BENDIGO Braves coach Ben Harvey says he's confident the his side is not far off the top sides in this season's SEABL competition.
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But the 2016 national championship coach insisted a lack of consistency was continuing to hurt his team after the Braves split their weekend double-header against the Geelong Supercats (loss) and Nunawading Spectres (win).
Harvey has hailed the Braves' next two games against Kilsyth this Sunday and the following week against Melbourne Tigers as must wins.
"I'd like to think we can win both those games, but more importantly we haven't won two games in a row all year," he said.
"This weekend we get that opportunity again.
"We've had double headers four out of the last five weeks, it's been a tough month and we've had a lot of injuries.
"But we saw the true colours out of the group on Sunday, we fought hard, were up to the challenge and ran with it."
The Braves, who are ranked fourth in the south conference with a 6-7 record, remain frustrated by their inability to string together wins.
It's a dilemma made all the more complex by the Braves' capacity to beat some of the league's very best sides.
A victory a fortnight ago over the Mount Gambier Pioneers, who are a league-best 9-1, was followed by a loss to Geelong (7-3) and a win over the Spectres, who boast the league's second best record at 10-2.
The Braves were without co-captains Chris Hogan and Taylor Bell, and Jake Cowling for the win over Nunawading.
Despite a seven-point loss to Geelong, Harvey said there had been encouraging signs that the best was still to come from the Braves.
"We led most stat categories, but the important plays hurt us down the stretch," he said.
"I was pleased we played well, but what it came down to is they started too well - they scored 32 points to 23 in the first quarter.
"You just can't give up those sorts of quarters to a quality team away.
"Apart from that the game was pretty steady and even. It was just disappointing to know we were very, very close and we haven't won the close ones all year.
"That's been the frustrating part."
The Braves have set themselves the goal of winning at least four of five games leading into the Queen's Birthday weekend and can achieve that with wins over Kilsyth and Melbourne.
