By Tara Murray
Lancefield has finally landed its first win of the Riddell District Football League season.
In a match against one of the other cellar dwellers, Rockbank, the Tigers broke their drought and got reward for their hard work.
The Tigers did the damage early and were unlucky not to be further ahead after hitting the post several times in the first quarter.
The Rams came at the Tigers in the second half, but the Tigers responded each time, eventually winning 13.15 (93)-6.12 (48).
Tigers coach Chris Collins said results in the first three rounds hadn’t necessarily reflected the work being done.
“Coming up against Rockbank, it doesn’t matter how both teams are going – it’s always going to be a tough day out,” he said.
“I said to our boys, this a chance for a win today and you’ve just got to keep working on what we’ve been working on at training and also the previous rounds.
“If we could put that together, I was confident that we could get the win.”
Collins said the key for the Tigers was to put scoreboard pressure on early to shut Rockbank out of the game.
He said that while they did that to some extent, they were never able to put the Rams away.
“To their credit, they hung in there and made it a bit of a battle,” he said.
“I said at half-time … if they were to get a couple of early goals it would give them a sniff.
“We didn’t feel like we were in danger at any time, but it wasn’t all said and done and we had to fight it out to the end.”
PHOTO GALLERY: Lancefield vs Rockbank
Collin said the Tigers delivered a really good team effort across the board.
He highlighted the work of youngsters Jack Dalgleish and Ben and Ollie Bryant.
“Our usual suspects did well, too,” he said. “Daniel Frost, Joel Badger and Nathan Malone, who had a sore shoulder, all played well.”
The Tigers, though, still can’t take a trick on the injury front.
After being riddled by injuries in the first three games, the Tigers lost another couple of players on Saturday.
Skipper Matthew Bowden hurt his hamstring, while John Baker, who returned to help his old club, hurt his groin.
Collins said the injuries were making things tough.
“This year, we’ve done well to get three teams on the park, but that’s 66 guys you have to have on the park,” he said. “We’re struggling for numbers as it is, so it’s tough when you have injuries. We were lucky to get a few past players to come back and have a kick.
“Hopefully, we can get them to stick around for a few more games this year.”
The Tigers reserves also got their first win of the season. Collins said it had come on the back of a good performance against Riddell in the previous round.
In other Riddell District Football League senior results, Wallan beat Rupertswood in a thriller, Romsey was too good for Macedon, an inaccurate Diggers Rest had no trouble against Broadford and Melton Centrals beat Woodend-Hesket.
