THIS Saturday’s game against Red Cliffs is almost a must-win for the Magpies as they look to keep pace with the top four, but co-coach Vinni Rodi says there’s time for Merbein to string together wins in what he says is the closest competition in years.
The Magpies face Red Cliffs at Kenny Park on Saturday with more urgency than when the sides met almost exactly a year ago.
Merbein were unbeaten with four wins and a draw heading into their 2021 clash, which they won by a six-goal margin before finishing the season on a 7-2 record.
But the side has struggled with in-game lapses on its way to a 2-4 record nearing the halfway point of the season.
Ahead of a round 8 clash with what he deemed an “exciting” Red Cliffs team, Rodi said the Magpies understood the significance of the next couple of weeks for the season.
“The urgency’s there,” Rodi said. “We know as a group that we need to win the next few or that’s probably it for finals for this year.”
Rodi said the difference between a positive record in the remaining 11 games would depend on the Magpies playing with more “effort and intensity” from start to finish.
“In all the losses we’ve had this season besides Irymple, we’ve been up by four to six goals, and we’ve lapsed,” Rodi said. “We’ve only played half games in those losses.”
But sides twice qualified for the top four with nine losses (in 2012 and 2013), and Rodi believed there was a greater margin for error in 2022 despite Merbein’s sense of urgency.
“This has probably been the most competitive Sunraysia football has been for a while, so you’re gonna need to be on your game every week.”
Merbein has had to change its line-up following a suspension to Ben Trivett and injury to Sam Brinsmead, who faces an uncertain playing future due to a neck injury.
Rodi said the Magpies have also struggled to develop continuity as it dealt with the departure of players such as Josh Carmichael and Jarrod Buckley, along with the absence of Daniel Tung.
“You probably don’t consider those guys make that much of a difference,” Rodi said. “But structurally, we probably lacked a little bit.”
Rodi said he and co-coach Joe Cavallo, who took over coaching duties from Buckley, would continue to tweak structures and game plans and hoped to see more improvement.
“It’s been a challenge for us to put a finger on what was going wrong and trying to identify what’s happening not only for Joe and I, but the playing group as well.
“It’s just been a whole new learning (experience) for everyone to be honest,” Rodi said. “It’s been a totally different group and totally different plan.”
The Magpies prevailed in cold, windy conditions against Imperials last Saturday to register their second win for the season. Rodi said while it wasn’t a “pretty” win, the result gave the playing group a boost of “belief”.
“When you go on a losing streak for a little while and you get a win, it makes a makes a big difference around the group and how everyone’s feeling,” he said.
Red Cliffs coach Chris Lee said prior to the season that the Tigers would roll the dice and take risks to capitalise on its youth, and Rodi said “respecting” this run was the key to the Magpies getting on top.
“It’s really trying to stop their flow because when they do get a couple on the board, they celebrate their good work and seem to be on the right path.
Rodi said Ash Rowe, Zach Webb and Vincent Tassone would need to control the flow of the game in the midfield, but the Magpies would also need to convert their opportunities in front of goal.
“Accuracy has been an issue for us this year,” Rodi said of a Magpies team which has kicked 53.65 this season. “So just trying to convert opportunities and limit theirs.
“We’ve tried to do a little more kicking (at training) than you usually would, but as every footballer would know, it’s different when there’s a crowd and you’re playing on game day, and it actually means something.”
