THE saying "a week is a long time in football" certainly applied to Kangaroo Flat in the wake of last Saturday's defeat to long-time Bendigo Football Netball League nemesis Golden Square.
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A week earlier the Roos had showed a gritty level of resilience to recover from a 21-point deficit against South Bendigo in the first quarter and beat the Bloods by 27 points.
It was a win described by the Advertiser as the type of victory that would help the Roos build their credibility in the competition as they strive to make inroads up the ladder.
But it was a case of one step forward, one step back for the Roos who were unable to replicate their performance against the Bloods as in what was a game built up externally at least as appearing to be a genuine chance of finally knocking off Golden Square for the first time since 2001, Kangaroo Flat was beaten by 77 points.
The Roos were competitive with the Bulldogs in the opening term, but after quarter-time were unable to get their run and carry game that had been a feature of the previous week's win over the Bloods going and were comprehensively outplayed.
After kicking 18 goals against South Bendigo, the Roos could muster just three in their 15.16 (106) to 3.11 (29) loss at Wade Street.
"I thought we hung in well in the first quarter, but they blew us away in the second quarter and I think mentally our boys struggled with that," Kangaroo Flat coach Michael Ellings said on Tuesday.
"That's something we need to work on... having that mental resilience.
"We did it the week before when we were down early, and while we were missing a few players (vice-captain Kyle Symons, Dion Symons and Xavier Dingfelder) that shouldn't effect the overall way the team plays.
"I think we just went away from the system and structure that we've been working on, so we'll go to work on that this week against Eaglehawk and bring a much better brand of footy."
Golden Square broke the game wide open in the second term when the Bulldogs kicked 5.5 from 11 inside 50s to 1.2 to turn a 13-point lead at quarter-time into a 40-point advantage at the main break.
The Bulldogs were +25 disposals, +5 clearances, +18 marks during the second quarter as they assumed control.
The Roos, who are now 2-2, face Eaglehawk at Dower Park this Saturday providing another opportunity to show its wares against a finalist from last season.
"We had an opportunity last week that we missed, but we can regather this week, get our mental focus back where it needs to be and make sure we go out with purpose," Ellings said.
