IT was a stagnant forward line that saw the Ovens and King side head into the halftime break trailing by 22 points in Saturday's interleague clash with Picola and District North West.
With Richard Findlay, Richie Leahy and Jeremy Wilson struggling to get their hands on the football, coach Finton Eames was forced to change things up at halftime.
"They had some good back men, and Richard Findlay just seemed to be getting caught behind the footy too much," Eames said.
"We thought if we could take centre half forward out of it, and put some smaller midfield types around there, we'd have a lot of pace around the packs.
"It paid off in the second half, but credit to their backs they moved the ball quick and were just a bit too tall for us."
Nathan Waite, who was a last minute call up when David Steer withdrew from the side on match day, became the primary target in attack in the second half, booting three goals, along with strong support from Jack Stamp and Mark Scholte.
The OandK side was far more dynamic after the long break, and almost got over the line, falling short by just four points in the end.
"We knew if we wanted to get back into the game we'd have to use our pace and movement," Eames said.
"Once we started to do that, the match started to swing.
"We started to get clean possession and hit our targets, and the boys really ran out the game well.
"If we'd had a couple more minutes I think we might have rolled them.
"But Picola were very good, they led all day, and they were deserved winners.
"It would have been good to get a win, but I'm still very proud of our boys."
While Richard Bull was a worthy winner of the VCFL Medal as the OandK's best player, Eames also paid credit to Adam Williams, Steve Nightingale, Jaimon McGeehan, Waite, Daniel McLaughlin and Anthony Welsh.
"Williams is just a quality player," he said.
"He spoils well, uses it beautifully and doesn't panic.
"Nutta (Nightingale), Jaimon, Waitey played really well as a late call up.
"I thought Dakka (McLaughlin) had a great game on the wing, and Welshy in the ruck.
"It was a good mix, and I thought everyone did their bit for the team just didn't get the biscuits at the end of the day."
Meanwhile, PandD coach Josh Bode enjoyed a memorable win.
"It was a lot tighter in the second half," Bode said.
"If we had kicked straight it might have been a little bit different at halftime, but to their credit they fought back and got into it.
"It was always going to be a battle I said to our boys before the game that it was going to take until the last minute, and it did.
"Hopefully it was a good spectacle it was very enjoyable to be a part of it."
By - SCOTT ANDERSON.
www.nenews.com.au
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INCOMING: Judd Darby (left) waits for the ball to arrive as Ben Bell shepherds;
PHOTO: Cheryl Browne
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Last Modified on 28/05/2012 13:28