By Nick Creely
Creating a winning culture and implementing good habits into the club are what’s important to Officer as they continue to build on their year.
Bouncing back from a tough start to life in the new competition, the Kangaroos are now well and truly back in the pack after securing their third straight victory, this time against a gallant Mount Evelyn at Starling Road on Saturday, 12.12 (84) to 7.13 (55).
It was a tough, mature and at times exciting performance; one glittered with solid efforts from senior players and a sparkling three-goal display from a debutant.
It’s a win that now lifts them comfortably into fourth spot with a 3-3 record, but for Kangaroos coach Doug Koop – while pleased that the result went his side’s way –said that the ‘unfair’ pre-season expectation of his team as premiership favourites was a stark contrast to exactly where his group is at.
“It was our best four quarter effort of the year, so it’s a good time now to be playing good footy,” he said.
“But (last year) we couldn’t even beat a side above us, and we’ve had no success in the last 10 years, and all of a sudden we’re premiership favourites – these blokes just don’t know how to win.
“We’ve got to learn how to win consistently, and win in different ways – granted, with all the media stuff, the blokes probably assumed it was going to just happen.
“Playing finals last year, and coming into a new competition this year, and not understanding what winning was about is never going to be a good combination.”
On Saturday, the Kangaroos took another step forward in what was their most consistent performance of the year, shaking off the Rovers, who stuck with the home side for the best part of the three quarters.
The visitors managed to snag the first major of the afternoon, before Koop’s side got on a mini run – sparked from an excellent goal and mark from skipper Matthew Clarke – to take in a 22-point lead at quarter time after kicking a goal on the siren.
But, forcing the Kangaroos to turn the footy over and lose some of the spark created off half-back, the Rovers roared back into the contest, levelling the score at half-time after an unanswered three-goal term.
The visitors looked like they could inflict the Kangaroos with an upset during stages of the third term after starting the second-half well, but some maturity shown by their leaders ensured they could find enough energy and momentum to wrestle back the lead with a quarter to play.
In particular, young gun Tyler Clark enjoyed a stellar quarter, kicking the ball with precision and running hard to stamp his authority on the contest.
It was a plain and simple message at the huddle as Koop prepared to address his side for the last time, “We’ve done all the hard work, and we now need to finish it off.”
And finish it off they did, halting the Rovers who surged early with some brilliant defensive acts from Stephen Heppel and James Waldon, and some class coming through the middle from Tyler Clark, veteran Ben Tivendale and lion-hearted ruckman Sean Roach – who floated around the ground to have a big say on proceedings before the forward line went to work and secured the victory.
For the Rovers – in an incredibly encouraging performance – forward Robert Hartfield looked solid to kick three, while Ryan Fooks enjoyed another strong game.
One of the most exciting moments of the match came in the form of debutant Lachlan Carr, an excitement machine who kicked the sealer with a clutch set-shot before snagging another a minute later in a performance that netted three goals.
But it was his rapturous celebration that was just as captivating, with Koop saying that Carr added so much energy and excitement to the group.
“He added excitement, and was genuinely just excited about it all, it wasn’t just about playing footy,” he said.
“And I think too many blokes – when things go bad – just put the cue in the rack and they don’t celebrate, but he’s got so much excitement, and hopefully he’ll continue on for us.”
Koop said the win added plenty of confidence in the short-term, and reiterated that it was another great learning curve as they continue to build.
“It was definitely a stumbling block early (this year), but we’ve worked through a few issues, and we like to think we take a good victory on the weekend, but some good pointers,” he said.
“We were 14 points up at three quarter time, and the message was that good sides simply win these games on their home deck, and we should have won by more but we kicked poorly.
“But we’re still learning, and that gives us a lot of confidence over the next month hopefully.
That forward line mix – one that has let them down for a long period of time according to Koop – looked incredibly dangerous at times, with Matthew Clarke playing another terrific all-round game to finish with two goals and plenty of excellent contested marks and tackles.
“It’s been a weakness for us – no disrespect to former coaches, but we’ve been a negative team and getting it in there was like a desert for some blokes, hoping and waiting for the ball to come,” he said.
“The element of the game that’s most is important is scoring, just look at Melbourne – scoring is important, and kicking goals in big moments is important.
“We had five set shots at goal in the last quarter, and kicked one of them – we need to have a forward line that works hard, and that’s where Clarke’s improvement has come from, he’s added a defensive element to his game, and he’s competing really hard and defending.
“He has been very, very consistently good, and leading from the front, but I’ve been pretty lucky for seven, eight years to have the best lead up forward for a long, long while, and they don’t come around often.
“We’re not searching for that player, we think we can share it around.”
With a Queens Birthday split round meaning that the Kangaroos won’t take to the field until 15 June against Emerald, Koop said it was an important time to work hard at training in the processes that will ensure success.
“We only get them for a limited time (at training throughout the week), and there’s not enough time to do the work you need to do,” he said.
“I’m not a massive fan of a lot of meetings, I think they can be overrated, but we need to understand there’s a process, and if you follow that, success and good habits can come from it.
“If you’ve got good habits, they don’t wear off, and all the good sides across the competition do, so we’re still learning that and the results of that.
“We’ll take the taste of victory, but understand how we got it, and that’s what we’ve got to do more often.”
