Some big things happened down at Jack Esplen Oval on Saturday. Richard Wenham’s performance for the Western Magpies was one of them, and that’s why he is the Round 10 Syd Guildford Trophy nominee.
Wenham had an astonishing 20 tackles for the day. Yep, you read that right, 20. But it wasn’t just his pressure game that was on song; he racked up a heap of it across half-back as well.
Wenham put his good form this year down to having an injury free run.
“It’s good to be playing football injury free. A lot of the times I feel I don’t perform as well as I can because I’m worried about my body,” Wenham said.
“This year is one of the few years that I have felt pretty good in general, so just to be able to be on the park and playing in a winning side is such a great feeling.”
Saturday was a special day for the Magpies unit as a whole. Beating Morningside on their home turf, notching up seven wins in a row, and proving to the rest of the competition they mean business this year.
“There is a bunch of us who have been playing for the Magpies for few years now who have been through some pretty tough times, so to come out and beat a side that has traditionally really pumped us in days gone by, it was one of the best feelings I have ever felt in football to be honest,” he said.
All roads now lead to Saturday.
“The big test will be this weekend when we come up against Labrador. They are the shorter price favorite this season, and we can’t wait to see if we can put two good efforts in a row in,” Wenham said.
As for if we can mention the ‘F’ word yet, finals that is, Wenham isn’t prepared to look that far ahead.
“I’m not a fan of talking about it yet. I’m the type of guy who just likes to play each week and if finals come round well that’s fantastic,” he said.
“But let’s just enjoy it while we are going well.”
The Western Magpies travel down to Cooke-Murphy Oval this Saturday to take on ladder leading Labrador in what is set to be one of the games of the season.
