Newport Rams interim manager Dean Anglin has described Saturday’s 15-2 loss to powerhouse Essendon in Baseball Victoria summer league division 1 as “death by a thousand cuts”.
The Rams were outclassed in all departments at KC White Reserve as they struggled to overcome the loss of key personnel.
“We were a little undermanned and sort of got exposed,” Anglin said. “They’re the benchmark of the league. They just keep pushing all day … if you make a mistake, they capitalise on it.
“Unfortunately, we made a few too many mistakes and let them run away with it.”
Newport is down two leaders, with playing manager Dean Malthouse overseas for work and Matthew Lawman out with a hamstring injury.
This has given the Rams a chance to get more game time into their younger players.
The Rams are a young side on the rise and have big ambitions.
They are also an impatient lot.
“As a coaching group, we’ve focused on making sure we’re ready for the next generation to come through,” Anglin said.
“We don’t want to continuously be rolling through five-year plans – we want to be challenging teams in the next 12 months to put ourselves at the top.”
What better learning curve than facing Essendon at their best?
On this occasion, Newport was simply not up to the task – and only the best will suffice against the league leaders.
“There’s a lot of positives out of what we’re doing at the moment,” Anglin said.
“The year has been great so far and we’re really confident that when we’re on our game we can mix it with everybody.
“We were just off the boil a little bit.
“All credit to Essendon – they certainly outclassed us on the day. But we take a lot out of it – we can still use the game as a learning experience.”
With a busy week ahead, including a mid-week contest with Fitzroy and a visit from Springvale on Sunday, there is no time for Newport to dwell on the loss to Essendon.
“We’ve got to roll with the punches and get back out there and be ready to go again,” Anglin said.
In division 2, Williamstown battered Port Melbourne 17-7 at Greenwich Reserve on Sunday to maintain its pursuit of the top four.
The Wolves are half a game behind fourth-placed Sunshine ahead of a home clash with Upwey Ferntree Gully on Wednesday.
