Bendigo Advertiser | KYNETON coach Mark Adamson says the Tigers must limit the scoreboard damage if they are to take the next step and challenge the four teams above them - starting Saturday against Eaglehawk.
The Tigers turn for the second half of the Bendigo Football League season in fifth position at 4-5 as they pursue their first finals appearance since 2003.
But the Tigers are yet to compete with any of the four teams above them, losing to Sandhurst, Eaglehawk, Golden Square and Strathfieldsaye all by 10-goals plus, during which they had an average score of 138 kicked against them.
“We’re still getting scored against far too heavily,” Adamson said on Friday.
“Looking back to the last time we played Eaglehawk, they absolutely whitewashed us, but I think we’re playing better footy than what we were back then.
“We’ve got some things we’re going to try (to restrict the opposition scoring) because we really need to improve in that area in the second half of the season.
“Whether it works this week or it may just be a starting point for us, we’ll see on Saturday.”
The Tigers are one of five teams - along with Kangaroo Flat, Castlemaine, Gisborne and South Bendigo - that are vying for fifth.
Games pitting those five teams against each other will have a major bearing on who gets fifth spot, while claiming the scalp of one of the top four teams - of which Kyneton has the chance on Saturday - could also be telling.
“We know the games that we absolutely have to win, but we also want to still pride ourselves on if we are good enough to finish fifth, it may well be that we play Eaglehawk in a final, so we also need to look at that in terms of our competitiveness on Saturday,” Adamson said.
Ruckman Joel Stevenson has been the Tigers’ standout player the past month, while Mitchell Scholard and Ben Weightman each have 32 goals, combining for 64 of Kyneton’s 123 goals for the season.
The Tigers this week signed former Port Adelaide Magpies’ captain James Meiklejohn, but the ruckman wasn’t named in Saturday’s team.
Eaglehawk has named Chris Hudson at centre half-back.
Hudson was stretchered off in a neck brace in the first quarter of the Hawks’ loss to Sandhurst a fortnight ago after a sickening landing in a marking contest.
“He was extremely lucky... there was no structure damage, just really sore,” Eaglehawk coach Luke Monaghan said.
“But he has trained fully this week and he’ll be right to go.”
An Eaglehawk win would move the Hawks three games clear inside the top five.
