By: Joseph Arthur
AFTER an up and down start to the season and some heavy losses to the competition’s stronger sides, questions were asked of Forest Hill’s finals pedigree, but for now those questions have been put on hold.
The Zebras made a statement to the rest of the competition in Round 6, that it can compete with the top tier of Division 4 upsetting strong finals contender Coldstream away from home.
Following a first term in which the Zebras trailed by 13 points, they fought back and came home strong with a four-goal-to-one final term, running away 18 point victors.
Forest Hill playing-coach Justin Scicluna said he knew the match-up with Coldstream was a big opportunity and he mixed things up a little in a bid to find an edge against the opponent.
“It definitely was a big opportunity for the boys, especially after our performance against Silvan, to bounce back against a top-end team who are going to be challenging for finals at the end of the season,” Scicluna said.
“We changed a little bit of our training up during the week and we took in a different game-plan (on Saturday) and to the boys’ credit they executed it to the best of their abilities.
“I was really proud of the boys’ efforts.”
In a division with two clear standout sides in East Burwood and Fairpark undefeated on five and six wins respectively, competition for finals positions is fierce.
Scicluna is aware of this and knows that the margin for error is slim and teams that fall in a hole will struggle to climb out.
“We knew (Saturday) was a massive game for us, as is every week realistically, because we just don’t have any margin for error to be slipping up,” Scicluna said.
“(Saturday) was a real stepping stone to instil a bit of self-belief in the boys that we are good enough to take it up to these better sides.
“That third and fourth spot are going to be battled out for the rest of the season.”
The game itself reflected this sentiment and was battled out all day; only one point separated the two sides at the final change.
Scicluna praised his midfield as the heroes of the day, out-working the opposition and putting in a gutsy performance.
“Our midfield group, who a lot of people have probably been a bit critical of, I thought were just sensational in setting up the game for us,” Scicluna said.
The Zebras were also helped by seven majors from Steve Pimm, who, after starting the day down back, was moved up to his preferred position in the forward line and dominated from there on.
“We actually started him at full back because we just thought we needed to change the dynamic of our forward line a little bit on the bigger ground,” Scicluna said.
“Then we thought ‘nup’ and just put him back to where he does his best work and to his credit, he was sensational for us, I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
One of the few teams yet to face the bye, Forest Hill will have its first only a week prior to the Queen’s Birthday weekend break.
As a result, the Zebras will have a three-week break in the middle of the season in which the squad will desperately need to stay fit in order to retain its form.
“We get three weeks off footy, which probably isn’t ideal but we’ll structure a training program to make sure that the boys still maintain some touch and match fitness,” Scicluna said.
Forest Hill sits outside the top four on percentage in fifth on the Division 4 ladder with a 3-3 record, and hosts eighth-placed Kilsyth this weekend.
EFL SUNDAY PODCAST | Listen to Forest Hill coach Justin Scicluna’s full interview here.
