Wayward? OK, point taken!

By Melissa Grant
PAKENHAM junior football coach David Nagel has vowed to get Chris Tarrant and Travis Cloke down to training after his side kicked a wayward 2.21 on Sunday.
Despite having nine more opportunities in front of goal, the Pakenham Blues under 14s fell one point short against the lowly Narre Warren Foxes.
Nagel said it was pleasing his side was able to dominate play for the entire game.
“It was the most scoring shots we’ve had all year,” he said.
But what wasn’t so pleasing was the Lions inability to find the big sticks.
“We just couldn’t kick a goal,” Nagel said.
“Every time I looked over at the parents they had their heads in their hands.”
The first quarter saw the Lions score nine points to one, but the damage was done in the second when the Foxes slammed on four goals to four points.
The Lions kept the bottom side scoreless in the third, but parents continued to bury their heads with the team still unable to slot one through.
Nagel desperately hoped his team would be able to straighten up in the final term.
“After every point I was down on my knees,” he said.
Nagel’s frustration continued with the final term starting in the same fashion. The away side managed to clock up 20 behinds before registering two goals to finish the game with 2.21. Justin Ladd and Damien Dykes were the heroes for the Lions slotting through one apiece.
But it wasn’t enough as the Foxes booted a behind with the second last kick of the game to prevail by a point, finishing with 5.4.
Nagel said he was at a loss to explain his side’s inaccuracy in front of goal and even found it to be somewhat comical by the games end.
“It was just one of those things, it was unbelievable,” he said.
“We missed easy shots in front and some from the boundary.”
“We even hit the post five times.”
Nagel joked the team was trying to break some kind of record.
“I think they were just trying to see if they could win the game without kicking a goal,” he said.
But one of the team’s two goals was just as unbelievable as its wayward kicking.
“One was from close range but the other was a snap over the shoulder which was quite unusual,” Nagel said.
While most teams would line-up in front of the big sticks for goal-kicking practice at training it may not be the answer for the under 14s team.
“The last two weeks is the only real goal kicking practice we’ve done all year. We’ve been doing about 10 minutes at the end of each training session,” Nagel said.
The team will certainly have a point to prove when it takes on Hampton Park at home this Sunday.