Kilmore coach Nathan Phillips says finals are on his side’s agenda following a promising start to the Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 season.
After last year recording just two wins in its maiden year in the Northern Football League, the Blues have been impressive early in 2017, with just percentage separating them from the top-four.
Heading into their first bye for the season with a 4-4 record, the Blues have made a vast improvement from a disappointing 2016 campaign – an improvement which, according to their senior coach, stems from increased fitness and recruiting methods.
“I think we recruited the right guys who play a northern football brand of footy,” Phillips told NFL.org.au.
“We also got really fit over the pre-season which has helped us really stick out the four quarters. Even in the games we’ve lost where teams have had a jump on us, we’ve been able to at least maintain a margin as opposed to letting it blow out.”
The Blues are well positioned at the Queen’s Birthday break following a 40-point win over Laurimar in Round 8.
Despite finishing second-last in 2016 and losing two games by more than 70 points early this season, there has been enough effort throughout the opening half of the year that has Kilmore ambitious about its finals chances.
“At the start our goal was to have a winning season, but now it’s finals,” Phillips said.
“We know our percentage is very poor, so for us to make finals it’s going to take a fair effort. We have to win games as opposed to being on the same amount of wins and relying on percentage.
“We definitely want to play finals this year.”
Kilmore is the only side in Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 that is yet to have a bye.
Its first bye takes place in Round 9, directly after the Queen’s Birthday break, giving the club two weeks to reset and prepare for what will be a critical second half of the season.
Phillips is remaining optimistic about how the extended break can aid his side.
“It’s actually probably come at the perfect time for us. We’ve got a lot of injuries at the minute so it’s giving those guys a chance to recoup and get their bodies right,” he said.
“We have to hit the track hard to maintain a level of fitness – a bit of a mini pre-season.
“I hope it will work in our favour but that remains to be seen.”
Kilmore is also keen on rectifying a few disappointing results that occurred early in the season, specifically heavy losses to Heidelberg West and South Morang, with Phillips claiming his side can only go in an upward direction from this point.
“We’ve got 10-12 new blokes at the club, so as the weeks go on we’ll only become better as a team, start to understand each other’s game a bit better and be able to maintain our game plans for longer,” he said.
“I’m confident we can maintain what we’ve been doing. We’re only going to get better.”
Kilmore faces two important games after its Round 9 bye against the two teams it is currently sandwiched by on the ladder.
In Round 10 the Blues are off to Heidelberg Park to take on fourth-placed Heidelberg West, before hosting sixth-placed Epping at J.J. Clancy Reserve in Round 11.
