Western Bulldogs coach Paul Groves is not ready to concede his team’s AFL Women’s flag chances are over just yet.
The Bulldogs have dug a massive hole for themselves, losing consecutive games to be 1-2 for the season.
In a short seven-game season with only two of eight teams qualifying for the grand final, one more loss is likely to consign the Bulldogs to the scrap heap for 2017.
“Our losses haven’t been by huge margins,” Groves said after Saturday’s 14-point loss to Melbourne at the Victoria University Whitten Oval. If we can get a bit of momentum and some wins on the board, a couple of big wins, potentially with two losses you can still make it.
“Two losses isn’t ideal. I certainly would rather be 2-1 or 3-0, but we spoke to the girls, kept it pretty positive and are just looking to bounce back. The talent is in my squad, so we can certainly have a crack at it.”
The first matter of urgency for the Bulldogs is making a return to the winners’ list.
The Bulldogs have been outplayed by Adelaide and Melbourne on their home turf in the past fortnight and face a must-win game back at the Whitten Oval on Saturday night.
An issue for Groves is the unbalanced look of the Bulldogs line-up in the past two games.
A handful of players, led by ball magnets Emma Kearney and Ellie Blackburn, have been dominant, but too many players have shown just flashes, failing to produce four-quarter performances.
“They’re bloody good players, both super- competitors,” Groves said of Kearney and Blackburn, who both amassed over 25 disposals on Saturday.
“They sort of fight and get even better when the chips are down. We’ve got a lot of ability in our squad; we’re just not seeing the impact from a lot of the girls at different stages.”
Lauren Spark read the play better than most and was outstanding in the aerial duels across half back for the Bulldogs.
Hannah Scott was resolute defensively and damaging with ball in hand, while Kirsty Lamb was willing to throw her body on the line.
Another 10 Bulldogs could point to a quarter here and there as having an impact, but few had a consistent impact over four quarters.
Much like the Adelaide game a week earlier, Groves couldn’t help but be impressed by the visiting Melbourne.
“Their older stars ‘Paxy’ [Karen Paxman], Daisy [Pearce] and Elise O’Dea played bloody good footy,” he said.
“We can control the footy. We’ve got some really good kicks in the team, but their pressure was really good and forced us into making mistakes by foot.”
