“At the moment it’s a week by week (approach)… finals isn’t really on our radar yet and that’s a better way to approach it – there is no point thinking too far ahead because you don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said.

“So many clubs are big improvers this season and in our league, there is a lot of experience… it is a pleasing start but we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves because we hold a lot of teams in high regard.”

While the Lakies take on Carngham-Linton, a team in the bottom half of the ladder, in an away game on Saturday, O’Keefe said he was still working out combinations. 

“We are still working for our best goaling and attack combination… it’s still a work in progress and an area we are inconsistent in,” the coach said. “Everything else is where it should be after four rounds.”

While the team has a lot of versatility with key position players being able to play at either end of the court, O’Keefe said it also meant the squad was more disrupted. 

“It’s a nice thing to have, but it causes a little bit of angst in settling the best combination,” he said. “But we are slowly getting there as positions become a bit more clear.”

O’Keefe has also had to work around not having his full squad available, but said with spots up for grabs this was an opportunity for the strong juniors to step up from the under-17 squad.