year player Mitchell Hibberd suffering a knee injury in Werribee's seven-point loss to Port Melbourne at North Port Oval on Sunday.
Daw, who has struggled for consistent senior appearances, landed awkwardly after a hit-out in the opening term and didn't take any further part in the match. He will undergo scans on Monday to determine the extent of the damage.
Werribee Tigers Majak Daw landed awkwardly after a hit-out in the opening term and didn't take any further part in the match.Credit: AFL Media
Hibberd, meanwhile, appeared to have suffered a season-ending knee injury after being stretchered off in the second term of the clash.
The Tasmanian midfielder, selected with pick 33 in last year's draft, has had a history of knee reconstructions after returning from one in 2015.
He has been impressive in his debut season in the VFL, but crucially, it left Werribee with two players short for the majority of the match.
The seven-point margin was a brave result for the Tigers, who have been decimated by both injuries and interruptions with depth players being called upon by their now full-time AFL affiliate in their time of need.
Tellingly, they had no Aaron Black, Lachie Hansen, Robin Nahas, Ryan Clarke, who made his AFL debut against West Coast, or skipper Michael Sodomaco against Port.
With coach John Lamont acknowledging it was "season on the line" for them against the Borough, the Tigers came up short and appear set to miss the finals – given they are two games and percentage outside of the top eight.
This is despite playing in a preliminary final and appearing on the verge of something special under Lamont, in which it was almost expected they would take that extra step with the added bonus of a promotion from a part-time to full-time alignment with the Kangaroos.
Talent aside, this was a decisive contest that was made for those who had plenty of dare in the muddy conditions.
Tom O'Sullivan led the way with 33 disposals, while Shannen Lange (29) and Leigh Osborne (25) were pivotal when the game was there to be won.
In a low-scoring affair, Port's Chris Cain and Werribee's Josh Porter were the only multiple goalscorers with two each. Both of Porter's goals came in the second term, with his second reducing the deficit to just three-points at the main break, despite Port having a strong grasp on the match.
Perhaps, even more telling, Cain's second goal in the final term was the clincher.
Port's inaccuracy – in which they finished with 9.20 (74) to 10.7 (67) – almost cost them the game. They had kicked six points before they drew first blood in the opening term.
The Borough remain in striking distance of the top four – and after welcoming back skipper Toby Pinwill from injury in his first match since round 11 – they promise to do a fair bit of damage in the lead up to the finals.
In other matches, Tim Broomhead starred for Collingwood in their 71-point thrashing of North Ballarat at Eureka Stadium, while Essendon defeated Frankston by 23-points at Frankston Oval.