Northcote Park coach Matt McLennan believes his first-placed side is still yet to reach its full potential this season.
Northcote Park jumped into top spot on the Meadows Greyhounds Division 1 ladder following a comfortable 50-point win over Montmorency in Round 6.
It was the fifth-consecutive match the Cougars have won, recording their past four victories by an average of 58 points.
Not much is going wrong for the Cougars, but senior coach Matt McLennan believes his side hasn’t yet reached its full potential in 2017 – a scary prospect for the rest of the competition.
“I can still see a lot of scope for improvement in the group,” McLennan told NFL.org.au.
“We’re still not firing at all cylinders.”
In his first season as senior coach, McLennan was driven to create a culture at Bill Lawry Oval that would be the envy of other football clubs.
“One of my main key requirements from the footy club when I came on board was that they’ll worry about the business side of things, and I’ll worry about the footy side of things,” he said.
“Our initial thought was to really improve the culture and getting back to being just a real basic footy club. I think we’ve done that really well so far.
“We’ve got a really young list and they’re all enjoying their footy at the moment. I really wanted to make it a really happy place to be.”
Northcote Park currently has a percentage of 159.69, which is more than 20 per cent more than the next best team.
It is that strong percentage which puts it first on the ladder, above fellow 5-1 sides Macleod and Bundoora.
“We’ve been getting 100 points nearly every week, so we can definitely kick goals, but we’ve also got some very good defenders,” McLennan said of his team’s balance.
However, it’s the Cougars’ ability to transition from a different game plan than that used in 2016 which has ultimately impressed the new coach.
“We’ve changed our set ups and have put players in different positions than what they were maybe used to with the last coach,” McLennan said.
“But credit goes to the boys, they’ve hit the ground running and I really couldn’t have asked for a better start.”
Northcote Park is set up for game of the round this weekend when it hosts third-placed Bundoora at Bill Lawry Oval ahead of the Queen’s Birthday weekend break.
“It’s a little bit mouth-watering for local footy this week,” McLennan said.
“Us versus Bundoora is going to be an absolute belter, two really strong attacking teams who should both feature strongly later in the year.
“I think we’ll match up really well. Both teams have always had a really good rivalry, not spiteful, but both teams tend to lift.”
Despite sitting on top of the Meadows Greyhounds Division 1 ladder, McLennan is still aware of how close the competition is following a couple of upset results in Round 6.
“The competition is as tight as it’s ever been in a long time. You just don’t know what you’re going to get,” he said.
“I’m really cautious of poking the bear. I don’t know who the bear is each week, but very cautious of staying humble and just doing what we need to do each week.”
There’s still plenty of footy yet to be played this season, but the Cougars are hopeful they can retain a position near the top of the ladder for the remainder of the season as they look for a top-three finish to the home and away season for the first time in over a decade.
“Our early goals were to play finals and I think we’re well on the way to that, but double chance was always my personal aim,” McLennan said.
“When we’re up and going I think we’ll be difficult for anyone to stop.”
