The Tigers knew they had a prime opportunity to get the monkey off their back against the Lions, who are now one of three teams in Kyabram District League football without a win heading into round five.
Rushworth made its intentions clear early with an even kicking game in the first quarter (7.7) while smothering Undera’s (1.1) efforts inside 50.
This defensive tenacity extended into the second period as Undera could only eke out two more behinds before half-time while the Tigers continued on their merry way with a 3.4 quarter to take a 62-point lead.
Following the major break, the Lions (2.5) showed their grit, but it was incomparable to the damage Rushworth (5.1) was doing down the other end.
A big sticking point for Rushworth coach Mark Wheatley in the first few rounds of the season was the Tigers’ ability to play all four quarters.
And they finally delivered.
A 3.2 final push from the hosts was enough to hold on to their substantial lead down the stretch, despite Undera (3.2) matching their efforts.
The 76-point statement victory on its own deck was precisely what the doctor ordered for Rushworth with 12 individual goal-kickers making the scalp a true team effort.
In the lead up to the match against Undera, Wheatley emphasised his desire for Rushworth to play the entire game, and he believes his team met those expectations.
“The aim for us this week was to start well and put in four good quarters and we accomplished that, especially kicking seven goals in the first quarter and putting the game beyond doubt after that,” he said.
“It was a really great performance from the whole team, we had 13 goal-kickers and some of our passages of play were precisely what we’ve been looking for in training, so it was nice to get some fruits for our labour.
“Obviously, the work is never done and we look forward to playing Tallygaroopna this weekend, but we enjoyed the win and made for a great atmosphere around the club.”
In round five’s contest with the Redlegs, Wheatley emphasised his philosophy of never taking a team lightly, regardless of its situation.
“There are no easy games for us, we can’t afford to take it easy against everyone and we understand where they are at, but on their home deck, they’re a different beast,” he said.
“We don’t take any opposition lightly because it is disrespectful, so we will be doing the work this week to be prepared to hopefully get another win in the books.”
The age-old saying of ‘a coach is never happy’ rang true with Wheatley, who outlined some key areas that his side could improve on moving forward.
“There’s always something to work on, a coach is never happy, so there are plenty of new challenges to face,” he said.
“It’s mainly just a few passages of play and not using our numbers effectively around the ball in the second half is something we need to rectify quickly.
“There’s definitely areas in our ball movement against stronger teams that we need to sort out, but it is a step in the right direction.”
Despite these areas that the team can work on, Wheatley named some of his best players in the match, while also giving credit to not only the senior side, but all the other Rushworth teams in netball and football who scored wins.
“I thought Dylan Arnold, Jackson McRae, Liam Francis, Liam Adlington and Shaun Young were just a few of the players that put in excellent performances, it was difficult to divvy up votes because we didn’t have a poor player on the ground,” he said.
“Everyone is feeling the energy and the vibe at the club right now and to solidify that with a great weekend from almost all of our teams across football and netball is fantastic.”
