TALL forwards have been scarce property in Adam Matheson’s reign as coach, but South Rovers’ newest target has wasted no time asserting his dominance.
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Forward Corey McLaren booted five majors in his Warrnambool and District Football Netball League return on Saturday, helping Rovers condemn Panmure to a 73-point defeat.
It meant Nathan Krepp’s four-goal haul was second fiddle on the scorecard. But coach Adam Matheson said both forwards were equally dominant.
However, he warned against reliance on the duo and urged his small forwards and midfielders to stay on their toes.
“It was fantastic to have Corey firing, I think he kicked three goals in the first term and that really set the ball rolling for us,” the second-year mentor said.
“Kreppy chimed in with a few in the last and I think 12 goalkickers all up. It’s nice to have some key forwards but we won’t be relying just on them.
“We want the midfielders and small forwards to keep trying to convert on the scoreboard.”
While Rovers notched a comfortable triumph, Matheson said the 25.12 (162) to 12.17 (89) scoreline “flattered” his side.
“We were pleased with the majority of the game but it was by no means easy at any stage,” he said.
“I thought our defensive pressure was sharp and I hate to harp on about last season, but back then we couldn’t stop teams kicking four, five or six goals in a spell of momentum.
“I don’t think Panmure kicked more than two in a row here. Maybe that means we’re maturing as a group. There were a lot of pleasing things to take out of that game.”
Panmure coach Tim Condon said he’d taken solace out of the Bulldogs’ 29 scoring shots – a marked increase on their average from last season.
“We were averaging five or six goals a week sometimes last season and now, we really want to be pushing for at least 10 goals a game,” Condon said.
“To have 29 shots on goal is a good result for us. We’ve always been quite good defensively but it’s a bit of a catch 22.
“To have a good defence but to only kick five goals yourself isn’t enough. We just needed a bit more composure going into the forward 50 because we missed a few easy shots.”
South Rovers faces Allansford next Saturday.