Geelong Advertiser |
LARA'S disappointing 50-point loss to Colac on Saturday has coach Matthew Kershaw questioning his side's desire to play finals.
"Today our effort was terrible, we just didn't come to play," Kershaw said.
"I am very disappointed in the playing group because they knew the importance of the game and we were beaten in every aspect.
"It's like we're just happy to be playing a game of football and aren't overly concerned on the result."
Lara at times this season has produced some brilliant football, resulting in seven wins, but inconsistency has seen them dubbed "front runners", a tag Kershaw said was warranted.
"(It's) Deserved for sure. At the moment we do not have the mental application to fight when things get hard," he admitted.
"Our good is very good and our bad is horrible. There is nothing in between."
Only weeks ago Lara lost to Grovedale, a performance Kershaw described as the worst he had been involved with in his time at the club.
The next week the Cats bounced back in a big way against St Mary's.
Between the games was a meeting between coaches and players where some "home truths" came out. Kershaw believes it will take more than that to turn things around again.
After injuring his knee in the loss to Colac, defender Jarryn McCormack looks likely to miss Lara's next match with North Shore.
Sam Allan is set to return from injury through the reserves this weekend, while his older brother, midfielder James Allan, might return the following week.
Colac still not mentioning the 'F' word - Nick Brown
COLAC has kept its finals hopes alive with an impressive 50-point win over Lara, yet coach Paul Lynch said nothing would change and it would be business as usual for the Tigers.
Now knocking on the door of the top five, Colac is a serious contender, but don't expect to hear the word "finals" mentioned too often at the club.
"Things won't change internally, not at all. We'll just keep playing the same style of footy and we just don't even talk about finals," Lynch said.
"Finals are not so much a focus. As I said, we're not really talking about finals, we are just talking about each side as we come up against them each week.
"We also just want to really represent this football club in the best possible way we can and, again, I think over the last six or seven weeks we have done that."
Colac may be claiming not to be talking about finals, but the way the Tigers started suggested otherwise as they kicked seven goals to Lara's one in the opening term.
Colac's Jake Carmody played a vital role in the exciting first term where he booted four goals and looked unstoppable.
It was a brilliant start by the Tigers that left Lara shell-shocked and facing a 37-point deficit at quarter-time.
A start that Lynch said was the key to the win.
"We did start well but every side wants to do that. We do have a big focus on fast starts," he said.
"We got off to a fast start with the dry footy and that put Lara on the back foot a little and that was probably the difference in the end."
Lara looked stunned and, as the rain started to set in, Colac's lead became even more valuable in the second term.
The match became a real grind from the second quarter onwards.
For the remainder of the game Colac just kept doing enough to keep the Cats at bay and, with Andrew Kelly playing a brilliant match, the Tigers eventually finished with a 50-point victory.
The last time these sides met was in Round 1 where it was a reversal, with Lara victorious by 48 points.
Lynch said his side has come a long way since then.
"As a group we have come a long way since Round 1," he said.
"There's no doubt we are a four or five-goal better side.
"The boys needed to learn and understand my game plan and we are a young group."
