PANMURE’S dreams of playing finals football are dashed, but coach Joe Kenna says reclaiming pride is a key motivator in the final month of competition.
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Kenna’s men fended off a challenge from their “bogey side” in East Warrnambool on Saturday, recording a 72-point trouncing.
It lifted Panmure to seventh spot, with injury-plagued Dennington slipping to eighth.
Panmure, however, is still 14 points from fifth-place with just three games remaining.
“We’ve still got a lot to play for in the next couple of weeks. When we played Merrivale earlier on in the year, it was a poor game for us,” Kenna said.
“It’s about gaining respect back next week. They gave us a touch up earlier on and it’s about pride while we’re playing at home so we’ll definitely be trying to get a win.”
Kenna said the Bulldogs were able to overcome a mental hurdle in claiming the four points from the Bombers.
“(East) are a real bogey side for us. We had problems with them last year, and we know they’re hard to stop with a run on,” Kenna said.
“We spoke prior to the game about warming up and being switched on, because we’ve been disappointed with the last two games against Russells Creek and Dennington.
“They love that contested footy and Danny (Chatfield) has them playing well.
It’s about gaining respect back next week. They gave us a touch up earlier on and it’s about pride while we’re playing at home
- Joe Kenna
“They obviously respect him a lot up there. It was definitely a game we were worried about.”
The second-year coach said smart use of football while heading inside the forward arc was the catalyst for the victory.
“We’ve found that our backs have been reliable in bringing the ball out from defence, but we’ve been struggling when we’re getting centre forward,” Kenna said.
“We tend to waste the ball a lot, kicking sideways and burning our forwards by not honouring their leads.
“In training, we’ve tried to sharpen that area and we’re playing more direct now. Not blazing away, but using our options and giving our forwards a chance.”
Panmure’s success was crafted by midfielder Shaun Griffin and Brandon Bant, who played a career-best game.
Kenna reserved his highest praise for the duo, but also hailed key forward Sam Melican.
“He kicked five goals and is just really getting better as the weeks go on,” he said.
“He had a great game for us.”
Panmure plays Merrivale next week, while East Warrnambool has a bye.