SFNL: Cranbourne send a statement with thrashing of fellow finals contender
Cranbourne managed to fine tune some of its key areas in a thumping of a finals contender. Here’s where they had to improve.
Southern
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After a succession of un-Cranbourne like performances, Eagles’ coach Steve O’Brien was expecting a response.
Coming off losses to Cheltenham and St Paul’s McKinnon either side of the competition-wide bye, O’Brien reminded his group of what makes them such an auspicious side.
The Eagles then wasted no time in returning to their forceful best, dismantling Port Melbourne Colts in unceremonious fashion on Saturday, 17.15 (117) to 3.8 (26).
O’Brien believes his Eagles “fell away” from what makes them so dangerous and hopes the recent reminder is the catalyst in a turn of form.
“We just probably went away from the basics of what we do so well, I think,” he said.
“Our pressure wasn’t there, we had a few personnel changes but I think we fell away from what makes us a good side.
“Leading into Saturday’s game we just showed some vision of what we weren’t doing and then showed some vision of what it looks like when we do it well.
“Just to remind the boys, that’s our brand of footy.
“To their credit they came out and were really switched on from the get-go and played some outstanding footy.”
With 11 individual goal kickers in a crushing victory, there was a plethora of areas O’Brien could’ve praised his side on post game.
He chose their mentality.
“Mindset – that was the first thing I touched on,” he said.
“There was a really good feel in the rooms in the warm-up pre-game and we have been focusing on that a fair bit.
“When we prepare well, it gives us the opportunity to play well on Saturday.”
While the pair of recent losses may have cost Cranbourne top spot, the second-chance finish remains very likely.
O’Brien won’t look too far into whether the losses have kicked his side back into premiership-contending gear but admits he was expecting a response on Saturday.
“Sometimes, it’s always hard to tell because you’re never too sure at the time,” he said.
“There’s nothing like a loss to sharpen you up and provide a bit of motivation to say ‘hey, when we don’t do the things that make us a good side, and fall away from that, this is what happens’.
“It’s always a nice reminder for a coach to throw at his playing group when those things happen.
“We’re a pretty resilient bunch, they’re probably the most resilient bunch of boys I have ever coached in 24 years.
“I was always confident that the response would be strong.”
Thrashings were the theme of the Southern league on Saturday with 84 points the average winning margin across the four senior men’s competitions.
Dingley contributed heavily to that average with a commanding win over St Kilda City, 33.19 (227) to 1.1 (7).
Likely minor premiers Cheltenham was neck and neck with Springvale Districts before the home side put foot down.
The Rosellas trailed by two goals late in the second term but then kicked 11 unanswered goals to win 15.14 (104) to 7.5 (47).
Josh Fox booted six to move his tally to 53. He is now 11 ahead of Mitch Brown (44), who will miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury.
That Mordialloc side missed the presence of Brown, going down to Bentleigh, 16.12 (108) to 14.12 (96), after a string of really competitive weeks.
Jack Sullivan stepped up for the Bloodhounds with five goals while Dimitri Fasoulis also kicked five for Bentleigh.
St Paul’s McKinnon, meanwhile, has leapfrogged Port Melbourne Colts into fifth with its third consecutive win.
Stephen Muller kicked eight in the Dogs’ 18.14 (122) to 9.5 (59) thrashing of Chelsea Heights.
Luke Clark and Luke Tapscott were the Dees’ best.
St Paul’s McKinnon will travel to Port Melbourne Colts this Saturday in a match that could decide the Southern league Division 1 ladder.
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