HAVING opened the season last weekend with a loss against last year’s premiers, Murrabit will be hoping their round two clash against Macorna will show further improvement.
After being held to just a single goal in the first half against Hay, the Blues worked hard to find their footing after the main break and hit the scoreboard.
With the loss of star full-forward Damian Cupido over the off-season, putting a competitive total together was going to take a team-focused approach without a standout target.
Only a trio of recruits were able to convert for Murrabit in the squad’s first match, coach Jack Shannahan kicking two goals, as did new pair Patrick Bryan and Ryan Harvey
But the 73-point loss came down to Murrabit’s lack of composure against the Lions ferocious early pressure, Hay scoring 86-points off the Blues’ turnovers.
Murrabit coach Jack Shannahan said it was “near on impossible” to win the game when you turn the ball over as much as his side had.
“When we looked at the stats, our turnovers were just huge,” he said.
“When you’re giving a team like that back the footy so easily, it makes it pretty hard to defend.
“The majority of our turnovers came when we were exiting our backline, which took our defenders out of position and allowed Hay to get in behind.”
Murrabit were also unfortunate to come up against damaging forward Declan Watson, which was made worse by the late loss of key-defender Michael Grant.
Grant will return to Murrabit’s backline on Saturday, with the Blues also to bring in exciting recruits Jordan Lampi and Liam Holt-Fitz for the first time.
With the loss of Grant, Murrabit were forced to switch positioning around, but Shannahan was still impressed by his team’s effort.
“We tried hard all day, and the effort was certainly there but we just gave them the footy back far too easily,” he said.
“In the few times we did get the ball through, we were able to get those handball chains going and work it down the ground.
“We didn’t really get our game going, so if we can bring that attacking style of game we play then I’m sure it will be a great game.
“Most of the damage was pretty much in red time; it was a couple of five-minute patches late in the quarters where they were able to score four or five goals in quick succession.”
Macorna come into the game after a strong win over Wandella, and will be hoping to carry the early season momentum forward.
Shannahan said he expects a “great game”.
“At this time, it’s really hard to say what Macorna will bring this Saturday,” he said.
“We’ll do a little bit of work on them during the week, but we are trying to focus on us and what we can do.
“I’m sure Macorna are keen to bring that same kind of intensity, they had a good win last weekend and no doubt they’ll be very confident.”
Elsewhere, Ultima will take on the Bombers after a huge opening round victory against Moulamein, where the Bombers will be keen to show they can go up against the ladder leaders.
It didn’t take long for Ultima’s off-season signings to impact the squad, with Lincoln Frost, Brodie Bennett, Cameron Johnson and Ricky Wild all kicking multiple goals against the Swans.
The rebuilding Swans face a tough ask this weekend, as they host a Hay side with a spring in their step after round one’s 100-point win.
But the Swans will be keen to avenge their loss in last season’s preliminary final at the hands of the Lions.
