football
MID GIPPSLAND
Trafalgar faces an improved Boolarra side when it travels to the Demon’s home this Saturday in round two of Mid Gippsland football.
Despite a big win over Yallourn Yallourn North, Boolarra coach Tony Giardina said the side still had better football ahead and knows Trafalgar will be a tough opponent.
“It’s probably good to get Traf first up and see where you’re at,” Giardina said.
“Everyone’s got to play accountable football, not give them space and win the contest.
“If you can win the contest you are halfway there.”
He said the side would play better as the new recruits settled in, and it was a similar story at Trafalgar.
Bloods coach Chris Kyriacou said he thought everyone was going to “start gelling really well” soon.
“All the new guys played really well and they’re only going to get better,” Kyriacou said. He said his side would be working on consistency ahead of this weekend’s match.
Morwell East v Thorpdale
Morwell East coach Paul Henry said he was looking forward to taking on Thorpdale at home this weekend.
“It should be interesting; things have changed this year. It will be a good contest no doubt about it. We’ll wait and see and hopefully we can get over the line and get one on the board,” Henry said.
After a good win first up for the Blues, coach Brett Sherriff said there was still plenty of things to work on before this weekend.
He said the side would spend the week reassessing last week’s game before taking on the Hawks.
“We struggled last year; we can’t afford to get too far ahead of ourselves,” Sherriff said.
Yarragon v Yallourn Yallourn North
Yarragon and Yallourn North will be looking to improve after last weekend’s losses.
Panthers coach Anthony Pavey said he knew how important training was to the side as a lack of practice for some players had reflected in their performance against Thorpdale.
“We should be able to hit the ground running. As long as the boys start turning up to training,” Pavey said. He said the side would also look different with the addition of a few more players.
“We’ve got a few to come back in, key position players, which will make a difference,” Pavey said.
Bombers coach Rick Hearn said his side’s forward line let them down last week and the side needed to work on their forward structure ahead of this weekend’s match.
“We couldn’t take a mark in the forward 50, so when you’re not taking marks in the forward 50 it’s very hard to put scoreboard pressure on,” Hearn said.
Essendon and District League recruit, full forward Barry Brookes should make a big difference in the forward line, but Hearn knows that one player does not win a game and expects his players to work harder.
Newborough v Yinnar
After a big win over Hill End last weekend, Yinnar has the tough ask of playing Newborough on Saturday in what should be an entertaining clash.
With the inclusions of many younger players, Newborough has injected pace into its team which should help against Yinnar.
The Magpies have strengthened since last year, with new recruits that have complemented their side.
They have increased fire power from Josh Swift, who together with Thys Stanistreet will ensure Yinnar has no trouble scoring this weekend and Newborough’s backline players will have to work hard to contain them. But it was a team effort that beat Hill End by more than 100 points last week and the Bulldogs will have to put in more of the same against the Magpies this weekend.
Hill End v Mirboo North
After a disappointing start to the season last week, Hill End must regroup before taking on Mirboo North, who had its confidence boosted by a win over Morwell East.
Hill End coach Phil Town said his side would work to improve on their teamwork and fitness this week, aspects which were lacking in last week’s performance.
“We’ve just got to work as a team more; that’s what we didn’t do on the weekend and it showed. We’ve just got to help each other out,” Town said.
“And our fitness is letting us down too, so it’s going to be a hard week on the track.
“We normally play good against Mirboo North so we’ll just be playing tight against them and hopefully do a lot better than we did last week.”
Last year’s records show Hill End played better at home than away and Town said the side could only go up from last week. “We’ve just got to start again, get back to our team plan, our game plan and work as a team and show a bit more effort.”
