That’s the view of Hawks goalkeeper Nathan Trinder ahead of Sunday’s upcoming clash against Tumut.

Henwood Park produced their best performance to date in a 4-0 win over Cootamundra last week but have struggled to match their premiership-winning form so far this season.

Trinder believes there are two key factors in the Hawks’ early failure to launch – positioning and consistency.

“We’ve definitely struggled this year but I think it’s because we’ve probably been trying players in the wrong positions,” Trinder said.

“We switched up the midfield last week and put Carl Pideski in there and that really worked for us against Coota.

“Also, our back line was more stable and I think it’s the first time all year we’ve played a good 90 minutes of football.

“We haven’t been doing that yet this season and you can’t afford not to in this competition.”

Though Henwood Park are by no means out of finals contention, Trinder is adamant his side must shed the mantle of reigning premiers if they’re to improve at the pointy end of the season.

“Honestly, I think having that great year (in 2017) is one of the reasons we’ve started so poorly,” Trinder said.

“But I think we’ve learned from those first few games and it’s good that all that happened early on rather than going into or during finals.”

Henwood Park will be bolstered by the return of Matt Menser and Lachie Davis as coach Ryan McKenzie looks to tighten his grip on third place behind Lake Albert and Tolland with a win over the Eagles.

“It’s just about getting those right blokes back in,” Trinder said.

“Having older guys like Matty coming back and directing the traffic will be massive for us this weekend.”

Henwood Park and Tumut kick off Sunday 3pm at Bull Paddock, Tumut. 

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