By Graham Harvey
THREE wins from three is a great way to start the season — there’s no doubt about that — but from a coaching point of view it’s still far too early to get carried away.
I’ve always said the first few weeks of a season can be a bit of a false market.
You really don’t get a clear picture of where teams are sitting until the competition reaches the halfway point and everyone has played each other.
Yes, we’ve had a strong start and beating the reigning premiers Moreton City 3–0 at home was obviously pleasing, but the reality is that every season brings different circumstances, different squads and different challenges.
You still must respect what they achieved last year, but it’s a different story this season for everyone.
What I have been happy with so far is our defensive work.
The boys put a lot of effort into that side of the game during pre-season and it’s nice to see that paying off early with clean sheets.
In any competition, keeping goals out gives you a chance to win games, so that’s something we want to continue building on.
Going forward we’re also seeing goals come from different areas of the team, which is another positive sign.
You never want to rely on just one player to do all the scoring.
When goals are shared around the squad it makes us harder to defend against.
Players like Luke O’Sullivan and Orlando Heigl have been great examples of that.
Luke has been patient and waited for his opportunity after coming through the under-23s, and it’s been good to see him step up and make an impact.
Orlando is new to the club and has also had to bide his time, but when his chance came, he made the most of it.
That’s exactly what you want as a coach — players ready to contribute when their moment arrives.
While the results have been positive, I still think there’s plenty of improvement left in us.
In the last couple of games there have been periods where we’ve been very good — probably 60 or 70 minutes — but not the full 90.
Consistency across the entire match is something we’re continuing to work on.
The encouraging thing is that the group knows there’s more to come.
The boys are starting to gel, and the signs of improvement are there week by week.
We also have experienced players like Joe Duckworth helping drive standards around the group.
Joe brings a lot of knowledge about how to win games and has been good for the squad.
He missed the last match with a slight groin issue after coming off against Olympic, but we took a cautious approach knowing there are plenty of games ahead.
The challenge now is maintaining the momentum.
Next up we host Peninsula Power, and they’ve also had a strong start to the season.
They’ve recruited well and they’re an experienced side with plenty of players who’ve played a lot of football at this level.
That means another tough test for us.
Right now, we’re happy with where we’re at, but the message inside the group is simple — it’s only three games.
There’s a long season ahead and plenty of work still to do.
If we keep improving week by week, then we’ll give ourselves every chance.
