By Wil Spence
Just two weeks ago they were staring down the very real possibility of being 0-5, but Ryan Webster’s Mulgrave outfit caused a major boil-over in Division Two knocking off an undefeated South Belgrave to spark their seasons resurgence.
To the outside world many viewed the Saints as the favourites, however, Mulgrave’s coach Ryan Webster had full belief in his side’s chances.
“The resolve and resilience, the boys showed to keep playing our style of footy… it’s going to do the boys a world of good with their confidence.”
A win against a top contender was just what Webster’s side needed and highlights the importance of a shift in belief and Webster believes this will result more wins for his rising outfit.
“Take the positives out of all the games we have played… we bought in the process and it’s proving to get the results,
“We need to build on the way we played against both Heathmont and South Belgrave and continue growing our belief as a team.”
Webster was really pleased with his side’s fight, particularly in the last quarter when they led by 14 points at three quarter time and withstood a South Belgrave surge, something they’ve struggled with in the opening few rounds.
“When South Belgrave did get a momentum swing, we were able to play our style of footy and get control back and turn the game back on are terms,
“The boys have listened and learned from what we’ve taught them and if they can learn from week-to-week it can only be a positive for us.”
Adam Booth played a spectacular game splitting time in both forward and ruck, whilst skipper Sam Kassianou was rock solid down back.
Webster was very pleased with the senior players who stood up in the final quarter but even more proud his side had no passengers on the weekend.
“Adam Booth was sensational, really controlled his time in the forward and ruck, Dean Siakoulis showed his experience, got forward in the third quarter and kicked a crucial goal,
“The young brigade like Jack Davidson, Jaxon Gervasoni, Connor Tilyard who are just growing in leaps and bounds week-by-week,
“Our captain Sam Kassianou down back, he controls blokes like Baxter Leece and James Verde, they all played their roles as did Nathan Lee who was fantastic,
“Across the board we had no passengers, when a coach can think after the game the fact that we didn’t have any passengers, you generally are going to win more games than you lose, and we played some really good footy as a team and got the win in the end.”
Webster is adamant his side needs to continue improving their contested brand of football and take a week-by-week approach ahead, with eyes firmly on Templestowe this weekend.
“Every week is a new game, the old cliché, it’s a new week, any team could beat any team on any given day,
“It’s going to be an arm wrestle, our focus is to bring our contested brand of footy and our positive style of play each week, and Templestowe play a great style, so we must be ready.”
