By Marcus Uhe
Emerald’s first taste of Premier Division football in Outer East Football Netball delivered an early reality check as the Bombers failed to take flight in the early stages against Olinda Ferny Creek.
The Bombers regrouped at quarter time with their score unchanged from the opening siren, staring at a 32-point deficit as the Bloods kicked the opening five of the match on their home turf.
The remainder of the contest was played out on an even keel, but the hot start from the Bloods was too much to overcome, as the Bombers went down by 58 points, 6.9 45 to 15.13 103.
Emerald’s premiership-winning coach Sein Clearihan said there was plenty of positives to take from the afternoon, but rued the opening half-hour.
“We lost four centre clearances and the boys started really going hard, but they weren’t sticking to their structures,” he said.
“They (Olinda) got a couple of free kicks in front of goal and it just snowballed like that, we were chasing bums all day.
“To the boys’ credit, they fought their way back into it, but you can’t give sides six goal starts and try to run them down, it’s too hard in football these days.
“They threw the heat on us being the first game of the year, but once we went back to what we do best, we were okay.
“We can do it a lot better, and that’s what we’ll work on during the week.”
Recruits, Ewan Wadsworth, Steven Kapahnke and Ben Pola all impressed in their first contests wearing the red sash, while youngster Oscar Dempsey acquitted himself well under pressure in the backline in his first game at senior level.
With a number of changes from the side that conquered Division One in 2023, the Bombers will inevitably experience some teething pain as the squad grows and builds continuity.
But the lessons will come thick and fast, with the first already under their belt.
“We’re going to take a few weeks to get going, but this is what happens when you come up into Premier Division,” Clearihan said.
“They get a hold of you real quick, you play 10/15 minutes of bad football and you’re going to know about it.
“I’m under no illusions as to where they’re at and it’s going to be a learning curve in the next few weeks, but this is where we’re at and what we’ve got to do, and we’ll be a lot better for it.”
Lachlan Taylor kicked five for Olinda Ferny Creek as the home side made a winning start in new coach Dylan Wilson’s first game at the helm.
Elsewhere in Premier Division, Upwey Tecoma reeled in a 10 point three-quarter-time deficit to overrun Monbulk at home.
The Tigers kicked 6.4 in the final term to the Hawks’ 1.2 to run out 22 point winners, 11.14 80 to 8.10 58.
