EAST Point coach Joe Carmody has said he was pleased with the Kangaroos’ emphatic response to a 45-point loss to Sunbury, after inflicting reigning premier Melton’s first loss in 12 months last Saturday.<\/p>\n
The Kangaroos exacted a small measure of revenge for their 2024 grand final loss to the Bloods with an 11.13 (77) to 10.10 (70) victory at Eastern Oval.<\/p>\n
It was Melton’s first loss since May 18 last year, when they were beaten by East Point by five points at MacPherson Park.<\/p>\n
Overrun in a disappointing final quarter the previous week against Sunbury after leading by three points at three-quarter-time, the Kangaroos showed they had learned their lesson well by converting a two-point lead at the final break against the Bloods into a gutsy nine-point win.<\/p>\n
In an intriguing battle at the top of the BFNL ladder, the Bloods and Kangaroos sit third and fourth on the ladder behind top-placed Darley and Sunbury, with all four teams on five wins after six rounds.<\/p>\n
Carmody said the win was built on solid contributions from all 22 players.<\/p>\n
“We were really good in the midfield \u2013 Matt Johnson was fantastic with 40 touches for the game and our backline really held up well,” he said.<\/p>\n
Carmody said he was definitely more pleased with the response to the previous week’s poor ending than he was in getting one back over Melton.<\/p>\n
“We were pretty disappointed in that last quarter,” he said.<\/p>\n
“We really analysed it during the week and pinpointed a few areas we wanted to improve on and that’s what we did. We were able to tick them off.<\/p>\n
“They (Sunbury) got hold of us in the midfield, which is something that hasn’t happened to us much.<\/p>\n
“They won seven centre clearances and were able to score off that.<\/p>\n
“Our centre clearance work this week was really good against a really good quality midfield.”<\/p>\n
As injuries and the odd suspension have intervened, East Point has not shied away from blooding some promising young talent.<\/p>\n
Aptly in BFNL Indigenous round, Teshaun Wright made an exciting debut and earned plenty of praise from his coach.<\/p>\n
“He played as a small forward and had 11 touches and kicked a goal and was pretty good,” Carmody said of Wright, a boarder at St Patrick’s College.<\/p>\n
“We were looking to debut him earlier, but he was up in Darwin with family \u2013 it just happened to work out that this week was Indigenous round.<\/p>\n
“It was pretty special that we were wearing the Indigenous jumpers.<\/p>\n
“We had Mickitja (Rotumah-Onus), Issac Hucker and Teshaun as our Indigenous boys playing seniors.<\/p>\n
“The club has a rich history with Indigenous players, so for us it’s a really meaningful round.”<\/p>\n
Another of the Kangaroos’ talented juniors, Dylan Hiscock, caught the eye in his second senior game after debuting the previous week against Sunbury.<\/p>\n
Despite the odd hiccup, Carmody said the Kangaroos were tracking well, albeit with plenty of challenges still ahead.<\/p>\n
“We’ve been a little bit inconsistent in games, whilst we have still been winning,” he said.<\/p>\n
“I thought that was the best four-quarter effort we have had.<\/p>\n
“Hopefully, that sets the standard for the rest of the year.”<\/p>\n
The Kangaroos will be wary of a letdown against fifth-placed Ballarat this Saturday.<\/p>\n
The Swans, who notched up an important and confidence-boosting six-point win over Bacchus Marsh at Maddingley Park, beat East Point last season at Alfredton Recreation Reserve.<\/p>\n
The Kangaroos will regain Jacob Brown from suspension and will have Joe Fraser available, while Carmody said the injured Joe Dodd and Jordy Slater were still a few weeks away from a return.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
EAST Point coach Joe Carmody has said he was pleased with the Kangaroos’ emphatic response to a 45-point loss to Sunbury, after inflicting reigning premier Melton’s first loss in 12 months last Saturday. The Kangaroos exacted a small measure of revenge for their 2024 grand final loss to the Bloods with an 11.13 (77) to […]<\/p>\n