Not all doom and gloom at Tigerland

TORQUAY coach Dom Gleeson stressed that’s it’s not all “doom and gloom” as his side slipped further down the ladder with a loss to Ocean Grove.

The Tigers were lacklustre against the rejuvenated Grubbers, trailing at every break to go down by 25 points.

“We’ve got no excuses, we were just down and out,” Gleeson said. “We trained really well during the week, but I just think we were beaten all over the ground by a better side. That’s as honest as I can be. It’s a game we’ll look back on and hopefully learn a lot from.”

The inexperienced Tigers were no match for Ocean Grove, who could have inflicted more pain with better accuracy in front of goal.

“They played brilliantly,” Gleeson said.

“They played good one-onone footy, contrary to last year. They recruited really well and there wasn’t a position on the field that we won today.

“I think they won the game all over the field and they kicked poorly as well, so it could’ve looked a lot worse than it was.”

Gleeson conceded his side’s inability to win the ball in tight contributed to its downfall.

“We were second to the footy, we were out-contested in all facets and I thought our structures fell down,” he said.

“The reason being is we are an inexperienced side. We’ve got 12 guys under the age of 22, so there’s going to be those fluctuations in the team and unfortunately the older guys are going to get older and we can’t keep carrying the side.

“Last week it was contrary, our younger players carried us, and got us through the game. We got ourselves up for this game and I’d say 90 per cent of us wouldn't be happy with our output. It was a game that they had complete control over, but kudos to them.”

The task only gets tougher for Torquay, who meets the unbeaten Barwon Heads on Saturday. “We’ve had a tough introduction to the year with six testing games,” Gleeson said. “And every game is tough in the BFL, which is great for the comp. We’ve got Barwon Heads, Portarlington and then the representative bye, so we’ve got to turn it around really quickly.

“Barwon Heads beat Queenscliff, so we’re going into a game at 2-3 and it’s a game we need to even the ledger.

“I’m disappointed with our output and the result, but I’m quietly confident we can turn it around and I’m confident our kids are developing and getting better.

“It’s not all doom and gloom. It’s a positive place to be.”