North Sunshine had to think outside the square to compete with premiership contenders Newport Power in the WRFL division 3 at Bryan Martyn Oval on Saturday.
The Roadrunners’ injury-plagued campaign was compounded with five reserves players needing to be called up to senior level for one of the toughest assignments in the competition.
Despite the Roadrunners being undermanned and the obvious class gap, they could be proud of their competitiveness for most of the game, even if it ended in a 63-point loss.
Roadrunners coach Joe Larizza told Star Weekly that despite the loss, he was happy with the way his players fought.
“We drifted in the second quarter and they piled on the goals, but apart from that, we were not that bad at all,” he said.
With a full team available, North Sunshine is not afraid to pull the trigger on an attacking brand of football.
The Roadrunners are a potent side when in full flight. They are ranked fifth in points for, even though they are third last on the ladder with just three wins.
Larizza knew a shoot-out with Newport would have ended in a lopsided scoreline, so he implored his players to reel in their attacking instincts for three hours and play tempo football instead.
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The Roadrunners did that for three quarters – the first, third and fourth – and there was little to separate the sides in those quarters.
Beau Mikas was dangerous with three goals, while utility Brenton Cooper and defender Danny Walsh were impressive.
In the second quarter, the Roadrunners played into the Power’s hands by collectively letting their natural instincts take over.
“We played slow, chip it around football, which isn’t usually us, but we did that for three quarters and it worked well,” Larizza said.
“The second quarter, they put the pressure on and we thought we could run with them – and that’s where we made the mistake.”
North Sunshine will finish in the bottom three, with Larizza hoping 2016 will be remembered as a foundation for success.
After three years as coach, Larizza’s position is up in the air as he weighs how much time he has left to give after family and business commitments. Whether it’s Larizza or someone else at the helm, his message to the playing group is to stick together and success will come.
“If this group stick around the next couple of years, you’ll see North Sunshine turn right around,” he said. “It has already turned around, culture-wise and winning games. I think they’ll be real good if they stick together.”
