By: Joseph Arthur
DONCASTER is taking significant strides in righting the ship as the season comes to an end.
A win over the weekend against North Ringwood saw Doncaster continue its improved form of the last month and with only two games to go, senior coach Stewart Kemperman wants to end the year on a high.
”For our guys we were able to put in a four quarter performance….an application which in those conditions, is what you need to get the job done,” Kemperman said.
Playing on a drenched Quambee Reserve, Doncaster managed to put together a strong first term and set the tone early, something the club has struggled to do for most of the season.
“It looks easy on paper, but it was a slog and both teams put a lot of effort into that first quarter particularly and we were able to take the opportunities we created,” Kemperman said.
“I think that’s sort of what it boiled down to, you know, we created the opportunities but we were actually able to execute and put that scoreboard pressure on.
“We haven’t probably hit that mark as best we could so far, but we’ll continue to work on that and see what we can do to improve in the last few games.”
For Kemperman, his first year at the helm has been full of ups and downs, injuries and players going overseas made the task difficult for the club earlier in the year.
Kemperman said it’s been nice to get some players back over the last few weeks, yet still feels as though the Sharks aren’t quite 100 per cent.
“Yeah we’ve had a couple come back (from injury) into the side of late, though we still seem to lose a few and gain a few in that sort of way,” he said.
“We’re starting to get some guys back but we just can’t seem to keep everyone together on the park.
“It will be nice when we do have a full complement – hopefully at the start of next year.”
The club hit a low-point in the middle of the year when it didn’t have enough players to field a reserves side.
Kemperman said it really hit the club hard, but he’s been happy with how the club and the people within it have responded and steadied things in the latter-half of the season.
“It was a really disappointing week for us, it wasn’t an easy decision to make and it was a very emotional decision,” Kemperman said.
“I think at that point in time we had 34 players unavailable.
“As a low-point, that was definitely it and from there we’ve been working hard to make sure we’ve got that consistency of effort in terms of players being able to apply themselves for games in the reserves.”
With two games left for the year, the Sharks are out of finals contention but still have a chance to impact the final five.
Doncaster’s two remaining games are against South Croydon and Norwood – two sides fighting for that last finals spot – and wins for Doncaster could really shake things up.
Kemperman said he hopes to see a good showing from his men in both games and continue to build momentum going into next season.
“We expect to put in strong performances and keep building on the strong performances we’ve been putting out in the last half of the year and ultimately we’re aiming to win,” Kemperman said.
“It’s about continuing to grow as a group in the remaining games of the year.”
EFL SUNDAY PODCAST | Listen to Doncaster coach Stewart Kemperman’s full interview here.
