Maryborough coach Shane Skontra says Saturday’s loss to Gisborne showed good signs for the Pies on and off the field.
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The Magpies were in a position to snap their 45-game losing streak when they lead Gisborne in the final quarter, but the Bulldogs pulled away late to win by 28 points.
Skontra said the performance on the field and the reaction to the loss after the game showed him his players were improving.
“It was good to see that the boys were shattered in the rooms afterwards,’’ Skontra said.
“I found it hard to address the players after the game because there was a balance there of being positive about the footy we played as well as addressing the fact that we’d lost a game of footy that we were in a position to win.
“There was mixed emotions there.”
The good performance against Gisborne came on the back of a competitive effort against Sandhurst.
The Magpies play third-placed Eaglehawk this Saturday before a home game against the struggling Castlemaine.
Skontra said he won’t allow his players or those at the club to look ahead to the Castlemaine game.
“We don’t want to take any steps back, so we want to focus on playing good footy against Eaglehawk,’’ Skontra said.
“Eaglehawk is a quality side, so we need to be at our best.”
Maryborough has injury concerns for this week.
Hamish Watts (knee and ankle) will be sidelined for multiple weeks, while the Magpies will wait to see the severity of James Macer’s shoulder injury.
Marong key position player Corbin Fleming played for Maryborough on a permit last weekend, but he will return to the Panthers in the LVFNL this Saturday.
Meanwhile, in other BFNL clearance news, midfielder Sean Johns has put in a clearance to leave the Strathfieldsaye Storm and return to his home club Mulwala in the Murray Football Netball League.
