Cheltenham coach Des Ryan says his side “lacked accountability” in its loss to Cranbourne
Cheltenham coach Des Ryan has identified the key areas his side must address if it is to find its best in the early stages of the season after going down to Cranbourne on Good Friday.
Southern
Don't miss out on the headlines from Southern. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Cheltenham coach Des Ryan isn’t “throwing the baby out with the bath water” after a disappointing opening round performance.
The highly fancied Rosellas went down to Cranbourne 10.11 (71) to 5.7 (37) in the Southern Division 1 grand final rematch on Good Friday.
Ryan said the defeat was different to the way his side lost to the Eagles in the 2022 decider, therefore leaving no reason for him to be concerned.
“We didn’t go too bad on the inside game; it was more the outside game they got us on, we just didn’t execute our game,” he said.
“We started off okay but then we fell away with our ball movement, so that is something we will work on during the week.
“It’s early days, we aren’t concerned, we have had a few personnel changes so it will be about just working on it across the year – we will get there, I think.”
Cheltenham led at the first change before the Eagles rattled home four unanswered majors in the second term.
Ryan believes his players drifted from the contest and allowed Cranbourne to take command of the match.
“I think we lost accountability,” he said.
“They were certainly setting up well, I think we just got caught with a lack of accountability in the second quarter, which they capitalised on.
“We won’t throw the baby out with the bath water; we will just go back to the drawing board and we’ll be right.”
Zak Ruscoe booted four majors for the Eagles while Rosellas’ new recruit Luke Verma was named best afield for the visitors.
In the other Good Friday match, in Division 3, Frankston Dolphins fired off eight goals to one in the first term to set up its 16.19 (115) to 6.11 (47) win over Heatherton.
Ex-AFL names, big forwards dominate local footy action
Ex-AFL players dominated with big performances in wet conditions, including one who is stranded on 99 goals, while one game was halted due to a nasty injury. See our Victorian local footy wrap.
‘Most complete game’: Inside Bentleigh’s turnaround after 87-point drubbing
Bentleigh has won two games on the bounce and delivered one of the season’s most emphatic performances after suffering an 87-point loss. How the Demons responded.