Footscray Edgewater’s season of Victorian Premier Cricket is at the crossroads after a shock loss to the lowly placed Greenvale Kangaroos on Saturday.
The Kangaroos notched up a convincing win, reducing the Bulldogs almost to spectators as they passed the chasing tally with ease.
As it was on day one of the clash, the Bulldogs started the better of the two sides before falling away.
The Kangaroos resumed at 2-75 chasing 188. They finished the day at 8-327.
“They were very disciplined,” Bulldogs captain Dean Russ said. “We were able to keep it tight for the first hour but weren’t able to keep it going for long enough.
“The way we performed wasn’t up to standard. We had a good win the week before against Fitzroy Doncaster and were hoping that would continue.”
The reigning premiers sit in 11th spot, six points outside the top eight, with two matches remaining. All the sides above the Bulldogs have a superior percentage.
“While there’s still a pulse, we will be fighting for a finals spot. If we get back to playing the good cricket we know we can play, everything else should take care of itself.
“We need to focus on 11 blokes playing their role for the team. The results would say that we need to lift across the board.”
Bulldogs coach Steve Chapman agreed, saying the side wasn’t playing its best.
“I always hoped to beat the Kangaroos but certainly wasn’t thinking that we would win,” Chapman said. “They knocked us off last year and I pointed that out during the week. I think the boys have lost confidence and aren’t embracing the game as they should be.
“Last year, we always had someone able to stand up at the right time. This year, we’ve had a group of players all out of form at the same time.
“I think we are a genuinely good side that is just playing poorly.”
Chapman said the side needed to look at the process, not the overall result of matches.
“We have been talking [about the results] a lot and been working hard on trying to rectify it.
“I want them to concentrate on the processes and not get too far ahead.
“We know there’s two games left, but we can’t think of it like that.”
