WODONGA coach Jarrod Twitt has backed his players to emerge from their early form slump and play in an eighth successive Ovens and Murray finals series.
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Despite the Bulldogs beating only winless Myrtleford in the opening four rounds, Twitt said he wasn’t surprised by their sluggish start considering the number of new players to arrive at the John Flower Oval over the off-season.
Wodonga, which last missed the top five when Leon Higgins was at the helm in 2002, is languishing in seventh position with a potentially season-defining clash against North Albury on Saturday.
“We are still finding the right balance with our side,” Twitt said.
“We had 25 odd players from last year’s list move on and we’ve got a whole new side with guys trying to come to terms with playing in a really high standard competition.
“There were always going to be teething problems.
“We have been in these situations before and, because of the evenness of the league this year, picking up 11 or 12 wins isn’t going to be the case.
“We have to trust our plan and trust each other and I’m sure it will all come together.”
Wodonga has lost to Wangaratta, Albury and Wodonga Raiders with Twitt agreeing with the popular theory that the Tigers and Yarrawonga are presently out of the reach of the rest of the competition.
The Bulldogs have paid dearly for a lack of midfield pressure and skill errors with the line-up having 42 turnovers against Wodonga Raiders on Sunday.
“We got ourselves back into the game, but for the amount of play we just didn’t capitalise,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have confirmed defender Ben Heinrich will miss the rest of the season with a
ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
He will undergo surgery in coming weeks.
