‘We’re slowly building’ - Anderson
IN-FORM spearhead Lucas Anderson insists St Joseph’s is yet to hit its peak, despite charging to the top of the GFL ladder with a spirited win over Bell Park.
Booting a game-high seven goals in a best-on-ground performance in the come-frombehind win over the Dragons on Saturday, Anderson has declared his side has plenty of room for improvement.
“We’re getting there,” Anderson said when asked if Joeys were close to their best.
“We haven’t put in a fourquarter (performance) yet. Against Newtown we were near on, but other than that, we wouldn’t have played four quarters for a while.
“We’re slowly building and we know from last year that we don’t want to peak too early.
“We want to keep a few cards up our sleeves for September and make a few teams unsure about how we’re going to set up.
“But we’re tracking along nicely.”
In his second season at St Joseph’s, Anderson was instrumental in attack at Drew Reserve, sparking a stunning second-half revival.
With three majors to his name at the main break, the former Lake Wendouree playmaker took his game to a new level as Joeys turned a 16-point half-time deficit into a 35-point win.
Anderson, who once kicked 11 for Donald, combined with Vic Country rep Curtis McCarthy to boot four majors between them as St Joseph’s ran all over the shell-shocked Dragons.
Anderson would kick another two goals in the final term, taking his tally to a personal best of seven at the club, as Joeys resisted a mini challenge to win back top spot on the ladder.
His goal feast took him to 29 majors for the season, putting him third in the competition.
“I reckon I’ve kicked seven a few times in Ballarat, but I don’t think I’ve kicked over five for the last couple of years,” a delighted Anderson said post-match.
“I’ve kicked a couple of eights in Ballarat, but seven is the highest for a fair while, which is nice.
“Conditions haven’t helped in recent weeks, it’s been muddy and not great for a forward, but the sun was out today (Saturday) and my hands were working.
“I don’t know how many shots I had, but it wouldn’t have been many more than seven. I don’t recall kicking a point, so seven straight … I’ll take that.”
Despite taking five marks and collecting 14 disposals, Anderson said his side’s wayward forward entries in the first half made life difficult for both him and McCarthy.
“The first quarter was when it was most frustrating because we had the wind and we’d lead up and it was going over your head,” Anderson said.
“We knew what we were doing wrong, it was just a matter of bringing the group together and discussing it at halftime.”