Tara Murray
Greenvale has set the tone for the rest of its Essendon District Football League premier division season.
After just three wins in the first half of the season, the Jets showed what they can do against Keilor on the weekend.
The Jets had to settle with the draw against the Blues, who were on top of the ladder at the time, but showed some good signs.
Jets coach Darren Bewick said the performance was something they could build on.
“It’s a bit disappointing as we had opportunities to win the game,” he said.
“We had been building up to that performance and it’s something we can kick start the second half of the season.
“We had a draw against the top side and had an opportunity to win. It’s something we’ll learn from.
Bewick said the result gave the club a little bit of a boost, considering the side they were putting out on the park at the moment.
He said on the weekend they were missing eight to 10 players out, including four or five with season ending injuries.
Addam Maric, Cameron Tudor, Ryan Townsend, Dervis Akkus, Kurtis Sanajko and Nick Maric were among those missing on the weekend.
“We had eight to 10 out of the first 18,” he said. “But by the same token we had two boys play their second and third games on the weekend.
“Boys are getting opportunities they usually wouldn’t get which is good for the future.
“Marcus Jaap and Kye Short are two-18-years-olds. Kye played under-18s earlier in the season. It gives hope to those other boys that they can play seniors.””
The Jets sit seventh on the ladder after 10 rounds, two and a half games outside the top four.
Bewick said they were disappointed with the first half of the season, even though they had been decimated by injury.
He said they were hoping things would only be on the up from here on in. He said they were expecting a couple of players back from injury this week.
“The performances have been improving the last three to four weeks,” he said.
“There’s a lot of upside. We have to keep the competitive edge and improve the way we move the ball.
“We have put things in place. We have to be hard to play against and play some really hard football.”
The Jets are set to face Glenroy this Saturday.
