By Lance Jenkinson
It was inevitable that Altona would have a lull at some point in the season – you just don’t go through the Bowls Victoria premier division undefeated.
But it’s a relief that it happened in the middle of December and not March. The A’s lost the last two games before the holiday break, giving the runaway ladder leader something to think about over Christmas lunch.
The message to the A’s was to avoid complacency in the second half of the season.
“It was a bit of a wake-up call for us,” A’s skip Brett Foley told
Star Weekly of these pre-break losses. “It came at a good time for us because over Christmas we had a chat about it and a think about it, and we came back ready to go again.
“It’s a tight competition,” Foley said.
“All the rest of the sides are pretty good – it’s the best 10 sides in the state. We can’t rest on our laurels; we need to be on our game by the time the finals come around.”
The A’s returned to the greens on Saturday, clearly wanting to atone for a disappointing December, and blasted Moonee Ponds to smithereens in a scary 117-49 scoreline.
The big winner on the day was Mathew Rennex (36-10) by shots, while Foley (33-10) and Shane Fordham (33-14) were just as comprehensive.
Brad Peck (15-15) coughed up the only point of the encounter in a rink draw.
“It was a huge win,” Foley said.
There are five games to go in the regular season and Altona would have to produce a collapse of epic proportions not to enter the finals with a double chance.
The A’s lead second-placed Melbourne by 26 points, with third placed Bundoora RSL a whopping 41 behind.
The top two at season’s end will get the double chance.
It’s all about getting back to early-season form for the A’s so the side can hit the ground running in the finals.
Foley knows that on the day, the A’s are unbeatable, but he understands the threat posed by the other sides in the finals mix.
“The ball is in our court and we back ourselves to beat anyone on any surface any- where,” he said.
“We know there’s not much between the top four or five sides.
“All we’re thinking about it trying to get a good run in to the finals and trying to be on our game when the first final comes around,” Foley said. “We’ve put ourselves in a good position and have just got to take it.”
Altona will travel to fourth-placed Clayton on Saturday for what should be a much tougher test.
