Diggers Rest falls to Romsey again in RDFL but coach Shaun Sims says Redbacks not unbeatable

DIGGERS Rest coach Shaun Sims says it will take something special to knock off Romsey this season after the Burras again fell short of the runaway premiership favourite on Saturday.

Diggers Rest coach Shaun Sims.

DIGGERS Rest coach Shaun Sims says it will take something special to knock off Romsey this season after the Burras again fell short of the runaway premiership favourite on Saturday.

Having suffered a 16-point loss to the Redbacks in Round 2, Sims’ men went down by 20 points when the sides met again at Romsey Park, 13.12 (90) to 10.10 (70).

Diggers Rest battled hard but Romsey’s class again shone through, especially in the opening 15 minutes of the second quarter when it got a break that set up the win.

“We’re disappointed every time we lose a football game,” Sims said.

“To our credit we came back and got it back to within a couple of goals (at half-time). But it was probably that 15 minutes at the start of the second quarter that hurt us.”

Despite the loss, the Burras are now locked in to play finals, with preparations set to ramp up as they eye the final three rounds of the regular season.

“We just want to play as good a footy as we can when it comes to that time of year,” Sims said.

“We’re definitely heading in the right direction at the moment. It’s just going to be getting it all right and getting all the players right by the time we get to finals.”

Romsey, which remains unbeaten from 14 outings this season, is without a doubt the team to beat come finals.

And Sims said without any obvious weak links to exploit, beating the Redbacks in the race to the premiership would be tough, but could be achieved if everything went to plan.

“They’re the best team at the current stage,” he said.

“They don’t really have a weak link at the moment. They’ve just got good players everywhere. You’ve just got to compete. If you can compete longer and compete the hardest, you’re going to be a chance. They’re going well. But the other three or four teams are a realistic chance to take it out.”

Elsewhere on Saturday, Kilmore sang the team song for the first time since August 25, 2012, as it triumphed over Woodend-Hesket by 26 points.

Wallan had a 72-point win over Broadford, Riddell smashed Melton Centrals by 95 points, Rupertswood flexed its muscle to take care of Rockbank by 85 points and Sunbury Kangaroos had a 63-point victory over Macedon.