A forgettable eight goal to one third quarter saw Oakleigh Chargers shatter any hope Greater Western Victoria Rebels had of causing an upset over the TAC Cup’s top side.
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The Rebels trailed by four points, in a low-scoring affair, at the main change to eventually go down by 48 points.
The Chargers dominated the second half and left the Rebels’ coaching staff to wonder how such a significant drop-off can occur.
The Rebels had 174 possessions in the first half, then just 116 in the second and consequently its inside 50 count took a similar drop, falling from 28 to 13.
Coach Gerard FitzGerald posed the question to his group post-match. He said he would leave his assessment until the review but felt there were lessons to be learned.
“I said after the game ‘tell us what the issues are, lads’, because we’re having significant drop-offs and it can’t be because we’re not good enough – we were within four points at half-time,” FitzGerald said.
“We drop-off either mentally or physically and we’ve got to sort that out.
“What can we learn from the first two quarters when we played really well as much as what can we learn from the third quarter when we were poor.”
The Rebels lost captain Callan Wellings early in the match with an ankle concern. It is believed to only be a rolled ankle, but will be assessed during the week.
Jed Hill suffered a corky upon return, the club opting not to risk him given his recent injuries. While Elliott Lamb copped a minor head knock.
Daniel Scala kicked five goals to be one of the Chargers best while Aiden Domic and Jordan Johnston were named the Rebels best.