After a preseason filled with promise and a round 1 win against a finalist from last year, it’s been a lean season so far for Ocean Grove.
With just the round 1 win against Modewarre to show for it, the Grubbers have battled injuries to key players and sit bottom of the ladder.
Captain Cameron Fowler said the group remained upbeat and vowed they would fight out the season, but he also didn’t shy away from the fact that one win from nine games isn’t enough.
“There’s been some injuries along the way, but it just hasn’t really happened for us and kind of hard to figure out really what the problem is,” he said.
“The coaches and everyone’s doing a good job and the players and everyone’s really trying. We’re a young group as well, but at the same time you can only keep saying that for so long.
“We’ve had so many young kids come through and they’ve done a good job and played their roles, but it just hasn’t been enough to obviously win.”
Apart from Glenn Campbell, the Grubbers have a very young backline, which has often stood up well under plenty of pressure.
Zane Kneebone, Jamison Hallam and Hugo Walsh are getting games under their belts.
“They’re so young, Hugo’s still in school. I said to him the other day that the past couple of games that’s the best I’ve ever seen him play. He’s just been doing a really good job,” Fowler said.
Despite the poor win-loss ratio, Fowler said the energy around the group had not faltered.
“We all enjoy each other’s company, training is always energetic,” he said.
“We bounce back (from losses) and everyone keeps rocking up Tuesday and Thursday doing what they need to do and doing your recovery and everything else. I guess we need to try and get to that next level.”
Injuries to experienced players haven’t helped. Nick Bourke, Joe McDonald, Mitch Ward and Jdhara Jones, among others, have missed chunks of the season. VFL commitments for Kye Annand and WAFL recruit Taj Wyburd has meant they only play BFL sporadically.
“Everyone’s trying the best that they possibly can, it just hasn’t stuck or hasn’t glued together,” Fowler said.
“Everyone’s buying in. Everyone’s sticking to the plan and the process that Faz (coach Dave Farrell) and all the other coaches are doing. Everyone believes still, it’s just a matter of actually getting the results.”
Fowler knows the dark days won’t last forever and that the goal for the second half of the season was simple.
“Just to win a few games and then it obviously gets colder and harder to get to training,” he said.
“Just keep the numbers there and keep everything positive and then just keep it moving into next year and the year after that. With all those younger boys, we’re obviously building as well for the next couple of years.
“We’ve got a bigger leadership group this year and we spoke about it – it’s like a five-year plan and that the leadership group needs to stick together and make it that club that people want to come to and people want to be a part of.”
The Grubbers put in one of their better performances this year against Portarlington last Saturday to go down by 14 points while the reserves are in the top five after a 32-point win against the Demons.
TORQUAY smashed Newcomb by 139 points with Sheldon Ham best and Banjo Dyer booting six goals.
GEELONG Amateur came from two points behind at three-quarter time to defeat Anglesea by 14 with star Lara recruit Mitch Day booting four goals and Anglesea’s Ayden Gras kicking five to take his season’s tally to 45.
QUEENSCLIFF defeated Barwon Heads in an old-fashioned shootout. The Coutas kicked 21 goals to 16 with Izaac Grant snagging six.
DRYSDALE defeated Modewarre by 26 points with defenders Luke Preece and Jack Jenkins starring. After a slow start, the Hawks are now second on the ladder.
