WEST’S TINY STEPS
GEELONG West drew equal with fifth spot on points after Saturday’s one-point GFL win over North Shore, but coach Andy Viola would not be drawn on a finals conversation.
The thrilling v ictory helped the Giants move to seventh anda square their win-loss record at 4-4, but a percentage of 77.68 leaves them effectively a game off fifth-placed Newtown & Chilwell.
Viola said it was little milestones along the way that kept his side’s focus in the short term.
“For our club, especially, I think it’s been 10 years since we’ve won three in a row,” he said.
“As pleasing as that is, we’re just taking baby steps.
“We take every week and every opponent on a weekly basis and we’re sticking to our proc ocese ses, and w e’re getting some favourable resu sult“We’vel s. We’re got no Southt looking Barwon too thisfar ahead.week; we’ll put a lot of time into them and their structures and strengths, and try to pinpoint some of their deficiencies we can expose.”
But Viola said his players did harbour h ambitions to play finals.
“Every coach and every player dreams of a top- five finish, but we are literally taking it one week at a time,” he said.
“We’re three or four players off top strength — we’re starting to get a few back now — and we’d like to think in a couple of weeks’ time we’ll have no excuses, we’ll be at full strength.”
Brandon Ryan turned himself from villain to hero with two clutch goals to help Geelong West prevail by the barest of margins.
The tall forward finished with 2.7 in a wayward showing in front of the big sticks, and “missed some easy ones”, according to Viola, but landed two fatal blows including one from a tight angle to help the Giants hold on for victory.
“He kicked one to put us in front and when slotthit i boundary counted line,he whichted anotherwas pleasing,”shot from Viola the said of Ryan. “It was a bit of a seesawing (battle). There were four or five lead changes and we kitwehadth t ou oughg icked away.”
A late seven-po oint lead was sliced to one Seagupo p int in when ulls playing-coach Jason DaD venport, still st truggling with a knee injury, nailed a late major.
But the siren sounded with the Giants in front, seeing them take home the Ron Sells Cup. NolossforThe orth Shore will be a bitter pill tot swallow, after thet Seagulls fell 15 points short to the Eagles a week earlier. recor3-5Their rd leaves them with plenty of workwo rkr to do headin ng towards the halfway point of the season.