Maiden Gully YCW Eagles coach Daniel Francis hopes the hype surrounding his club’s first game at its new home ground won’t distract his players from the job at hand.
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The Eagles host Newbridge at their new home venue at Marist College in Maiden Gully
“It’s something we’ve been looking forward to for a while and it will be an exciting day, but the bottom line is we’ve got a game that we have to win,’’ Francis said.
“There’ll be the sideshow of the new ground, but we have to really knuckle down and concentrate on the game itself.
“As far as setting up our season goes, this is a game we have to win.”
The Eagles held off Inglewood by nine points in round one, had the bye in round two and then fell away after quarter time against Calivil United last week and lost by 51 points.
Francis said the Eagles needed to work on their consistency if they’re to trouble the top teams in the LVFNL.
“We have a young group and the consistency is something we’re trying to work on,’’ Francis said.
“A four quarter effort this weekend is really important for us and we’ve worked on a few things at training this week in a bid to help that. If we want to beat teams like Newbridge we have to be more consistent in the way we play our footy.”
Newbridge holds a 2-1 record after three rounds and the Maroons have been strengthened by the return of impressive big man Ed Coulthard.
The Eagles, who are light on for key position players, lost key forward Pat Cummins after he accepted an automatic one-week suspension for a late strike on Calivil’s Bryce Curnow.
They’ll also be without highly-rated midfielder Matt Roberts and the skillful Dylan Pierce (broken arm).
LVFNL surprise packets Bears Lagoon Serpentine will put their unbeaten record on the line against Pyramid Hill at Pyramid Hill.
The Bears (2-0) had the bye last week, while the Dogs (1-2) showed some encouraging signs in the second half of their win over Marong.
This is one game the Dogs would have penciled in at the start of the season, but the Bears are playing great team footy and won’t be easybeats.
Reigning premier Bridgewater (2-1) should have too much class for Inglewood (0-3). The Mean Machine hasn’t lost to the Blues since round six, 2008.
In the final game of the round, winless Marong (0-2) faces a tough task when it travels to Mitiamo (1-2) to play a Superoos side that should have beaten Bridgewater last round.
Ladder leaders Calivil United have the bye.