SFNL: Where Highett must improve to regain its Division 2 form

After winning a final last season, Highett is one of two teams yet to grab a Southern league Division 2 win. Coach Clint Einsiedel reveals where his side must improve to rectify its season.

Highett has slumped to 0-7. PIcture: Highett FC

Highett coach Clint Einsiedel says the Bulldogs must trim the “gigantic” gap between their best and worst football if they are to resurrect their poor start to the season.

The Bulldogs were one of the best teams in the competition last year, finishing fourth and winning a final.

On Saturday they sunk to a 0-7 start after going down to Keysborough, 8.12 (60) to 10.22 (82).

Highett has by no means been a walkover, with 40 points the largest loss it has suffered all year.

Einsiedel was honest in his review and claimed inconsistency as the Bulldogs’ biggest concern.

“It’s just inconsistency, we’re not doing anything well for 120 minutes at the moment,” he said.

“It makes it hard, we’re in games and in patches we look like a top-five team and then other patches we look like a Division 4 team – we have to have more consistency.

“We obviously have some outs which hurts but at the moment we have to be more consistent.

“The gap between our best and worst is gigantic and that can be in quarters, so we have to rectify that and if we do we will games of footy.”

Highett has slumped to 0-7. Picture: Highett FC

Highett has battled without Sam Jackson, Josh Murphy, Bailey Searle and Tom McCarthy for parts of the year, with “too much falling on too few” leaders in the group.

Despite inconsistency often correlating with players new to senior footy, Einsiedel said the up-and-comers had been the Dogs’ best.

He highlighted Lachlan and Tom Carroll, Luca Guida and Sam Merrick as the young guns to have risen to the occasion.

“Lachlan Carroll stepped has stepped into a mid-forward role and played some really good footy for us and his brother Tom has played down back and played some important roles on good players,” he said.

“Those two have been great, Sam Merrick on the wing, he’s only 17 and has been super.

“He (Merrick) had a quiet one on Saturday but he’d be high in our voting for the best and fairest I reckon.

“Luca Guida has been the other one, he’s been good in pretty much every game – there’s good kids there for the future.”

With St Kilda City and Skye in coming weeks, Highett said the Bulldogs must avoid the relegation window by putting themselves “in a position to win the next two games”.