Inverleigh’s brave comeback after slow start
FOR the fifth time in less than two years, a single kick has separated Inverleigh and Bell Post Hill.
On this occasion, Hawks coach Mark McDowell had to single out some of the league’s stars behind closed doors at half-time after his side trailed the Panthers by 39 points.
“I questioned the commitment of five or six players at half-time and whether they were committed to working hard and putting their head over the football,” McDowell said.
“We just let them play their ‘spread possession football’, so our man-on-man effort was much better in the second half and we had an opportunity to win the game.”
The visitors had a shortlived lead early in the match thanks to goals from Michael Grozdanovski and reigning Whitley medallist Jak Kennedy-Hunt.
At the end of the day, the Hawks, considered by many to be the premiership favourite, still led some key performance indicators despite their horrid second term.
“Bell Post Hill kicked five goals on the trot and I was really disappointed that we didn’t react quick enough on the ground,” McDowell said.
“When a side has momentum, you need to get a player behind the ball, so by the time we rectified that, the Panthers had added another two goals to the scoreboard.
“It’s a credit to them and how efficient they were kicking on goal.”
Kennedy-Hunt finished with 4.4 from his 14 disposals and 10 marks against Panther captain Cam Addie, who recorded four spoils and eight marks in their third matchup since last June.
“Jak could have kicked a few more goals, especially in the third quarter, but I don’t want to put it all on him,” McDowell added.
“He got some really good entry that Cam couldn’t stop but then he got some sloppy deliveries later that allowed Cam to get the fist in.”
McDowell will now welcome back Chris Jones and Mitch Elford (both unavailable) against East Geelong this Saturday.
Key midfielders Michael Best (ankle), Ryan Garrard (suspension) and Blake Hutchinson (hamstring) will return to the starting line-up later in the month.