The Cootamundra Blues faced a formidable challenge on their home turf at Clarke Oval, succumbing to a dominant Woden Blues side with a final score of 27.8.170 to 4.5.29. While the scoreboard paints a stark picture, Blues coach Matt Knagge offered a candid assessment, highlighting the impact of mounting injuries and the sheer quality of their opposition.
“You never set out to lose by that much, but they’re a pretty good side,” Knagge admitted, reflecting on the significant 141-point deficit.
“We had a good first quarter but other than that I thought we were beaten pretty badly in all areas and just a better side.”
The Cootamundra outfit went into the Community Men’s Division 1 clash severely hampered, with a string of late withdrawals compounding an already lengthy injury list.
“They’ve got real quality all over the ground and we were up against it,” Knagge explained. “We had a couple of guys pull out the night before, the morning of, that sort of thing. We’ve got a lot of injuries at the moment.”
Adding to the challenge, four reserve grade players were forced to back up and play in the first grade match, a testament to the club’s current depth issues.
“Not to make excuses, but we also had four guys back up from reserve grade and played first grade as well,” Knagge noted. “You’re up against it when you are playing probably the best side in the comp.”
This loss marks a tough stretch for the Blues, who have faced two of the top three sides in successive weeks. “We’ve probably played two of the top three sides, two weeks in a row, but it is what it is and I can’t fault anyone at the end of the day,” the coach affirmed, commending his players’ efforts despite the challenging circumstances.
Looking ahead, the Blues are cautiously optimistic about their upcoming match against Yass. “We give ourselves every chance to win that game, but we’ve just got a lot of injuries at the moment. They’ve all started to stack up at the same time, which hurts, but the 22 we put out there on the weekend, I think we’ve got every chance to beat Yass.”
Knagge sees the recent tough encounters as a valuable learning experience. “It’s nice just to play against a side that is sort of around the mark with us again. It’s been a tough couple of weeks playing these two sides that come from the higher league.”
The coach believes these games offer “real perspective on where we need to get to and maybe what we need to add to our list for next year.”
He acknowledged moments where the Blues matched their powerful opponents. “I think we matched them at times during the game. Our attack on the footy, our pressure, all things like that were good, but it was just our polish and our skills, especially by foot, which let us down, which means we’re just not up to that standard yet.”
Despite the challenging season, Knagge highlighted individual player development. “A lot of our guys have improved. Harvey Holt’s taking massive steps in his game at centre-half forward. I think guys in our midfield like Nick Holt, Jacob Tiernan, Andy Merritt have all improved, and then another guy I think Darion O’Toole has taken a massive step in his footy this year.”
The constant roster changes due to injuries have made it difficult to establish consistent team structures.
“Individually, a lot of guys have improved, and as a team, we are still working on some structures and that, but it’s just hard when we have one side and we get a couple of injuries and you change the side around so much, so that doesn’t help out and the quality of opposition.”
Despite the setbacks, Knagge remains positive about the team’s overall trajectory. “I think we’re improved and we’re making in-roads, but it hasn’t gone the way we want it to, but we understand the situation we were put in and we just had to try and battle it.”
A major positive for the Cootamundra Blues this year has been the re-establishment of their Reserves grade.
“That’s a real positive for us this year we’ve been able to get our Reserves up and going. I think if we can keep building on that year after year, it’s only going to make the Club stronger.”
This depth, Knagge believes, is crucial for competing with larger clubs in the future. “If we can get the reserves up and going, what we have this year will hold us in good stead for the future and I think that is the main thing.”
-Tully Potts
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