Border Mail |
WANGARATTA Rovers coach Mick Caruso has labelled the Hawks a work in progress, despite the side shooting to the top of the ladder with a 10-goal thrashing of Corowa-Rutherglen on Saturday.
Rovers have belted Wodonga Raiders, Wodonga and the Roos in the opening three rounds — by an average margin of 61 points — but Caruso said little could be read into those results.
The Hawks travel to Lavington this week before clashes with rival contenders Albury, North Albury and Yarrawonga and Caruso said the next month would give the Hawks a much clearer indication of where they are at.
“We’ve got a really tough run ahead,” he said.
“We’ve had some good wins but the boys need to step up.
“We are still a work in progress.
“We’ll certainly take the position we’re in but we haven’t got a four-quarter effort yet.
“That is what we’re after.”
Caruso said he would mix things up at training this week in the lead-up to the hotly anticipated clash with the Panthers.
“Lavington is in good form,” he said.
“Obviously they are very distinct in the way they play and we’ll structure up to hopefully counter that.
“We’ll have a look at the video and simulate it at training this week.”
He said Rovers would go to Lavington Oval with no fears after rolling the Panthers by 36 points at the ground last season.
“We tend to play well there,” Caruso said.
Corowa-Rutherglen, meanwhile, was again left to rue missed opportunities going forward.
The Roos consistently broke down across half-forward, just as they did against Albury a fortnight ago.
Coach Adrian Pavese said it was frustrating.
“We played very well but we just couldn’t finish off,” he said.
“We felt we were right in the game and there were definite improvements on last week.
“Unfortunately, people are going to read a 58-point loss in the paper.
“We know we’ve got a big challenge ahead against Yarrawonga.”
