Old Collegians has dropped one match and is sitting second on the ladder, but coach Nick Sheehan says his Warriors have plenty of work to do.
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Sheehan believes his Warrnambool and District league side needs to defend better around stoppages.
"When we don't have the footy, they're (the opposition) quicker to go," he said.
"We're just that split second too slow (to defend)."
"It's easier to run forward and look good with the footy going our way, but it's the little stuff defensively.
"It's about picking them up and trying to get a stoppage or a turnover."
The Warriors will be looking to improve on this aspect of their game when they take on Panmure on Saturday at Davidson Oval.
Meanwhile, Sheehan said he was pleased with how his team was working in attack.
Old Collegians is the second best side offensively this season, having a scored a total of 705 points.
"When you look at our goal-kickers, we've had a big spread," Sheehan said.
"We actually haven't relied on one to kick eight or 10 (goals)."
But the Warriors are ranked fourth for points against this season, having conceded 408 of them.
Sheehan said he knew this was an area his side could work on.
"We're letting them get their goals too easy," he said.
"Especially last week (Russells Creek clash), they kicked goals a lot easier than we did in that first quarter."
He said his midfielders would continue to focus on pressuring the opposition's ball carrier to make it easier for his backmen to defend.
MORE FOOTY:
Old Collegians only loss this season came against top-of-the-table Kolora-Noorat in round two.
After a competitive opening half, the Warriors were blown away in the second and lost by 61 points.
Sheehan said ill discipline cost his team that day.
"Giving free kicks down-field and giving away 50 metre penalties, stuff like that," he said.
"That's what really cost us then."
Sheehan said his team had improved its discipline since that encounter.
The other lesson he took from that match was that the Warriors needed to be better when an opposition has momentum.
On Saturday, Old Collegians will be bolstered by the return of full-forward Michael Darmody, who has been out with a calf injury since round one.
Sheehan, who is in his first year as a senior playing coach, said the top job had been a challenge he enjoyed.
"Early on I struggled to get a kick," he said with a laugh.
"It is a tough gig and I've got a lot of good help around me."
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