FIRST-YEAR North Warrnambool Eagles mentor ADAM Dowie is hopeful centre half-back Tom Batten may only miss one game after he sustained an injury on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 30-year-old limped off with a hamstring injury in the second quarter of the Eagles' victory over Cobden.
Dowie said he expected the influential leader not to miss much football with North Warrnambool's upcoming fixture.
"We don't play next weekend (because of the Easter break) and I think it would be unlikely that he plays against Terang Mortlake the week after," he said.
Besides the injury, Dowie said he was pleased with how his side had responded from its draw at home to Portland last weekend.
"We were better with the ball, holding it for longer and we probably played the way we need to play," he said.
"That was the most pleasing aspect of the win and it reflected on the scoreboard. We had a good, even spread of goal-kickers."
Dowie said his side still needed to improve the way it entered the forward line after recording over 60 entries for 40 scoring shots.
"We need to be predictable to ourselves and unpredictable to opposition," he said.
"We took 16 marks inside 50 and had a good number scoring shots and our inside 50 ratio was good. Again our inaccuracy is probably a reflection on where we are having shots from.
"It's the start of the year and these are areas where we can get better at that."
Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.