Tara Murray
Werribee was left to rue missed chances in the Victorian Football League against the Box Hill Hawks on Saturday.
With the chance to cement a spot in the top eight ahead of a bye, Werribee put in one of its worst performances in recent weeks.
Werribee led by 16 points at three quarter time, but wasn’t able to hold on, losing 12.15 (87)-11.14 (80).
Barlow said despite having a chance to take home the four points, the Hawks were the better team for most of the day and deserved to win.
“We didn’t play consistently enough for four quarters,” he said.
“We played well in the third quarter and parts in the first half and the last quarter early and we had the opportunity to get the win.
“Ultimately we didn’t get it. Box Hill was the better side.”
Barlow said while there was a wind favouring one end, there was chances to score at both ends of the ground.
He pointed to the last quarter when they had the first four or five shots of the quarter and had the chance to put the game beyond doubt.
“We had a real emphasis to hold the ball in our front half,” he said. “We had four or five scoring shots early in the last quarter.
“We let ourselves be vulnerable and they were able to convert.”
Barlow said the side is very aware about the missed opportunities that they’ve had a number of games this season. Poor goal kicking is something they’ve spoken about on a weekly basis.
While they’ve still been able to get the points in some of those games, it’s proven costly in others.
“We’ve had four defeats this year,” he said. “Most of them have been really close games, a couple by less than a goal.
“It was seven points on Saturday. All against AFL aligned clubs with fairly experienced full time players who can adapt late in games.
“We need to learn in those moments and train for those situations and do a bit more upskilling for the players to understand what to do late in games.”
Barlow said they had only four to six players who performed well across the whole four quarters, which showed in the end result.
“We need 18 to 20 guys playing consistent football to get the win.”
He said Nick Coughlan was the key pillar down back and stopped a lot of goals.
Louis Pinnuck was good in the first half, with Ollie Hanrahan making a point against his former side.
Hanrahan kicked four goals and had 24 possessions in his return from illness.
The win leaves Werribee sitting in eighth spot, with the three teams behind them all on the same amount of points.
Werribee has a bye this week.
Barlow said they had been themselves in a good position for a tilt at finals. He said they would have lighter week on the track after reviewing the game on Tuesday night.
“We have the bye and then a block of four games,” he said.
“It’s a pretty exciting time at the moment. To be 8-6 and in the mix to play finals after being 2-4.
“We looked to play our style and our brand more consistently.”
