Sport
26 April, 2022
Simpson building confidence and momentum
SIMPSON maintained top spot on the Colac and District Football League (CDFL) ladder after a convincing 30-point win over Birregurra at home on Saturday.
SIMPSON maintained top spot on the Colac and District Football League (CDFL) ladder after a convincing 30-point win over Birregurra at home on Saturday.
The Tigers held off a first half challenge from the Saints to bring home the win, coming from two points down at half time to finish five goals up at 11.8 (74) to Birregurra’s 6.8 (44).
Tomas Lindquist led the goalscoring for the home side with four, while Nick Duynhoven contributed three goals and Jack Finn kicked two.
Brenton de Jong also kicked one goal and was named in the best alongside Rhys Ziegelaar, Jason McVilly, Lachlan Gass, Reagan Jones and Jamie Barry.
Tigers coach Daniel Beard said while he was happy to be on top after three games neither he nor his players were getting ahead of themselves.
“It’s all a bit of an unknown coming out of COVID, a lot of the teams are a bit of an unknown and it’ll take a while for the league to settle down,” he said.
“After the first round of games, when everybody’s played each other, then we’ll have a lot better picture of where we sit."
“We’ve probably played three of the lower teams, so it’s too early to get excited, but it’s good to have Simpson back in the conversation when you’re talking about clubs who are competitive and a chance to play finals.”
While the club is tempering its excitement about current standings, the early wins are providing invaluable momentum and a sense of self-belief in the playing group.
“The major positive is that it helps get the confidence up,” Beard said.
“Good wins early are good percentage-wise for later in the year, so that’s a bonus."
“But the biggest pleasing aspect is the feeling around the club, seeing the smiles on the players’ and supporters’ faces, good numbers in the rooms, the whole community vibe is really, really good.”
That sense of confidence and positivity is already having its effect on the field, Beard said, as the Tigers players have continued executing their roles when the games have gotten tough.
“They’ve got the composure to stick to the game style, our game plan’s not extravagant, it’s pretty easy, but the boys are doing it well and sticking to it,” he said.
“When we’ve been fronted or fallen behind they haven’t panicked, they’ve ground it out until we have the momentum and then capitalised on that."
“They’re just sticking to it, and by the end of the game we’re getting enough positive momentum that we finish in front on the scoreboard.”
Simpson face a tougher test this week when they play away at South Colac.
The Kangaroos are 2-1 from their first three games, having narrowly lost to Alvie in round two, and Beard said his side anticipated a tough battle.
“We’re under no illusions, this one will be hard to win, but we’ll aim to be competitive,” he said.
“We need to remember what we talked about going into the year, that we wanted to be competitive and play finals, so to be in the conversation with teams like South Colac and Alvie is more than we anticipated.”
The side is also holding on to one of its main pre-season goals, to build a sense of community around the club and get the supporters involved.
“It’s about building confidence in the community to get out and socialise and be a part of the club,” Beard said.
“We’re loving where it’s going, loving everybody’s support from the whole community, as a club we really appreciate that.”
In other CDFL games Alvie won away at Lorne by three points, Irrewarra-Beeac defeated Apollo Bay, Western Eagles lost to Otway Districts by 94 points, and South Colac beat Imperials on Sunday.
