Roosters’ coach sets sights on finals

NORTH Ballarat coach Clint Proctor admits there will still be plenty of “ups and downs” as the BFNL side continue to rely on young talent and deal with a growing injury list. But he is unwavering in his belief that finals are where the Roosters’ sights should be.

While there is still much to play out in the 2025 BFNL season, their hopes were boosted by Saturday’s 26-point win over Ballarat.

The win on home turf at Mars Stadium continued a four week-streak of alternating wins and losses that has seen the Roosters – who did not win a game until round six against Redan (they drew against Ballarat in Round 1) – bounce around the ladder standings with regularity.

Heading into a bye weekend, they are in sixth spot, level on points with the Swans, who fell from the top six for the first time this season.

After surviving a tough test, Proctor is bracing for a wild ride towards finals.

“We’re still young and a bit inconsistent, but it was a good win,” he said.

“The mixed results just come with the youth we have in the team, but that’s okay.

“They are getting the exposure and they are doing well.”

Proctor praised a thoughtful and well-executed performance by the Roosters, who led by three goals at quarter-time, before a revival by the Swans narrowed the margin to seven at half-time.

The Roosters though were quick to reassert their authority with a six-goal to two third term, and put a clamp on the contest in the last quarter, with neither side scoring a goal.

“Ballarat have a style of play, where they like to keep the ball and possess the ball, so we defended the ground really well,” Proctor said.

“We didn’t allow them too many uncontested marks and we played a good uncontested game ourselves.

“We certainly stopped what was their strength and got the game on our terms and ultimately scored freely enough to get a win. It was a good team effort.”

It was a pleasing response to the previous week’s disappointing defeat against East Point.

While a 78-point loss to the Kangaroos was every bit as brutal as it appeared on paper, Proctor felt his players had taken some harsh lessons from the game to heart.

 

“It felt like we played a really good game against Sebas (in round nine) and had the formula there, but unfortunately we weren’t able to replicate it,” he said.

“That inconsistency happens when you have a young side and we were quite young against East.

“It was one of those things where the stars just don’t align. They were coming off a loss and were smarting – they were really up for the game.

“They bullied us a bit to be honest. They were more physical – they just dominated and we couldn’t deal with their pressure.”

It was a good wake up call for some of our young guys and it gave them a good idea of where the best are at and where we are at. “We are not quite there yet.”

The Roosters got superb contributions against the Swans from its big guns Denver Grainger-Barras in defence, Riley Polkinghorne in the midfield and Josh Morris up forward.

Across half back, Taj MacMillan gave the Roosters plenty of drive and run in arguably his best game this season.

Hugh Trigg led the way on the scoreboard with three goals.

Proctor hopes a quick reset over the bye weekend will have the Roosters primed for a big run to finals, starting with a trip to Bacchus Marsh to play the fifth-placed Cobras.

“Bacchus Marsh next up is a huge game – if we can get a result there, it could put us into fifth and could potentially set us up for a real crack at things,” he said.

“It’s a huge clash for both of us. “I think we have showed we are capable against the middle tier, but honestly, our injury situation is pretty bad.

“Hopefully, we get some (players) back, but we have some real long-termers.

“For us, we just have to aim for that sixth spot, or fifth, and you never know what happens from there.”

While all other results went according to ladder positions, including top-placed Darley’s three-point win over second-placed Melton, it was Sebastopol’s gutsy effort against East Point that turned most heads.

For the second time this season, the Burra caused plenty of worries for the third-placed Kangaroos.

Sebastopol, led by five-goal forward Hugo Papst, Cooper Littlehales (three goals), Lachlan Cassidy and Luke Phillips, was poised to pull off the upset of the season when they led by 10 points at three-quarter-time.

But the Kangaroos stormed home on the back of a five-goal final quarter to win by five points.

Experienced trio Jordan Johnston, Jackson Merrett and Matthew Johnston led the way for East Point.

Round 11 recap:

North Ballarat 11.10 (76) defeated Ballarat 7.8 (50); Redan 11.8 (78) lost to Sunbury 13.12 (90); Lake Wendouree 5.5 (35) lost to Bacchus Marsh 23.14 (152); Sebastopol 12.7 (79) lost to East Point 12.12 (84); Darley 12.7 (79) defeated Melton 11.10 (76).

Round 12 (July 12):

East Point v Sunbury;

Bacchus Marsh v North Ballarat; Ballarat v Darley; Melton v Redan;

Lake Wendouree v Sebastopol.