The Bandits let a late lead slip away against Geelong on Friday night before a second-half meltdown against the Knox Raiders on Saturday put paid to any chances of returning home with a valuable SEABL road split.

Trailing the Raiders by four points at half-time, Albury-Wodonga was but a spectator in the third period as Knox blew the visitors away with a barrage of three-pointers and a procession of trips to the free throw line in an eventual 99-81 defeat.

With a less-than-stellar 1-4 record, Chalmers said any blame for the team’s play sits squarely on his shoulders.

“I’ve got to find a way to get the players to play better,” Chalmers said.

“I’ll put my hand up; the players are certainly trying.

“I think right now I need to work it out for them and find a way to get things happening.

“It sits squarely with me and we all understand that the results aren’t what we want.

“We’re struggling a little bit but we’ll keep battling away and working hard.”

Import playmaker Jamar Briscoe enjoyed a solid weekend, averaging 25 points per game, while veteran Nick Payne also played well across the two matches.

Despite the slow start, the Border club is just a half-game out of fourth place in the East Conference and Chalmers said the Bandits simply needed to lift their intensity when it mattered most.

“The weekend was OK, we probably just lacked a little bit of polish at the end against Geelong,” Chalmers said.

“We’re just not keeping with teams when the intensity lifts.

“That third quarter (against Knox) was certainly disappointing; we were poor, no doubt.

“Overall, I’m comfortable we’re tracking in the right direction.

“But we still have a fair bit to work on.”