Big sticks a big focus for Lions

LEOPOLD coach Garry Hocking concedes his side will need to improve its conversion in Saturday’s crunch clash at home against North Shore.

Hocking said he was disappointed in his side’s inability to convert its chances last round against Colac, with the 52point defeat condemning the Lions to their second defeat of the season.

The Tigers dominated possession throughout the contest, but Leopold matched its rivals for inside-50s.

“We couldn’t get a score on the board and we couldn’t hurt them,” Hocking said. “We had a fair look at inside-50s but we just couldn’t convert, so that was disappointing against a good side like Colac, and we’ll look to improve that.”

Only midfield duo Brock Williamson and Marcus Thompson recorded more than 25 disposals against Colac, with nine Lions failing to record 10 or more touches - compared to just one Colac player.

Hocking said he had thrown down the gauntlet to his players, and urged them to be hungrier when hunting the football against North Shore.

“We’d like to get a lot more of the footy, we’ve been a pretty low-possession side this year so we’re asking not only Brock and Marcus to step up but the other boys as well,”

“We need to find a little more of the ball and work a bit harder around the ground against North Shore, it’s high alert for us coming in because they’ve been very impressive this year.

“Getting our hands on it and using it better is something we need to improve on.”