By Colin MacGillivray
Broadford-Yea senior football coach Jayden Welch believes the effects of a lacklustre preseason were on display in his side’s 5.4 (34) to 19.12 (126) Outer East Football Netball division two loss to Warburton-Millgrove on Saturday.
Welch could not fault the effort or intensity of his charges during the first half at Harley Hammond Reserve, with the combination kicking three majors to the visiting Burras’ five in a spirited first term.
But the contest unravelled after the long break, with the home side managing only two more majors for the match as Warburton-Millgrove piled on eight in the third quarter alone.
“We showed positive signs early and competed pretty well for the first half, but then dropped away in the second half really,” Welch said.
“We weren’t manning up well enough. We let them do their thing and dictate to us what was happening, not the other way around.
“We’ve just got to buy in and put in the effort.”
Welch, who returned for Broadford-Yea following a week off with COVID-19, said he spoke to the team about the importance of preseason training following the loss.
“We’ve got to get to training. [I told them] if we all got to training during pre-season and learnt all our structures, just think of where we’d be,” he said.
“We didn’t have a great pre-season numbers-wise, and that’s starting to hurt us now.”
Lachlan Phillips was a standout for the combination side, as were defender Jayme Ruedin and Liam Lucas, while Sean Duggan kicked two goals.
Welch said Broadford-Yea had emerged from the game without injuries, and would regroup before another home match against Yarra Junction at Harley Hammond Reserve on Saturday.
“It’ll be a big challenge for us, as most games are,” he said.
“If we turn up on the day ready to play, anything can happen. We’ve just got to make sure we come ready.”
Netball
Broadford’s A Grade netballers went down to the undefeated Warburton-Millgrove in a heartbreaking defeat.
The Roos trailed by three goals at quarter time but stormed back to tie the game heading into the last quarter, ultimately falling one goal short of handing the Burras their first loss of the season.
Amanda Rothwell, Ebony Heers and Ally Black were Broadford’s best in the 38-39 defeat.
Broadford’s B Grade netballers tied the Burras 30-30, while the C Grade side lost 26-38.
