The Tathra Sea Eagles went down to the Merimbula Diggers on Saturday.
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Coach Kev May said despite the result, the Sea Eagles were pleased to see how they were tracking on one of the competition’s biggest fields and there was “plenty of positives to take out of it”.
The Diggers were able to claim the result 10-10-70 to 5-12-42.
“The big fields are where the finals are held so it’s good to know where you stand,” he said.
“We were really pleased to keep them pretty tight because they play it quite well on their home turf.
“Credit to the Diggers, they spread quite well across the middle and their half-back line to control that and they’re certainly up and about this year which is great for the competition."
May credited his own midfield and back lines, particularly the experience gained by some of the newcomers to the senior roster, but said there was work to be done on the half-forward line given the extra ground to cover.
The absence of Dean Gartside did hurt the forward pack, but May said it was hard to counter the height of the Diggers on the attack.
“You want a good entry into the half-forward line so you can get that next kick to those deep targets up front.
“We have about three-quarters of the equation sorted; we’ll have a look at the drawing board next time [on the big field].”
He said he will look to the half-forwards to execute a little better next time, but was definitely confident in his charges to put “the winning score” on the board no matter the ground.
May said the result could have been closer, but the Sea Eagles were lamenting a couple of “soft” goals they coughed up late in the third quarter.
He said there were still plenty of positives to draw on and commended both the back lines and the midfield.
“Our backs were fantastic to contain their front line, particularly Bruza [Luke Taylor], Tom Lipsham and John Wilkinson.
“And it was really pleasing to see the pressure around the football in the mids from Shane Gartside, Troy O’Loghlin and Lockie Rettke.”
The Eaglettes didn’t face the Merimbula club, but were instead in Bega to take on the Bombers.
There, some of the team helped fill the ranks of the under-strength Bega outfit as the Eaglettes comfortably took the competition points 90-0.
“Our girls always volunteer to help teams with lower numbers and it makes for a good tight game when most of our experienced players are on the opposing team,” coach Col Funston said.
He added that it was a good opportunity for players to rotate a bit and try out some new combinations.
“We are definitely still experimenting with positions with up to 10 first-year players.”