EFL 2018: Ringwood improves its record to 13-0 after posting an 18-point win over Heathmont

RINGWOOD remains the only team yet to taste defeat in the Eastern Football League in 2018 after keeping Heathmont to just one goal after halftime to record an 18-point win.

Ringwood coach Brett Rowe. Picture: Teagan Cairns

RINGWOOD remains the only team yet to taste defeat in the Eastern Football League in 2018 after keeping Heathmont to just one goal after halftime on Saturday to record an 18-point win.

For the second consecutive week, spearhead Trent Farmer was kept to just one goal but the Redbacks found other scoring avenues to record their 13th win of the season to retain the Parker Cup.

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Farmer remains atop the Division 3 goalkicking tally with 54 majors but Ringwood coach Brett Rowe said his side needed to add some unpredictability in attack.

Outside of Farmer, only Jayden Cairns, Mitchell Farmer and the injured Mitchell Brereton have kicked more than 10 goals for the year.

Jayden Cairns was among Ringwood’s best players. Picture: Teagan Cairns

“A lot of clubs bank on Trent staying deep and being our main forward but Trent has had some good opposition the past couple of weeks and it hasn’t gone his way and that happens,” Rowe said.

“We’ve been able to push him up the ground a lot more and become a lot more unpredictable to the opposition, they don’t know where the scores are coming from so it has been really pleasing to get other avenues without Trent really influencing the game.”

Heathmont threatened to inflict Ringwood’s first defeat of the season when it led by nine points at the main break at Jubilee Park.

But for the second consecutive week, the Redbacks overhauled a halftime deficit to finish with a 10.11 (71) to 7.11 (53) win.

“The first half was pretty even, it was a good game of footy actually to watch, but I think in the end just our ability to sustain our pressure over the whole four quarters is what broke the game open,” Rowe said.

“Our third quarters have been enormous this year, especially against the good sides, the top four sides have been pressuring us really well for the first half but I think no doubt the belief is growing that we know if we come out in the third quarter and keep our pressure up for the whole four quarters that we’ll get it done.”

Despite his side establishing itself as the team to beat, Rowe said there was no pressure on his side to convert its 13-0 start into finals victories.

The Redbacks have been knocked out of the flag race in the past two years in the preliminary final.

“People ask me a lot, ‘do you need to drop a game?’ but I don’t subscribe to that,” he said.

“Winning form is good form, still a long way to go, but you’ve got a chance to create history for the club and you’re going straight through without losing a game.

“You never know, we might have a bump on the way and if it is, so be it, but I don’t see there is any pressure at all.”