Roos striving for consistency

KANGAROO Flat head of football operations Jason Stevens says he is pleased with the club’s improvement in the early part of the season, but insists close enough can no longer be good enough for the Roos.

Ahead of a formidable round 8 clash against top-of-the-ladder South Bendigo, Stevens backed senior coach Tyrone Downie’s calls for the need for greater in-game consistency and something more sustained than positive glimpses.

As has been evident in several matches, the best and worst of the Roos was again on display before the interleague break in a 39-point loss to Golden Square at Dower Park.

Kangaroo Flat trailed 6.7 to 2.0 at quarter-time, with Downie later branding their first 40 minutes as “sub-par”.

Similarly, the Roos have been well in games against both reigning premier Eaglehawk and Castlemaine, only to fall away late.

Stevens, coach of the BFNL’s under-18 team which went down fighting in a gallant loss to Ovens and Murray a fortnight ago, said bridging the gap between their best and worst remained one of the most pressing challenges for the Roos.

“We feel we are in-line with where we want to be, but a little bit off in terms of the performances we have delivered this year,” he said.

“A couple of injury blows … you lose your skipper (Ethan Roberts) in the first round and he hasn’t been back and that hurts.

“But every sides get injuries. It’s our ability to take the chances that present themselves now at Kangaroo Flat.

“We’re competitive, but we’re not competitive for four quarters. We need to make it four quarters.

“It’s time that a lot of them … and I think it was Tigger’s words … that a lot of them grew up a bit and understood that.

“That they are able to compete now, so they have to go to another level and we need to have some hard conversations if there are some players who can’t go to the next level.

“We don’t want to continue losing and close enough is not good enough anymore. We have to start making sure we get some of those scalps.”

Stevens indicated Roberts was likely still a month away from a return.

He pinpointed the form of young on-baller Aaron Nevins, who has taken his game to a new level this season, Nick Keogh, whose four goals against Golden Square took his tally for the season to 15, Angus MacPherson and Zach Bird as definite positives.

The road ahead does not get any easier for the Roos, who will be returning to action following an extended break following a bye last Saturday and a league-wide bye for interleague the previous weekend.

Their clash against the Bloods, who moved to 6-1 with a 52-point win over Golden Square, will be followed by games against Strathfieldsaye (5-1) and Gisborne (5-1), respectively third and second on the ladder.

Stevens admitted it was a tough run for a team aiming to work its way up the ladder and to improve its consistency.

“But we won’t shy away from the challenge,” he said.

“They probably don’t come any tougher than South Bendigo right now, who are flying.

“But it’s an opportunity for us to demonstrate we can be a little more consistent in games and for some guys to really throw their hands up.”