THE wake-up call was loud and clear for Point Cook in a dramatic draw with lowly Box Hill North away at Elgar Park in the Victorian Amateur Football Association division 4 on Saturday.
Bulldogs coach Daniel Fraser has sensed a touch of cruise control creeping into his side since it confirmed a spot in the finals for the first time in the club’s short history.
Fraser told the Weekly that the lower-ranked hosts showed his side how to play a disciplined brand of football over four quarters, an ingredient his side will be desperate to recapture ahead of the finals.
“We were three goals up in the last quarter and let them get back into it. They thought they might have been home and relaxed a bit. The boys were pretty devastated and still in a bit of shock after the game.
“The positive is that it happened now and not in the finals and they can learn from it.”
Jesse Lampi was a clear standout among the Bulldogs. The young onballer has come up from the under-18s and dominated in the senior ranks. Most impressive is his ability to shrug off the physical tests he gets on a weekly basis.
“He was fantastic again for us,” Fraser said. “They target him off the footy and make sure he doesn’t get a free run at it. We’ve got to be better than we were at protecting him.”
Ruckman Andrew MacLean, winger Tommy Hyde and midfielder Ben Cox were the others to impress for the Dogs.
On the whole, they were disappointing against a side they would have marked down for a comfortable win.
The Bulldogs, who face an “up and about” North Brunswick, a side that has provided a scare for the top two sides in the past fortnight, are keen for another finals-type hit out against the best of the rest.
“They have got within a goal of the top two in the past two weeks,” Fraser said. “There’s no doubt they are the best team outside the top four.”
The Bulldogs will look to North Brunswick results and gain a bit of confidence that the gap between the best and the rest is closing.
“There’s no doubt we can go deep into the finals and do some damage,” Fraser said. “They top four sides have really evened up.”
In the premier B, Werribee Districts were victims of a sharp-shooting Ajax in a 45-point loss at Gary Smorgon Oval in Albert Park.
The Tigers had a bevy of chances in front of goal for a terrible return of six majors from 22 scoring shots, while Ajax were at the other end of the scale, kicking just one behind from 17 shots and it could be said it proved the difference between the two sides.
In division 3, Old Westbourne Grammarians were left deflated after a 41-point loss to bottom-of-the-ladder Power House at Ross Gregory Oval.
VAFA scoreboard
Premier B: Ajax 16.1 (97) d Werribee Districts
6.16 (52)
Division 3: Power House 11.11 (77) d Old Westbourne 4.12 (36)
Division 4: Box Hill North 14.15 (99) drew Point Cook 14.15 (99)
