GRUBBERS GET WONKY WIN
OCEAN Grove coach Paul Lynch will summon his players to goalkicking practice after another underwhelming performance in front of goal in the club’s win against Torquay.
The Grubbers were woeful in front of goal for a third straight week, booting 9.18 in their 25-point win over Torquay on Saturday.
It follows scorelines of 12.21 (Newcomb), 8.9 (Barwon Heads), 9.15 (Geelong Amateur) and 14.13 (Portarlington).
“It’s happened three weeks in a row,” Lynch said of his side’s inaccuracy.
“We kept Geelong Amateur in the game with poor kicking, we let Newcomb in the game with poor kicking and we left Torquay in the game with poor kicking.
“I’ve never been massively concerned about goalkicking, I think it’s just a mindset thing, but that’s three times where we’ve let sides in the game. So it is an issue and we need to have a look at it.”
Lynch told his players post-match that they would be required to practice goalkicking prior to and after training, urging his charges to kick “100 footies” in a bid to get better.
“We definitely have to do something, just to get some confidence,” Lynch said.
“They need techniques when kicking for goal. I always got taught that your kicking technique should be like a golf swing, but it seems to me that some of the guys have five or six techniques when they’re kicking for goal.
“We need to find what works and we don’t want to put too much pressure on them because it becomes a focus and you start worrying about it, but it’s an issue.”
Goalkicking aside, the Grubbers were convincing against a lacklustre Tiger outfit.
Lynch’s men shut down Torquay in the middle of the ground, limiting the influence of playing-coach Dom Gleeson and gun onballer Ben Raidme.
“We had a big focus on pressure because they are a high kicking side, so we had to come with elite pressure to beat them,” Lynch said. “The two times we’ve played them they just chopped us up through the middle of the ground — they kick the ball so well — so we had a real focus on frontal pressure and I thought we did that really well.”
The Grubbers got their “hands dirty”, winning most of the key indicators.
“We’ve had two not-so-great weeks,” Lynch conceded.
“Barwon Heads beat us and we weren’t amazing against Newcomb, even though they have improved and are going in the right direction, but I just thought we were off the boil a little bit.
“We talk a lot about coming to play and I just thought we haven’t come to play in the last two weeks.
“Torquay has embarrassed us the last two times and the boys were keen to put on a better show. That comes with having the right mindset and getting your hands dirty.”
Improving its record to 4-1, Lynch admitted it was “far too early” to reconsider his premiership prospects.
“I don’t think there’s much between the top six and I think it’s going to be a day-to-day thing,” he said.
“We’ve got Anglesea, who I think is a very good side, and if we don’t come to play we’re going to get beat.”