Solid outing: Echuca United skipper Brady Simpson was among the best in his side’s loss to Rumbalara. Photos: Aidan Briggs
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
Echuca United has recorded a fourth consecutive defeat to begin its Murray football league campaign, falling by 81 points to Rumbalara at Echuca South Recreation Reserve at the weekend.
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The Eagles were on the back foot early on in the contest as the visitors slammed home seven goals in the opening term to lead by 30 points at the first break, a margin which only grew as the game wore on, with United eventually going down 8.8 (56) to 21.11 (137).
A rather frank Scott Beattie admitted post-game that his side was not up to the task for most of the contest.
“We were pretty average for a fair chunk of the day,” he said.
“Obviously we've been working on a few things, and we've seen some good, but we were just beaten around the ball again, simple as that.
“We got beat in the ruck pretty convincingly, and that led us to chase, and they kicked six early goals and pretty much for the next two-and-a-half quarters we were six goals behind, and they blew away late.”
Kicking boots: Jordan Frew found the goals with a team-high three majors against Rumbalara.
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
Despite the loss, the Eagles managed to put their highest total so far this year on the board, and while it provides some consolation to Beattie, his focus remains on getting his players to understand how they are getting beaten.
“It's nice to have some more forward entries, and that's obviously something we'd worked on during the week,” he said.
“Just because we're getting beaten is one thing, but we need to learn from what we're doing mid-game, and what that looks like in terms of getting beaten.
“It's got to hurt, and it certainly does, but so long as we learn a bit about each other, it'll be okay.”
A number of individuals were still able to make important contributions in the loss, Beattie said, while also highlighting the need for some robust dialogue within the playing group to hold each other accountable on the field.
“Reece Sidebottom played really well again under plenty of midfield pressure, (and) Brady Simpson was excellent again as he has been every week,” he said.
“Our good players still contributed pretty well, our defenders were obviously under a fair bit of pressure all day, but they continue to be in our best players because that's where the ball has been.
“Look, there’s some positives there, but also we've got to learn to be harder on each other, so we're focusing on firm conversations amongst each other.”
Standing up: Reece Sidebottom performed well for Echuca United despite being under considerable midfield pressure.
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
The internal feedback will happen more naturally as the squad continues to improve, Beattie said, with less reliance on the coach to initiate those tough conversations.
While winless from four games, Beattie, who returned this season for a second stint as senior coach at the club, was confident the group was still “making slight improvements, albeit the score”.
The Eagles have the bye next week before facing reigning premier Mulwala in round five on May 4.
The Game
Scores
Echuca United: 2.2, 4.3, 7.7, 8.8 (56)
Rumbalara: 7.2, 11.3, 17.5, 21.11 (137)
Goals
Echuca United: Jordan Frew 3, Jack Tenace 2, Scott Beattie, Hunter Beveridge, Brady Simpson
