By Tyler Lewis
A wounded Pakenham will focus on recovery – and goal-kicking – over this weekend’s competition-wide bye.
The Lions went into last weekend’s clash with Wandin undermanned and facing one of the bigger challenges in the competition – the Dogs on their home paddock.
This weekend, the Lions took on a similar challenge, Woori Yallock on the road.
Despite being in the contest the entire match, the Lions kicked waywardly compared to the Tigers, completing the match with a higher volume of scoring shots, but trailing in the stat that matters – the scoreboard.
And while the 13.8 (86) to 7.16 (58) defeat marks Pakenham’s second on the bounce, Lions coach Ash Green was hoping to get through the match unscathed with a later-season goal in the view finder.
“The main thing we were looking for (this week) was no injuries, and that’s no excuse, against Wandin we had 10 out and we lost two players before half-time, so we were really on our back foot,” he said.
“Wandin was really good, we played four debutants and we only got two back on the weekend against Woori Yallock.
“We are just struggling for personnel at the moment, but we have been able to expose a few young guys coming into our side.
“It has been good that way, but ultimately we have been beaten by two quality sides in the last two weeks.”
Trailing by 39 points at the final break, the young Lions still finished with a flurry, keeping the Tigers to 1.1 in the final stanza and recording seven shots themselves.
But those seven registered scoring shots only accounted for two majors, which Green thinks comes down to confidence more than anything else.
“It hasn’t been a thing for us this season, we have kicked more goals than points,” he said.
“It’s just a confidence thing, some of the positions we had shots from on the weekend were out of range… so I think going forward we have to get better with our entries going into our forward line.
“It’s going to be one of our focuses with a younger team over the last couple of weeks, but I think going forward it is going to be continuing.
“It’s a confidence thing, once you nail a couple, your confidence is up. Once you start missing, the goals tend to get smaller and smaller, we have to get better.
“We had more scoring shots on the weekend, but ultimately we didn’t go through the big sticks.”
The trainers are getting a workout at Toomuc Reserve, with mainly knee injuries.
Green doesn’t want to speak on behalf of all clubs, but feels the injuries may be a result of no ‘wear and tear’ of full seasons in 2020 and 2021.
“It’s interesting, we have had a lot of knees this year,” he said.
“I am hearing there has been a lot of knees this year and I think players have been doing the work in pre-season and such things, but I think it could come down to the regular grind that they’ve missed out on over the last couple of years.
“Maybe it’s a bit of conditioning… we have had a lot of knees this year and without knowing what other clubs have been going through… yeah the flu, shoulders, hamstrings, but we have mainly been really impacted by knees this year.”
In other games in Outer East Premier Division Narre Warren walloped Upwey Tecoma, 22.18 (150) to 2.6 (18), Olinda Ferny Creek inflicted further pain on Mt Evelyn 23.13 (151) to 10.18 (78) and Monbulk had seven multiple goal-kickers and 13 individual goal-kickers in its 23.18 (156) to 4.3 (27) win over Officer.
The entire AFL Outer East competition has a bye over Queen’s Birthday weekend, with football set to return on 18 June.
