Tara Murray
Braybrook is hoping to lay the foundations for the future this year in the Western Region Football League division 2.
The Brookers, who won the division 3 premiership last season, have struggled so far in the higher grade, after a number of off season departures.
After six rounds, the Brookers sit in seventh spot without a win.
Coach Geoff Maddern said it had been tough so far.
“The goal for us is to improve and set ourselves up to go forward next year and do better,” he said.
“We’ve been in games for patches and for lengths of time we have been competitive, which hasn’t necessarily reflected on the score line.
“Injuries have hurt us a little bit too.
For Maddern, who only took on the role weeks out from the season, he has been learning as he goes. He replaced premiership winning coach John Mangos.
He said there’s a good base to build from.
“It’s a long process and it will take some time to fully understand everyone,” he said.
“They’re a fantastic group as well as administration. They’ve been great from the start and we’ve got a good foundation.”
The Brookers had the bye on the weekend.
Maddern said while unsure if it had come at a good time, it would hopefully allow them to get a few players back from injury this Saturday.
Having played everyone else, the Brookers now have a measuring stick of their improvement. He said consistency was a big key for them.
“We can see where we need to improve,” he said.
“We need to play better for longer. We’ve fiddled with a few things and played some players out of position to see what other things people can do.
“It’s a great foundation. We go through again, with different conditions, different grounds.
“We can now measure things.”
The Brookers this Saturday face Parkside.
