Caroline Springs fans will need a little bit of patience.
The Lakers thought they were ready to go after an encouraging pre-season under new coach Brodie Holland and a big first-up win over Albion, which was later taken away on a technicality, but consecutive losses to St Albans and Hoppers Crossing have forced a re-think.
Perhaps the gelling of the team will need more time, particularly with a daunting road trip to come against undefeated ladder leader Werribee Districts this Saturday.
“It will take a little bit of time,” Lakers football manager Marc Raak said.
“How much time? I’m not really sure.
“I think there was about eight new players in our side that have played about three games together, so it might take a little bit of adjustment, but hopefully it’s not too far away.
“We just need to keep working hard on the track and I’m sure we’ll start to get some wins.”
The connection was just not there for Caroline Springs in a disappointing 49-point loss to Hoppers Crossing at the Town Centre Oval on Saturday.
The Lakers turned the ball over time and again and were punished severely for their errors.
“We had a lot of opportunities, but we need to use the ball a bit better going deep inside 50,” Raak said.
“We just need to get that little bit of polish to finish off because we’ve got some key forwards there that are at times not getting the opportunities.”
It has been a frustrating start to the season for Caroline Springs.
The Lakers only victory was taken away after they exceeded the allowable player points cap, which saw their score reset to zero and the four points shipped off to Albion.
After chatting with the players about the points issue, Raak insists their reaction was that it would act as a spur rather than a cloud hovering over them for the remainder of the season.
“It probably made us a bit more determined now to really strive through,” Raak said.
“We want to show the competition that we’re not just going to take one good win and drop back.
“We’ll keep fronting up.”
There were some positives to come out of Caroline Springs’ disappointing loss to Hoppers Crossing.
The move of Lewis Tudor to defence has been a winner so far.
Tudor is unique in that he can play on talls and smalls.
A ruckman last year, he found himself in the last line of defence against Hoppers and nullified dangerous small forward Jordan Mead.
“We thought Lewis’ job on him was superb,” Raak said.
“Lewis is one of the quickest at our football club, he can jump, he’s got pace and can close down really well.
“It was a mismatch in height, but it reaped great results for us.”
