Pitt shrugs off talk of a premiership hangover

LEOPOLD captain Matt Pitt is adamant injuries and a tough draw — rather than a premiership hangover — are to blame for his side’s winless start to the season.

The Lions face an in-form Grovedale in Saturday’s inaugural Let’s Kick Cancer Cup, with the reigning premiers facing the real prospect of slipping to 0-3.

But Pitt, in his first season as skipper, maintained his side had plenty of belief.

“The confidence is definitely still there,” he said.

“We know what we need to do to make it work. We won the premiership last year, so we’re not going too far away from that, but it would be nice to get a win on the board and back up the belief that we know is there.”

While doubt has emerged over Leopold’s ability to challenge for consecutive flags, Pitt said the hangover was not a factor. “I don’t think so,” he said. “It’s probably too early to say that. They were big games and we’ve got another big game this week.

“We’ve had some injuries and players away in crucial games and that’s more to the point than a hangover and I think you’ll find we’ll bounce back pretty quickly.”

Leopold has endured a shaky start to the season, dropping matches to St Mary’s and Bell Park.

Injuries have also hampered the Lions, with key defender Jeremy Larcombe, premiership captain Jai Thompson and Matt Miller unavailable in the early rounds.

Pitt said: “We definitely knew we had a tough start, and we probably didn’t realise how much of a toll the injuries would take.

“It’s not the best timing, it’s never good to have injuries, especially all at the same time but hopefully we get those boys back over the next couple of weeks.”

Miller is set to return after two weeks in the reserves, while Larcombe is expected to resume in the seconds.

Thompson is again on the outer, having injured his shoulder in his comeback game from a knee injury.

“From all reports it’s the best news possible, it wasn’t an AC (joint) or something serious, so hopefully it’s only a couple of weeks,” Pitt said.

“He’s a huge part of our side and he’s been captain for a long time. Missing him and a couple of the senior boys definitely hurts. There’s a number of guys who’ve had limited training in the last month or so and they will filter in over the next few weeks.”

Grovedale, sitting on top of the ladder at 2-0, is eager to inflict further pain on the struggling Lions.

And reigning Mathieson Medal winner Nathan Deans said his team was desperate to erase the memory of last year’s preliminary final loss.

“They’re the reigning premiers and you want to come out and beat them,” Deans said.

“I know personally, I played badly so I want to come back and redeem myself.

“Realistically you can’t lose any more than six games, so to give them a third loss, it would only leave them with another three to lose, but they’ll bounce back at some point and I expect to see them later in the year.”

The Tigers will need to overcome a six-day break to topple the Lions, but after a 139-point win over Lara, Deans doesn’t believe fitness will be a factor. “To be honest, it was a pretty bruise-free sort of a game,” he said.

“A few boys didn’t play because they had a few niggles, so I think we should go in (fit). There’s no excuses if we turn out a poor performance on Saturday.”