Whittlesea coach Wayne van der Ross reviews Eagles’ start to NFNL season

Whittlesea is winless after the opening month of the NFNL Division 1 season but it’s not all doom and gloom for coach Wayne van der Ross.

Mitchell Andrews in action for Whittlesea. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Whittlesea faced a horror first month of the NFNL Division 1 season but has come out the other side with plenty of confidence.

While the Eagles sit 0-4, coach Wayne van der Ross has taken plenty of positives out of losses to heavyweights Montmorency, Heidelberg and Bundoora and an improved Hurstbridge.

Whittlesea led the Magpies at quarter-time and trailed by just six points at half-time before falling away and kicked five goals in a dominant third quarter against the Tigers.

It led the Bridges at half-time but couldn’t hold on, kicking just one goal in the second half.

Glimpses of his club’s potential gives van der Ross hope a win isn’t far away.

“As we know we had a tough opening three rounds but when you look at the scoreboard, everyone’s going to go we got beaten by eight, nine, 10 goals, but I got a lot of positives,” he said.

Riley Carter in action for Whittlesea. Picture: Andy Brownbill

“We pushed Montmorency for two-and-a-half, three quarters and Heidelberg we had a really good second half and exceptional third quarter.

“Bundoora was a little disappointing, well beaten that day, and finishing on a sour note losing one of our players to a badly broken ankle.

“Then we played Hurstbridge, which is up and about, we played a good game in atrocious conditions and to Hurstbridge’s credit they got the job done but our boys fought all the way to the end.

“The scoreboard doesn’t reflect how we’re travelling and what we’re doing and I know a win is just around the corner.

“It’s a long season, there’s still 14 games to go, so plenty of time to change things around but there’s plenty of positives.”

The Round 3 match against Bundoora was called off in the third quarter after youngster Luke Jeffs suffered a horror injury.

Severe swelling meant he had to wait a week for surgery but he is now recovering and van der Ross hopes to see him back at the club soon.

“Luke’s in good spirits, it’s going to be a long recovery, but he’s young and I think he’ll recover well and has a bright future in front of him,” van der Ross said.

“Bundoora was fantastic, they helped out with everything and I have a lot of respect for them.”

Whittlesea entered the season with arguably the youngest list in the competition and has handed out a number of debuts in the first month.

Northern Knights and Vic Metro Under-18 talent Alek D’Arro made his senior debut against the Bridges, together with Kane Johnson, and was among the best.

Christian Prestopino leads the club’s goalkicking with seven majors, including five against Heidelberg.

The club’s deep youth program will continue to be a focus this season.

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“In the first four rounds we’ve blooded five or six players and they’re getting regular senior games,” van der Ross said.

“I think that’s a really good sign to have so many so early in the year, the signs are really good for our youth and development.

“We’re gelling together, we’re getting our structures right and playing as a team, things are tracking well.”

Whittlesea travels to Macleod in Round 5 before returning to the showgrounds in Round 6 to host West Preston-Lakeside, two sides they defeated last season.