Border Mail | TALLANGATTA staked is right to sit at the top of the league ladder with a strong, convincing win over Beechworth at the weekend.
Maintaining their unbeaten run, the Hoppers sent a clear message to the rest of the competition after running away with a 12.18 (90) to 7.4 (46) belting in this top-of-the-table clash.
But coach Zac Fulford said the Hoppers would face a tough run after next week’s bye.
“It was important for us to be involved in a big game like that,” he said.
“It’s probably been a while since we had such a high-pressure game as that.
“We’re really pleased with the start to the season that we’ve had.
“But we know that the next four to six weeks are going to be a huge challenge and against some strong opposition — but we’re really looking forward to that.
“We’re still trying to improve and develop.
“We we’re looking forward to what’s going to be an exciting time and to meet the challenges coming our way.
“That will be a real measure then of how far we’ve come as a group since a year ago.”
The Hoppers may have run away with the victory, but there was barely a goal in it at half time.
“There were periods where we didn’t play well but we were still able to get over the line and it’s very pleasing to get the win,” Fulford said.
“I think we just started using the ball better — we transitioned better in the second half and gave the forward group those opportunities to score.”
There’s no doubting that the Hoppers did just that.
They created 19 more scoring chances than the Bushrangers across the whole game.
But Fulford said his team now must work on their accuracy after last week finishing on 14.18 against Dederang-Mount Beauty.
“While we kicked a lot of points, that’s definitely something we’re working on,” he said.
“But it’s pleasing to have that much footy going into the forward-50.
“It is something we need to improve on and we need to rectify.
“But it’s always nice to get an even spread of goal kicking — we’ve got a few midfielders who can go forward and kick goals and players who can roll through half forward.”
Fulford said ruck Aaron Baker had been the Hoppers’ best, while Luke Bloom, Ben Heinrich, Tim Brook and Brent McGrath helped out with two goals each.
“Tyson Smith through the middle was really important, too,” he said.
