Tara Murray
Hillside did just enough to get over the line against Roxburgh Park in the Essendon District Football League division 1 contest on Saturday.
The ladder leading Sharks were pushed all the way by the Magpies and were able to hold on in the final quarter, winning 11.14 (80)-11.9 (75).
Sharks coach Chris Daley was a relieved man after the result.
“We had a few players out but the side on the park still read well,” he said. “Roxburgh Park was good for a long period of time.
“For us to get the win, I was pretty happy and relieved. There was a bit of perseverance and a little bit more class across the field.”
Daley said they were pretty ordinary in the first half before working back into the game in the third quarter.
With a three goal lead at three quarter time, it seemed like it would be a question of how far ahead would the Sharks go.
The Magpies found a couple of goals to bring it back to within a goal. The Sharks were able to do enough to be in front at the end.
Daley said some of the players they had brought in during the off season in Fort Caruso and Rob Castello were among those to show their class and finishing skills in the final quarter.
“We had to dig deep and with Josh Covelli not having a big game we had to find other avenues to goal.
“Josh only got four goals, so it was a great result for us to still get the win.”
Covelli is now up to 58 goals for the season.
Daley said he’s on track to kick 100 goals for the season but said they need to make sure they’re finding plenty of avenues to goal.
“He lost his passion for footy and we managed to get him to play a few reserves games last season to find the fun of footy.
“We got him back to enjoying footy and he played seniors late in the season. He had a pretty good pre-season, we didn’t get him to do all the stuff.
“I didn’t envision him having nearly 60 goals by round nine, but we can’t have him being the sole avenue otherwise teams will work us out.
“We want our other forwards and mids hitting the scoreboard.”
Lucas Failli, Lachlan Pettigrove and Joseph Careless were named the Sharks best.
The Sharks remain a game clear at the top of the ladder.
They have a bye this weekend.
Daley said with six guys out of the side, the bye comes at a good time.
“We’ve got the bye and then Rupertswood and St Albans,” he said. “We can freshen up a bit.
“We’ve banked enough wins early to set the year up and we’ll be looking to finish top three.
“The double chance will be vital. We’ll fine tune things the next four to five weeks and look to set ourselves up for finals.”
