A tight contest between Romsey and Woodend-Hesket at Romsey Park saw the Redbacks fall short, going down 51-68 on their home ground.
Consistency was a key issue for Romsey, with the Redbacks always within reach but unable to edge in front.
Romsey were down by five points at the first break, and another tight contest in the second term saw the Redbacks trailing by just three points at half time.
It was a similar story in the third term, with spectators experiencing a gripping match as the margin on the scoreboard didn’t alter much.
With just four points the difference at the last break, the Redbacks fell away in the final term, going down by 17 points.
“It was a pretty tight contest all day but we felt on the weekend that we probably only played two quarters of footy. We didn’t take it as deeply as we would’ve liked but there’s some really good learning to come out of it,” Romsey’s coach Justin Sherman said.
“We definitely didn’t play bad but we just didn’t play as consistently as we would’ve liked.
“Going forward that’s going to be our challenge, for the whole group to bring that standard of effort every single week.
“That’s what we’re going to look at Tuesday and ensure our boys are nice and set for some big games that are coming up and we look forward to the challenge that lies ahead.”
Sherman said the side had set some high standards and although they didn’t meet them on Saturday, they were going to continue to improve throughout the season.
“I think it’s really hard. You set pretty high standards as a group and sometimes when you don’t hit those standards, you’ve just got to look at things that didn’t go so well on that day and that’s what we’ll do Tuesday,” he said.
“We’ll look at the things we can improve on with our structures whether that be individual structures, and then we’ll ensure we put a better consistent effort out there this week.”
Romsey will play to Lancefield next Saturday to face the seventh placed Tigers.
Romsey senior women
In a club first, Romsey’s senior womens side played Woodend-Hesket after the senior men’s match on Saturday, giving supporters a chance to watch the women’s game.
Romsey lost 2-77 in a tough contest after being held scoreless in the opening term.
Undeterred by a 16-point lead at quarter time, the Redbacks fought hard in the second quarter and outscored the Hawks, managing to kick two points while keeping the Hawks to only one.
However Woodend-Hesket came back out on top after half time, again keeping Romsey scoreless and extending their lead.
Another scoreless quarter for the Romsey side in the final quarter made the challenge too great, as the visitors extended their lead to win by 75-points. Sarah Galea was Romsey’s best player for the match.
Romsey will face Mount Alexander under lights on Friday.
With Mount Alexander currently sitting above the Redbacks just on percentage, it will be a good chance for Romsey to make some movement in the ladder.
