AFTER two bad losses plus suspension and injury worries, surely
things can't get much worse for the Devils?
Oh, yes, they can, Devils coach Mathew Armstrong warned yesterday in
the build-up to Saturday's VFL clash with top side the Northern Bullants at
Bellerive Oval.
After giving his side the biggest bake in years for last week's
25-point away loss to previously winless Bendigo, Armstrong warned the ask
would only go up against the tough and tall Bullants.
``They were the side which made us look second-rate in last season's
second semi here when they flogged us by 73 points,'' he said.
``At present, only about two of our top 20 are in form and they are
Ken Hall and Brett Geappen.
``We need the likes of Ian Callinan, Ben Atkin, Justin Plapp and Ben
Careless to lift.''
He said Callinan -- a heavily marked man by opposition sides since
winning last year's J.J. Liston Trophy -- needed to find new ways to shake
his tags and would get every help from the Devils' brains trust to do so.
Armstrong has a lot of respect for the Bullants' formidable mixture
of aerial domination and running power.
``They've got talls like Adrian Deluca, Setanta O'hAilpin, Barnaby
French, Justin Crow, Callum Chambers, Luke Livingston and Jordan Bannister,
who go from from 202cm to 190cm, and nearly all of them are smart over the
ground.''
He bemoaned the recent loss of centre half-back Nathan Grima, who is
serving a four-match sentence for striking in the home loss to reigning
premier Sandringham.
``Nathan had been playing some terrific footy up to that point and
we're really missing him at the moment,'' Armstrong said.
``We've had 22 goals kicked against us in each of our past two games
and you can't expect to win them when you're conceding that many.''
In contrast, he is disappointed by the Devils' poor conversion rate
up forward, a problem exacerbated by the loss of big Trent Bartlett with a
fractured ankle.
``We've got to learn to finish our work around goals and make the
most of our chances, otherwise good sides will make us pay for it,''
Armstrong said
Last Modified on 23/05/2006 14:39