By: Joseph Arthur
LILYDALE is yet to lose a game this season, but senior coach Ben Neagle recognises that there is still room for improvement if his side wants another crack at a premiership come finals.
Speaking to EFL Sunday, Neagle was upbeat after his side’s 26-point victory over Wantirna South to claim top spot on the Division 1 ladder.
“I think we’ve just found a way to grind to win and we’ve got lucky as well to be honest,” Neagle said.
“We’ve been really gritty; it’s probably just a sign of maturity in our young group.
“I’m just finding that they’re a lot more mature and coaching themselves out there a lot more, that’s probably the biggest thing that I’ve found between this year and last year that’s impressed.”
Coming off a Division 2 grand final defeat in 2018, Neagle said that the boys have put it behind them and are solely focused on being the best team they can this season.
“It’s just a real drive from the group, they’re very determined and they’re playing like they’ve got a bit of a chip on their shoulder which is really nice,” he said.
“In saying that we’re only in Round 4 so we’re a hell of a long way away from even thinking about last year.
“I haven’t even brought up last year to be honest, I don’t think I really have to, they all know and they all experienced it.
“We’re just trying to really focus week to week.”
Coming into last weekend, Lilydale had scraped by with wins of five points, seven points and 10 points, but a convincing 26-point victory against an undefeated Wantirna South outfit was pleasing from the coach’s perspective.
“Wantirna South was 3-0 as well and they were playing unbelievable football, so we went in with a lot of respect for them and that showed,” Neagle said.
“We’ve been focusing really heavily in the last couple of weeks on defensive structures; we find that we attack really well.
“That (defence) has been our main focus and was a real focus against a quality outfit in Wantirna South and we were able to do that really well.”
Neagle said that the focus against Wantirna South was a strong finish, which his side achieved with a four-goal-to-one final term.
“I’d like to think that we finish games off well, but probably two of the four games we haven’t,” he said.
“I don’t think it’s a fitness thing at all, I think it’s just the mental aptitude of the group, not looking after their direct opponents when they have the football and just our structures when we lose the football too.
“We definitely do have the fitness and we certainly run games out well when everyone’s defending well.”
Lilydale meets Upper Ferntree Gully at Kings Park this weekend.
EFL SUNDAY PODCAST | Listen to Ben Neagle’s full interview here
