Outmatched Warriors set their sights on the future

MODEWARRE coach Josh Finch says his side’s fourthplaced finish was a fair reflection of the campaign it had.

The Warriors proved no match for Barwon Heads in yesterday’s semi-final, outmuscled in the clinches and outscored in a 62-point drubbing.

But Finch said his players could hold their heads up, despite the one-sided nature of their finals exit. “Expectations are at the start of the season to make finals,” Finch said.

“Ideally everyone wants to make finals and, if you’re lucky enough, get the double chance. The three sides left have been the benchmark all year — they finished top three and were lucky enough to get the double chances.

“We gave a young side the chance to play in two finals.

“We’ll look to get so much better — that’s the harsh reality — and fill areas that we need to with our list. We’ve already done our list management stuff and we’re already recruiting, so it’s always looking to improve and get better.”

Finch said his side was coming from a long way back, however, competing in a tough competition.

“I suppose you look at the Bellarine footy league — you’ve got Ammos, who’ve been a powerhouse for years, Torquay, which has a population of 25,000 people, and Barwon Heads, with a very popular area to live in,” he said. “We live in Modewarre with 1500 people, so we’re the Warriors for a reason. We’re the underdog most weeks and it’s something that makes our club so unique and so special.

“We’ll look to continue to get better and knock these blokes off at some point. We’ve got so much more improvement and I can see that, and the best thing about our list is they’re hardworking kids that want to get better every time they train and also play.” Finch said Barwon Heads was simply the better side.

“We just didn’t have enough match winners; they played some good footy and used the conditions really well,” he said.

“They had a couple of dominant ruckmen that set a good foundation for their mids to clear the ball from the source.

“They just played a better brand of footy in the conditions and stopped our run and carry, which has been a strength when we play well.” TORQUAY’s netballers have kept their premiership defence alive with a solid 38-30 win over Barwon Heads yesterday.

The Seagulls were competitive with the favourites for the first half and went to the main break just two goals down with the scores at 16-18. But goaler Erin Moerenhout (30 goals) put on a clinic in the third quarter as Torquay advanced to a (30-20) ten-goal lead at the final change.

The 2016 premier now faces Modewarre with a spot in the grand final on the line.