Reservoir coach Aaron Collins has praised his players for the hard work they have displayed throughout a difficult 2017 season.
The Mustangs came from behind to defeat Laurimar by 24 points at a windy Crispe Park in Round 15, to salute for their first win of the Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 campaign.
It was also the club’s first victory since downing Epping in the 2015 Division 3 grand final.
Collins said his side’s first win since returning from last year’s recess took longer than he anticipated, but felt the victory was a credit to the playing group’s resilience.
“There was that opportunity that we could win this game, so they were pretty switched on, focussed and I think they’re getting to know each other a bit more too,” Collins told NFL.org.au
“It was a good build up but had taken a little longer than I thought.”
Reservoir was left ruing missed opportunities in the first half and trailed by 20 points at the main break.
But it was the side’s third quarter effort that left its coach proud.
Kicking into a stiff breeze the Mustangs kicked four goals to one to reduce the deficit to one point at three quarter time, before surging clear in the final term in front of a strong home crowd.
“It was a very disappointing first half, we had most of the play but just couldn’t hit the scoreboard,” Collins said.
“Our third quarter was just fantastic against the wind. It was the best quarter they’ve played all year. They worked really hard to knuckle down and just kept pushing and tackling. It was fantastic.
“Our pressure was unbelievable, I was really proud.”
After working hard to put together a new playing list at the start of the year and having to overcome many heavy defeats throughout the season, the win meant a lot to everyone involved at the club.
“Definitely (it is worth more than four points). It’s been a long time and a lot of hard work for everybody at the club,” Collins said.
“It was like a bit of weight was lifted off our shoulders.”
Collins also praised the strong mindset shown by his young group to not give up in what has been a difficult season.
“That’s where you’ve got to give credit to this side. They’ve copped a lot of floggings, a lot of barrage, but they keep coming to training and keep working hard,” he said.
With upcoming matches against Epping, Mernda and Kilmore to finish off the season, the focus for the Mustangs now is to maintain consistent performances and build on the Round 15 win.
Collins is also adamant that the future is bright for the club.
“We want to finish off the year really consistent. We don’t want those heavy defeats,” Collins said.
“If we can be consistent over these three games and just show something, we’ll be happy with that.
“It makes it a lot easier when somebody sees that we’re actually growing and that we’re actually getting somewhere.
“I hope that helps with recruiting for next year. We’re getting stronger.”
Reservoir travels to Epping Recreation Reserve to take on the fourth-placed Blues this Saturday.
