POINT Cook coach Daniel Fraser was breathing fire midway through his side’s eventual 29-point win over Manningham Cobras in the Victorian Amateur Football Association division 4 on Saturday.
As the Bulldogs trailed by 19 points, Fraser made his intentions crystal clear to his players in the form of a “half-time bake”.
Among a whole host of choice words, selfish was the one that cut the deepest.
“We had a very, very ordinary first half,” Fraser told the Weekly.
“We were a bit selfish, a few of the blokes were playing for themselves. It was a once-off but they needed a gentle reminder and they got it at half-time.”
The Bulldogs mended their ways in the second half as they piled on 10 goals to three to win comfortably.
A scare is certainly what they got for an hour and a lesson that has to be learnt if they are to be a title contender.
Fraser was surprised that selfishness crept into his side, even if only for a half. He pointed to the group’s togetherness as its main asset.
Jessi Lampi had a stunning debut for the Bulldog – the teenager was best on ground working on the wing and in the guts.
“He stood up when it counted,” Fraser said, “injecting a bit of enthusiasm into the team.” His older brother, Jordan, the club’s games record holder, used his ball-winning skills to move the Bulldogs forward.
Mark Pozzuto, a tireless worker, presented well across half-forward and finished with three goals. Aaron Marsh, one of the premier forwards in the competition, was solid with four goals.
The victory all but seals the Bulldogs’ finals berth as they opened up a three-game plus percentage break on fifth-placed North Brunswick.
A breakdown of massive proportions is all that stands in the way of a historic first trip to the VAFA finals.
Fraser’s harsh words at the long break were all about getting his team fine-tuned not only to take part in the finals, but to challenge for a flag.
“We’re happy with where we’re at, but not content,” he said. “We’re eyeing off a double chance because we’re not content just to play finals.
“We don’t want to be part of history [by making the finals] – we want to make history in the finals.”
