Smooth sailing for ‘Seas

A SIMPLE plan to go back to basics paid handsome dividends for Anglesea on Saturday as the Roos claimed a fifthstraight victory in the BFL.

On a water-soaked Alcoa Oval, the ’Seas gave Ocean Grove a football lesson in a 104-point smashing, maintaining their position in the top five and sending a stern warning to their rivals jostling for a finals berth.

Anglesea was never troubled in the wet conditions after kicking nine unanswered goals in the first half and looked cleaner with the ball all afternoon, gaining the praise of coach Paul Nigro, who said his team’s ability to handle the situation better than the Grubbers was telling.

“We certainly spoke about the conditions pre-match and had a real emphasis on our midfield and engine room to get the ball going our way,” Nigro said.

“It is vital in these conditions to do the small things and one percenters well, and we probably adapted a little better and quicker than the opposition.

“It was an important win for us. Ocean Grove, by its own admission, is undermanned a little bit but we respect every opposition we play and just come and do what we need to do.

“To win by 104 points in these conditions, we are obviously very happy, and it tops off a really good six weeks for us in the middle of the season and we are now well placed moving forward.”

Spearhead Jordan Erskine kicked seven goals for the home side, taking his season tally to 74 as he closes in on the century, while Ash Caldwell and Blake Grant bagged three apiece.

The Roos had plenty of players stand up in the conditions, led by the likes of Nick Swain, Jackson Bews and Dale Kerr.

The result means the Roos are undefeated since May 4, which remarkably came against Ocean Grove, but Nigro said a challenging draw after this weekend’s bye meant there was no time for Anglesea to be getting ahead of itself.

“There are certain areas we need to tidy up, which we will address in-house, but in terms of our method I am happy with the way we are going about it,” he said. “It is about bringing the right energy levels and intensity week in, week out, and we have probably let ourselves down earlier in the year in a couple of games.

“So we are conscious of what we need to do and we need to raise the bar a little bit as we move forward.”

Anglesea faces Queenscliff after the league bye before a defining run of games against Torquay, Geelong Amateur, Barwon Heads, Newcomb and Drysdale.