EFNL Division 2 2024: How ‘brutal’ chats sparked East Burwood response

East Burwood coach Justin Whitcher says there were “a few honest truths” told in the aftermath of “one of our worst games”, as his side produced an almighty response on Saturday.

East Burwood sings the song in the rooms after the win over Lilydale. Photo by Josh Chadwick

A week of “honest truths” sparked a response.

East Burwood bounced back on Saturday from what coach Justin Whitcher described as “close to one of our worst games”, as the Rams won 15.13 (103) to 4.7 (31) over Lilydale.

Falling to a Heathmont outfit last weekend which entered the match with just one win, the coach implored a “line in the sand” be drawn on the eve of the mid-season break.

“That (Heathmont match) was probably close to one of our worst games where they just didn’t bring it at all,” Whitcher said.

“It was a huge week of inner-growth for the group, and a few honest truths to be honest.

“There was a lot of work done with the leadership side and the expectations.

“To the credit of the boys this week, there were no weak links.

“I asked them to draw a line in the sand at this point of the year and said if they’re to go anywhere in the future, they’re to find a harder edge.”

East Burwood’s Matthew Mariani on Saturday. Photo by Josh Chadwick

A five-goal-to-none opening-quarter blitz followed on Saturda, setting the Rams up for a 72-point win to keep in touch with Division 2’s top five.

Co-captain Kyle Dove was best afield in his move from the forward line to the ruck.

“It was an opportunity for him to bring a little bit of mongrel into his game by going into the ruck and to be honest, he was the one who led the way,” Whitcher said.

“His first quarter was the best quarter of footy played all year.”

East Burwood coach Justin Whitcher. Photo by Josh Chadwick

East Burwood sits seventh on the ladder with a 4-5 record, having won four of its past five matches after starting the season 0-4.

Whitcher said a combination of injuries – especially to the ruck division – and new personnel had brought challenges with cohesion early in the season.

A 124-point loss to reigning premier Boronia in Round 4 capped off a joyless opening month.

“There’s slightly been a shift (in the past month), there’s been injuries that have hurt at times … we’ve had several ins and outs every week so there’s been a bit of inconsistency in the team,” he said.

“We started ordinarily … the Boronia day was a real aberration.

“I haven’t shied away from letting people know that the tough challenge with this group is they’re fairly introverted and they’ve only got a couple of really strong personalities.”

Anthony Jenkins was in East Burwood’s best on Saturday. Photo by Josh Chadwick

Outside of the Heathmont loss, the coach couldn’t fault his group’s response since Boronia’s triple-figure drubbing.

“We’ve definitely improved in the last month – my biggest challenge has been that in getting them to express themselves more, both personally and constructively to their teammates in the heat of battle,” Whitcher said.

“I was quite brutal (last week) at times with individuals and the group and I thought I would get a good reading of whether they’re willing to improve.

“They came through with shining colours – they were fantastic (on Saturday) and there’s a lot of promise and hope there.”