THE Ararat Eagles and Great Western Lions will both look towards their round three clash as a good opportunity to get a first win on the board for 2017 on Saturday.
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Eagles coach Brian Jenkins said his side had been going along reasonably well without getting the points on the board.
“It will be a good chance for us to get a bit of a reward if we put it all together,” he said.
It was on the road against Great Western that the senior Eagles side broke through for its first win in two and a half years in July of last season.
Jenkins said the small ground at Great Western played to his side’s advantage but he could not take too much from that game into Saturday.
“The sides have certainly changed a bit since then,” he said. “We had five or so players leave and we have new players in to replace them.
“Our young players have gained more experience since then and are better for it; we are a better team than last season.”
Great Western coach Will Bell would like to see his side rewarded for the effort it has been putting in.
“There has been lots of positive signs in the group,” he said. “We have 11 players under the age of 20 in our team.
“The club is really excited to see those players continue to develop.”
Both teams have been on the receiving end of heavy defeats in the opening two rounds of the Mininera and District league.
Bell knows that his side cannot take the Eagles lightly.
“I do not know a lot about them but from what I have seen they have been keeping in games for long periods of time,” he said.
“From our point of view we need to be cleaner with our ball movement.
“The last kick into our forward 50 is something we have been working on sharpening up.
“If we do not get marks inside 50 then we miss out on getting set shots.”
Despite the focus on delivery into the forward line Samuel Cocks and Shannon Notting have kicked bags of seven and six goals respectively in the opening rounds.
It is something Jenkins is well aware of.
“Defensively we need to tighten up,” he said.
“Our biggest errors have been when our accountability has fallen away.”
He said his side would also need to sharpen up its disposal.
“Some of our kicking has been kicking has been fairly erratic,” he said.
“But the boys have been working hard.”
