While banking wins is always the aim of the game in the NAB League, a team will often take the most out of a loss.
Coming into their round eight clash with ladder-leading Gippsland Power riding high after four straight wins, Murray Bushrangers were left to rue a slow start, coughing up six first-quarter goals to fall by 20 points.
And, while some teams may dwell on their shortcomings, stand-in coach Jason Wells and the Bushrangers’ brainstrust are taking last week’s loss as a learning opportunity, as they gear up for another crunch clash against fourth-placed Tasmania Devils at Highgate Recreation Reserve.
The definition of an eight-point game for the 4-2 Bushies, Wells said his team was excited about the challenge.
“We are just looking forward to bouncing back from the weekend and making sure we turn up and play four quarters of Bushrangers style footy that we know can really compete at this level,” Wells said.
“They (Tasmania) have had some good wins along the way, especially in the last few weeks they’ve got up in a few close ones, so they obviously know how to grind out those tight wins.
“Their form is really good and if you look at ladder positions we are fairly even, so it is a crucial game for us as we head into another week off.”
Coming up against an interstate team like Tasmania, it is often hard to get a read on how they like to play and identify who their key players are.
Wells said as a result the focus this week had largely been on improving internally and getting back to the game style they know is successful at NAB League level.
“We haven’t seen a lot of Tassie, so I think a lot of the prep work will just be on ourselves and highlighting what worked well and what didn’t in the game last weekend,” he said.
“There is a certain structure we want to play to and we went away from that a bit, certainly early on in that game, so the focus will just be getting that right before we shift to a bit of opposition analysis.”
In terms of team news, the Bushies will be sweating on the fitness of star duo Brayden George and Max Clohesy, who both missed last week’s game against Gippsland due to concussion.