Western Crusaders continue to focus on hitting their own standards as they lead the way in the Gridiron Victoria men’s competition.
The Crusaders, who are going for an incredible seven championships in a row, again sit on top of the table undefeated as it heads into the pointy end of the season.
Crusaders’ Tyson Garnham said they keep it simple.
“We have two games in the last seven to eight seasons,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve lost a game in the last three or so seasons.
“Obviously it is a challenge. We try to run by the fact that we do not worry about what everyone else is doing.
“The standard is the standard and we try and encourage everyone at practice and get the best competition at practice.
“We stick to our standards and measure success and performance on that.”
Garnham said they were happy with how they were shaping up and there were still things that they needed to work on as the season continues and into finals to make it eight titles in a row.
He said one of the pleasing things was some of the young ones stepping up and taking on major roles.
“We have a young quarterback starring for us,” he said. “Astin [Hewett] was the quarterback for Australian juniors a couple of years ago.
“We’ve seen his rise up the ranks which is good for him. It certainly pushes the older guys.
“We couldn’t be happier.”
The Crusaders added another win to the board on Saturday, beating the Warriors, 35-7.
Garnham said while it was raining in Melbourne, the weather wasn’t too bad in Bendigo where the round was played.
“It was not raining out there,” he said. “We left Melbourne and it was raining and when we got home it was raining.
“It was just windy and a pretty good day considering the weather in Melbourne.
“They are second on the ladder and it knew it would be a tough game. It was a good match and the score didn’t reflect how competitive the match was.
“A lot of plays came together and we managed to outscore them early on and it let us control the game.”
It was a different story for the Crusaders division 2 side which lost 22-12 to Bendigo Dragons in an upset loss.
Garnham said that side continues to develop each week.
“It’s disappointing that they didn’t get the win on the weekend, but there’s plenty of areas they can focus on,” he said.
“There’s some mistakes they can work on at practice and that’s the point of the second side.
“It’s a good opportunity and we’ve got a number of junior teams in the second team as well.
“They’re a good part of the overall access for the club. They get better and feed into the ones. They are a big part of the success.”
