EFL 2022: The Basin breaks drought with 45-point win
It had been a lean opening month for The Basin in the EFL’s Division 2 – but it all clicked on Saturday. Here’s why.
Eastern
Don't miss out on the headlines from Eastern. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The Basin is on the board in the Eastern league’s Division 2.
The Bears cruised to a 45-point win over Knox at Batterham Reserve on Saturday, 13.15 (93) to 7.6 (48) after leading at all changes.
It may have taken until Round 5 to toast their first victory of the season, but senior coach Justin Stanton says the opening month provided plenty of lessons, culminating in the result.
The hosts weren’t troubled after quarter-time, extending a five-point buffer to 26 and 40 points at the main and final breaks.
“We’ve had a disappointing start to the season with some inconsistencies in each of the four games in the way we want to play,” Stanton said.
“Yesterday we addressed a few things and that seemed to work … predominantly forward pressure and a better balance through the midfield and we got our hands on the footy, had a lot of entries inside 50 which culminated in a convincing win.”
The Basin entered the match with a draw to its name which came against Boronia in Round 3.
It suffered close losses to Ringwood (three points) and Heathmont (15 points) in the opening fortnight, before a 75-point belting at the hand of South Belgrave last week.
Stanton believes while his side’s form was better than what the winless opening month suggested, Saturday’s result would provide a major confidence boost to his players.
“We were poor against Heathmont and horrendous against South Belgrave … we thought to be fair, we had played good enough football to be 2-2 going into yesterday,” he said.
“With a young group we just wanted to try and make sure the confidence levels were still up.
“We’re confident in the pieces that we have in place on-field, we just need to get our confidence levels back up … yesterday was a good start.”
It was a mix of elder statesmen and young guns that got it done for the Bears.
Veteran Trevor Mills played his first match of the season, with the 2012 premiership hero snagging three majors to finish among the best.
“His energy level up forward was terrific,” Stanton said of Mills, while praising the pressure of Eastern Ranges-listed Christian Poe who also bagged three.
But the biggest backslap was reserved for midfielder Nick Hallo as best afield.
“He was terrific – last week against South Belgrave he had 30 possessions and kicked three goals in a team that got belted and yesterday he continued on,” Stanton said.
“I’m probably a bit biased, but I think he’s been the most consistent midfielder in the Eastern footy league’s Division 2 in the last couple of seasons.”
Kieran Edwards continued his consistent form in attack for the Falcons with three goals – his third bag of three this season for a total of 10 majors from five games. He finished among the best for the visitors alongside John Rafferty and Ethan Murray.
The Basin is away to Oakleigh District in Round 6 while Knox hosts Heathmont.
Latest Eastern league coaching moves
The coaching appointments continue to flood in. Keep up with all the latest moves here ...
‘Hard work’ the only way, new Kilsyth coach declares
A first-week finals exit this season followed a grand final loss in 2023 – and the recipe for success from new Kilsyth coach is clear. Meanwhile, there’s been some key signings.