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ST MARY’S coach Troy Mitchell says his side’s ability to avoid complacency will take the club a long way.
The Saints overcame winless Lara comfortably on Saturday and have turned their attention to South Barwon this weekend.
But goalkicking livewire Jesse Travaglini faces a nervous wait after being stretchered from the ground with a knee injury.
While the Saints’ win over Leopold might have sharpened the Saints’ focus, Mitchell said the win over the Cats highlighted his side’s ability not to get ahead of itself.
“We stuck to our game plan, whether we play St Joeys or play Lara, we want to play the same way, so that was really pleasing,” he said.
“We tried a few things with a few different players out and they stood up and played their role in the position we wanted them to, which was good.
“I think the way we defended and stuck to our structures (was pleasing).”
But St Mary’s has done its preparation before South Barwon, sending a scout to the Swans’ game against Leopold.
“We might have, we might have had a little bit of a look,” Mitchell said with a laugh.
“They’re a good footy side. They’re developing the right way and the boys that are involved in their culture and coaching structures are strong.
“They were always going to bounce back, they’re always going to be hard to knock off, so as long as we come with the right attitude we should go all right but by no means do we think it will be an easy game.
“That’s why yesterday was pleasing, because we didn’t come with a different attitude, we just went with the same attitude we bring every week.
“That’s what the good teams do, they go with the way they want to play — that’s why I was really pleased.”
Travaglini kicked five goals before suffering a knee injury and Mitchell said the damage was yet to be known.
“We’re not sure exactly what he’s done,” he said.
“It looks like his knee cap popped out but then it’s popped back in, so what damage has been done right now we’re not sure until he has scans.
“A couple of boys copped a couple of corkies, which are going to be fine, so we’ve got no other major injuries.”
Despite the 151-point win, Mitchell said his side still needed to improve to win the premiership.
“We’ve still got to play both Bell Park and Joeys yet, which is really good because we want to keep testing ourselves and see if we can improve,” he said.
“I think we’ve still got to improve. We see some areas we’ve got to improve on — we’re not quite there yet — but hopefully we’re there come September.”