MERRIVALE coach Karl Dwyer says his men must get better at winning the contested ball if they are to defend their Warrnambool and District league premiership.
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The Tigers must take the long road to the decider after losing to Dennington in the second semi-final on Saturday, 10.11 (71) to 7.7 (49).
“I suppose a lot of it comes down to not a lot of blokes winning their positions,” Dwyer said.
“They seemed to win most of that contested footy, they seemed to be pretty good around there and they were dangerous once they flicked it out. Their attack and their want was better than ours at the end of the day.”
He noted the Tigers “got going a little bit” in the third term “but it felt like hard work all day”.
“We never played great footy and credit goes to them and their pressure,” he said.
Ruckman Manny Sandow was the Tigers’ best while defenders Jack Gleeson and Seamus Blake also contributed well. But exacerbating the defeat was a suspected mild concussion to Jack Grace.