By JARROD POTTER
FOCUS on the positives and not the scoreboard was the message sent by Masala coach Matt Peddlesden to his charges after their 131-point loss on debut.
Taking to the field for the first time in the Victorian Amateur Football Association’s (VAFA) Club XVIII (3) competition, Masala exceeded expectations and especially the limitations of its inexperienced list in its 1.4 (10) to 21.15 (141) defeat.
Through the midfield, captain Ben Nugent proved the cornerstone of the Tigers attack, leading the way in clearances and possessions with reliable help from Wayne McMahon.
Richmond piled on the goals as Masala’s defence tried in vain to repel its attacks – especially continued efforts from Bradley Wood, Trevor Banerjee and Nicholas Davis.
Forward forays were few and far between, with their solitary goal coming in the second quarter off the great midfield work of Nugent and Davis to hit up the nimble McMahon.
McMahon seized his chance, as he took three bounces and drilled the club’s first goal in its short history.
“Obviously the scoreboard didn’t really reflect our intensity and our run and attack, but it’s our first game,” Peddlesden said.
“When we start to work to the structures more and get the players to act on the things we learn at training – we’ll be brilliant and we’ll be a very good team.”
Part of the difficult nature of learning Australian football for a team of newly migrated players is learning to work
“When we had the football we looked great, but when we didn’t have the ball that was something we need to work on, and that’s hard for blokes who are new to the team and new to football in general,” Peddlesden said.
Peddlesden highlighted the effort of his full-back Dave Crkvenac, who repelled a number of Richmond’s movements forward and the midfield trio Nugent, Daniel Ham and McMahon.
Most importantly for Peddlesden, it’s the first game for a new club and the results will come over the course of 2013.
“It’s a long season, but I’m confident, we have a good list to work with and I’m confident we’re going to do some good things this year,” he said.
Masala will play its first home game on Saturday against Dragons.
The first bounce is at 2pm at Barry Powell Reserve, Noble Park North.
VAFA SCOREBOARD
Richmond Central 6.5 11.6 16.10 21.15 (141)
Masala 0.0 1.3 1.3 1.4 (10)
Masala Best: B. Nugent, D. Crkvenac, J. Kaldaru, N. Davis, D. Ham, W. McMahon. Goal: W. McMahon.
