It was a sombre trip home for the Western Jets, upset by a struggling Gippsland Power by 43 points in the TAC Cup at Morwell on Saturday.
The Jets let a golden opportunity slip against a Power side that had won only one of its first 10 games.
There was a top-eight spot up for grabs for the Jets, but they were out-hustled by a side with no more to play for than pride.
“They were a bit more hungry and wanted it a bit more,” Jets; coach Torin Baker told Star Weekly. “They ran harder and were stronger around the ball.
“That made the difference on the scoreboard.”
Of concern to the Jets was a knee injury to Blake Graham, who sustained damage to his posterior cruciate ligament.
A timeframe for his return will be known after scans this week.
“It depends on the severity, whether it’s grade one or grade three,” Baker said.
“Grade three, that would probably be season out, but if it’s grade one, it could be two to four weeks.”
The Jets were without Nick Stuhldreier for most of the game after he was left dazed following a heavy knock.
A pre-game illness jeopardised the match for Luke Hitch, who was in some doubt when the siren sounded for the first quarter.
But Hitch fought through the pain and produced a game that was good enough to get him into the Jets’ best players.
“Unfortunately, he got crook before the game, but we had to play him for a fair bit,” Baker said. “He battled on as well as he could. It was pretty brave of him to stand up and play a decent game.”
But Baker was blunt in his assessment of players’ performances.
Aside from Oscar Junker’s late impact as a forward, some run and carry from Daniel Foley and the ball-winning ability of Nick Giarrizzo, the vast majority of Jets were down on their usual output.
“We didn’t have anyone of stand-out proportions today,” Baker said.
The Jets will travel to Stawell on Sunday for a tough encounter against fifth-placed North Ballarat Rebels.
