Gulls to focus on mid-season form

BARWON Heads playing coach and premiership captain Mitchell Herbison says it felt good to get back in the winners column during last Saturday’s Battle of the Bridge outing in the Bellarine Football League (BFL).

The Seagulls welcomed long-time foes Ocean Grove over the Barwon Heads Bridge to Howard Harmer Oval for the first of two matchups between the Bellarine rivals and neighbours, the former still feeling the sting of a 52-point loss to Torquay the week before.

“The guys were pretty keen to bounce back after the loss to Torquay and put in a good performance,” Herbison said.

“I think the whole group approached the week in the right manner and got to work.”

The Grubbers stuck with the Seagulls through a quarter of play, trailing 21-13 at the opening break, but Barwon Heads adapted to the flooded conditions on Howard Harmer Oval, amassing a 41-point at half time and riding the momentum to an 84-point win.

“I haven’t played in conditions like that in a long time,” Herbison said when talking about the rain’s impact on the ground Saturday.

“It’s pretty rare to get a downpour like that, our ground generally drains pretty well, but it couldn’t hold it on the day, meaning the second half was a bit of a slog.”

Barwon Heads forwards Brock Close and Lachlan Wilson led the goal charge with five and four majors respectively, while Ocean Grove’s Jacob Talarico was his side’s only goal-kicker with four.

The reigning premiers head to Newcomb this Saturday, May 13 for Breast Cancer Awareness Round, followed by a Round 8 clash with the Coutas in Queenscliff, then return home to host a resurgent Anglesea in Round 9 to conclude the first half of the season.

“For us, at the moment, it’s just focusing on improving each week, we’re still finding that balance, so we’ll have guys playing a variety of positions and keep things fresh,” Herbison added.

“We’ve got a few tough games in that middle block of the season but we’re looking forward to it and finishing off the first half in good form. Particularly, the middle six week period, will be super-important for us in the grand scheme of things.”

Barwon Heads goes into Round 7 three wins ahead of the finals cut-off early on, a win behind the competition’s pace-setters Torquay, who are six from six to start the season.