By: Tash Gunawardana
VERMONT is atop the Premier Division ladder with 12 wins and one loss, with a two-game gap on second-placed Balwyn.
The Eagles were challenged on the weekend against fellow top-four team Blackburn, but a strong second half steered them to a 20-point victory.
Senior coach Harmit Singh spoke to EFL Sunday after his side’s solid comeback win, where they kicked 10 goals to five after half time.
“We were just a bit more efficient in the second half than what we were in the first half,” Singh said.
“Credit to Blackburn for the amount of heat they put on the ball.”
Inaccurate goal kicking has been a trend throughout the season for Vermont and it was no different on the weekend, kicking 13.21.
“I think it was a bit of a problem at the start of the year, we did tidy it up around the time we played South Croydon (in) that middle block of games but we would have liked to kick straighter (on Saturday),” Singh said.
“Obviously some of those shots were gettable (and) a lot of our mids and forwards have been working hard at their craft of goal kicking but it can become a mental thing (too).
“I think in the last quarter we kicked a couple of set shots, which sort of helped us to put the game away.”
Ruckman Robbie Ross and midfielder Mitch Honeychurch have been amongst the Eagles’ best throughout 2019.
Robbie Ross contests the ruck on the weekend. PHOTO: Davis Harrigan Photography/EFL Media
“Robbie has been absolutely fantastic for us, he would have probably rucked about 90 per cent of the game (on Saturday) and had a little chop-out from Cam Purdy and Matty Willcocks throughout the game but he was terrific,” Singh said.
“He’s incredibly professional with how he goes about his footy and he’s been influential I feel from the games we played and he did have a significant injury and has come back from that really strongly so we’re pleased with how he’s going.
“In terms of ‘Mitchy’ (Mitch Honeychurch), I think he probably played more forward this year and still has been in our best players eight or nine times, so he has got the ability to (play) a small forward role, which he had done a fair bit at the Doggies with the amount of depth they had through the midfield.
“He went through a number of centre bounces yesterday.”
Singh says Luke and Robbie McComb and have also been terrific for the Eagles this season.
“Within that inner ring, their impact has been profound,” he said.
The team-first attitude at the Eagles has also been pleasing to Singh.
“Mitch Honeychurch has been a regular who has just been doing the team thing and its good with someone of his experience and footy credentials,” he said.
The Eagles have played a number of close games, but Singh does not want his side to be complacent.
“You would just get shown up time and time again where you drop away standards that give you those strong performances,” he said
“I think the thing about the group is that they are really level-headed around where we are at and what we want to do and things that we clearly want to get better at, which we will review from the weekend’s game.”
The Eagles’ internal competition for spots is strong at present, with the club’s senior and reserve sides both entrenched in the top four.
“Our reserves had a great win (last Saturday) and there are a number of players who are just craving an opportunity that we can hopefully be able to provide them over the next couple of weeks,” Singh said.
Vermont has won the third quarter on 12 occasions this season, as it did again last Saturday after trailing the Burners at half-time.
“We used the main break to just tidy up a few things and even yesterday we did the same thing,” Singh said.
“The response was really strong and to have a group that are fit and can run generally we run out our games reasonably well, it was a pleasing response.
“It was a really tough contest yesterday and there is a lot of mutual respect between both teams and I have no doubt we will be seeing Blackburn later on in the year.”
Vermont plays Noble Park this Saturday at Pat Wright Senior Oval.
