Henwood Park coach Ryan McKenzie has charged his side to stick to their structures as a decisive date with Tolland creeps into view.
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The Hawks were outclassed on their home patch by a resurgent Leeton outfit last weekend, going down 2-0 and handing the Wolves a one-point lead in the race to secure a top two finals berth.
McKenzie admitted his side lacked go-forward and composure against the visitors and says there’s much to work on ahead of Saturday night’s clash.
“We didn’t stick to our game at all against Leeton and, credit to them, they came in and played really well,” McKenzie said.
“They put plenty of pressure on us right from the start and I think we made their job a lot easier by panicking with the ball.
“We didn’t have any momentum going forwards and we probably lacked a little bit of patience and composure out there.”
Rebuilding that composure will be key to Henwood Park’s title defence, especially given the Hawks could face Leeton again in the finals series.
“We’ve been working on our passing and keeping our composure under pressure and that’s going to be important given we’ll probably have a game against them again, potentially at their home ground,” McKenzie said.
Though the Hawks coach is yet to be convinced a week off in the finals will benefit his side, a win over Tolland this weekend would go a long way towards erasing the memory of their last outing.
The Wolves dished up a 6-1 thrashing back in round nine and McKenzie will have his hands full turning the tables without two of his star players.
Midfielders Carl Pideski and Joel Tancredi are unlikely to start for the Hawks due to injury concerns while Matt Menser and Jake Ploenges will have limited time on the paddock as they manage their return ahead of the finals series.
“We’ve got a few injuries through the midfield … but hopefully Jakey can get up front and we’ll try to get Matt some time under his belt as well,” McKenzie said.
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