Golden Square sticking to the plan

GOLDEN Square’s A-grade coaching panel says the young Bulldogs have taken a nice step forward in their development this season, even if it has not entirely been reflected in their win-loss record.

Gallant in defeat against Gisborne at Wade Street last Saturday, the Bulldogs dropped to 2-6 at the halfway mark of the season.

Still a contender for fifth spot in an intriguing battle with Strathfieldsaye (4-4) and Eaglehawk (3-5), the tale of their season will be told over the next three weeks with a suite of winnable games on the agenda.

The Bulldogs will play Castlemaine at Wade Street this Saturday, followed by Eaglehawk at Canterbury Park, and Broadford at home.

Their two wins have come against Castlemaine and Broadford, while a round 2 loss to the Hawks by 33 goals was disappointing, but salvageable when factoring in ladder positions and how each team’s season has panned out.

Win all three and the Bulldogs are firmly back in the hunt for fifth, with round 17 and 18 games against South Bendigo and Strathfieldsaye taking on extra importance.

Head coach Teigan Redwood and assistant Ollie Ryan say the Bulldogs are learning valuable lessons each and every week.

“Our game against Strathfieldsaye (a 55-47 loss in round 8), our average age was just over 19, which was crazy,” Ryan said.

 

“Obviously we have lots of great under-17s coming through, and we love giving opportunities to those girls.

“It’s a bit tricky to manage in a way, that we don’t have much age and experience, but most of the (A-grade) girls are somewhat VNL affiliated.

“We are still working our way through connections and the experience factor, but the girls do know how to embrace the challenge.

“It’s still a very new team … and a new goaling end. The girls are managing that, but it’s great watching them progress. Very exciting.”

A commendable effort against Gisborne was led by Zara Daykin, who swung from defence into wing attack later in the game and adapted strongly.

Playing alongside Abbey Grindal, 17-year-old goal shooter Lacey Broad acquitted herself well and held strong against interleague and VNL defenders Charlee Kemp and Kirby Elliott, while recruit Tegan Bethune and Keira Lawry were steady in the midcourt and defence respectively.

Away from Wade Street, Lawry has been one of the standouts in defence for the Strikers’ VNL Reserves, who are within one win of securing the development team’s first finals berth.

From last Saturday’s Bulldogs lineup, Broad and Charli Hamilton are also members of the Strikers team.

VNL championship goal shooter Hayley Howard was a notable absentee against Gisborne, with Ryan unwilling to use that as an excuse.

 

“She’s a big out, but we have some good players to fill in the gaps,” he said.

“Lacey and Abbey both have their own VNL experience.

“It gave us something different and it’s a combination we’d like to use more in the future, so it was good to test it out.”

While it’s undoubtedly a big next three weeks in terms of their finals aspirations, the Bulldogs won’t be deviating from their long-term plan that has development and patience at its core.

“It’s really tricky having to establish these combinations,” Ryan said.

“As we were in the trial and error phase earlier in the season, it’s meant we have put a lot of pressure on ourselves later in the season.

“But there is no reason why we can’t take the challenge on.

“I’m excited to see what these next three games bring and to see how far we have improved.”