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<\/p>\n
“We have a really good ability to score in flows, but it showed last year, we managed to give up scores in flows,” Armfield said.<\/p>\n
“Most of our games we lost in a 15 or 20 minute patch and that was enough for teams to kick clear, or stem our flow.<\/p>\n
“We need to be able to address that quicker and not get punished as much.<\/p>\n
“That is something we have been working on and applying.<\/p>\n
“It looks good when you are training against yourself, but it will be interesting when another team does different things to see how it all transpires.”<\/p>\n
The Cobras had just the one official practice match hit-out against Williamstown CYMS, after Deer Park unfortunately cancelled.<\/p>\n
“I thought it was a really good hit out, You could tell they had one game before us as there was a little bit of rust in our game,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Ultimately, we’ve ticked every box to put us in a good spot to put our best foot forward.”<\/p>\n
Following a sound effort on the recruiting front over the summer, Armfield predicted the presence of some new faces in the line-up<\/p>\n
Chief among them will be the returning Griffiths brothers \u2013 Sam and Billy \u2013 who have excelled over the pre-season and Joel Freeman.<\/p>\n
And if not Friday, some of the club’s more promising under 18.5s are expected to quickly earn their chance after solidifying their prospects over pre-season.<\/p>\n
Missing will be Jack Kovacevic, still recovering from a broken finger.<\/p>\n
Even for someone with Armfield’s high-level experience, the start of a new season still brings the gamut of emotions.<\/p>\n
He admitted to a mix of nerves, excitement, anticipation, happiness and ‘everything in between’ in the lead-up to his side’s first official test for 2026.<\/p>\n
“We won’t really know until we know,” Armfield said.<\/p>\n
“We have had a great pre-season and I can’t question the boys efforts and intensity to get better and grow.<\/p>\n
“But like every other club, they are all getting better and growing.<\/p>\n
“It will be interesting to see just where we are at and we’ll get a good gauge come Good Friday.<\/p>\n
“We rate East Point very highly; they’ve always been at the top and always done really well.<\/p>\n
“They have got some great talent, great youth \u2026 their junior programs are always strong.<\/p>\n
“It’s a great way to start the season against a great quality club.”<\/p>\n
A clash against Melton on 11 April will await the Cobras after Good Friday, while East Point will back up against Sebastopol at Marty Busch Recreation Reserve.<\/p>\n
In other round one fixtures, Darley and Sunbury clash at Darley Park in a rematch of last year’s grand finalists; North Ballarat and Ballarat clash at Mars Stadium; and Lake Wendouree hosts Redan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BACCHUS\u00a0Marsh coach Dennis Armfield has pinpointed rectifying his team’s defence as a key to the Cobras’ chances of improvement this season. Speaking ahead of his club’s Good Friday standalone season-opener against East Point, the former Carlton AFL 145-gamer admitted the Cobras had been badly exposed at times down back during the 2025 BFNL season. He […]<\/p>\n