Matthew Younan
Footscray’s season in the Hockey Victoria men’s premier league has gone from bad to worse.
Having suffered four consecutive losses, Footscray had a 3-1 victory over Camberwell in round 10.
But after a 4-1 drubbing to the Hawthorn the following week, Footscray finds itself squandering down the bottom of the ladder, with 10 points from 13 games.
While Footscray has a great deal of work ahead of it coach Daniel Mitchell says it’s not all doom and gloom at the club which sits in 10th spot.
“A lot of the stuff we’ve done at the club has been pretty positive from the men’s perspective,” he said..
“We’ve beaten two of the top six sides. We lost four games by one goal.
“Although results have not really gone our way, it’s the nature of the competition that it’s pretty close and pretty tight at the moment. We just need to improve in a few little areas and that will get us over the line.”
Mitchell acknowledged results may have not gone their way but says he can see the light.
He said the side has progressed a lot from the start of the year.
The Bulldogs had the week off and Mitchell said he thought it was a good opportunity to let the boys relax and unwind while building team camaraderie.
He said an increase of games had had an impact this season.
“It’s put a lot of strain on the boys who are physically not ready to play 22 games,” he said. “We have three blocks of three games in six days.”
Mitchell says there are still lots of positives to take out of the season.
“Our strength is everyone playing their role in the games we’ve needed to,” he said. “Our captain Oscar Allan has been really good, leading from the top.”
He said the consistent contributions from each player has been pleasing to see, highlighting Jayden Shram as one player who has done well.
Mitchell said they’re bracing themselves for a physical encounter against arch-rivals Altona in the local western derby this week.
Altona won in round one.
While Mitchell hasn’t given up hope of making finals this season, it’s a year of growth for his young team.
“Our focus this year is to look not too far ahead and just keep growing as a group,” he said.”
