Queenscliff coach says his Coutas need a few more mature bodies to help overcome three-game losing streak
It was a case of deja vu for an off-the-boil Queenscliff with its frustrated coach lamenting a few umpiring decisions before half time.
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A few extra mature bodies and more even officiating.
That’s what Queenscliff coach Rory Nicol believes his Coutas lacked in the aftermath of a disappointing 28-point, round 13 loss to Geelong Amateur on Saturday, as their finals aspirations slipped from reasonable to remote in the BFL.
For the second game in a row, Queenscliff’s lack of physicality was exposed to go down by almost the same margin it did against Drysdale before the mid-season break.
“There was a lot on the line in regards to finals,” a downcast yet resolute Nicol said, with the Coutas dropping their third game in a row.
Queenscliff started relatively strong at Queens Park Reserve on Saturday, kicking 2.3 to just one behind in the opening term.
However, a few questionable decisions gave the Ammos impetus before the long break.
“A couple of head scratchers in front of goal which gave them scoring opportunities,” Nicol said.
“We thought we were a bit stiff at half time to be honest.
“Anyway, that’s local footy I suppose.
“Sometimes you just need a bit of luck in footy and we didn’t get a lot to be honest.
“We didn’t get any at all, what could go wrong did go wrong.
“We could have been and should have been a bit more up at half time.”
The Ammos would kick 8.4 to 2.5 after half time to take control of the contest.
Nicol said his young side generated enough opportunities, and the effort and pressure was there, but their execution was MIA.
“The effort was there for two hours,” he said.
“But we gave it back to them too much by foot and hand, turned the ball over way too much.
“It hurt us in the end.
“We did some silly things with the ball.”
He said his youthful brigade – with an average age of about 20 – was struggling to get its outside game up and running, needing a few more mature bodies.
“We’re really young, the wet weather footy does’t suit us,” he said.
“Drysdale beat us up on a wet day a few weeks ago, it was a bit the same (today).”
However, he said the club was providing invaluable experience for a number of promising teenagers including the “brilliant” Joseph Cincotta, Tyler Monahan and Max Waight, who are all in the 16-17 age bracket.
“We’re blooding kids and getting games into them,” he said.
“The future’s bright for the footy club.
“Back to the drawing board. The sun comes up (tomorrow).
“The beauty of football is another opportunity will arise next week.
“We’ve got some winnable games in front of us, we’ll saddle up and go again”.
Needing to knock off seventh-placed Modewarre next Saturday to revive its season, Nicol was concerned a pair of close losses early in the season – five points to the Warriors and six to Drsydale – could come back to bite.
However, there were no injuries to report while Seb Bowtell was expected to return next round at Mount Moriac Reserve.
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Originally published as Queenscliff coach says his Coutas need a few more mature bodies to help overcome three-game losing streak
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