Geelong Amateur’s quick return to Bellarine finals action is on track, but co-coach Dan Holroyd isn’t entirely satisfied with how his team is placed after the first third of the 2024 season.
From the opening six matches, Ammos has four wins and a draw against Barwon Heads, with its only loss coming against undefeated reigning premier Torquay by 62 points in Round 4.
When asked if he would have accepted 18 points at this point of the year, Holroyd’s reaction was mixed.
“You look at it and go, ‘Which one do you want to drop points against?’, he said.
“We back ourselves each week.
“You’re right (four wins and a draw is acceptable), but it doesn’t make it any sweeter.”
After making light work of Ocean Grove thanks to a stunning performance by Paddy Dowling, who finished with 8.10, Ammos will face challenging meetings with Drysdale and Anglesea after this week’s bye.
“The good thing about the Bellarine fixture is that you play everyone twice,” Holroyd said.
“So, you don’t really have a good gauge on yourself until the halfway mark.
“We definitely want to be in the top three, so it’ll be good to play those guys and see how we go.”
After taking the lead on the BFNL goalkicking table, Holroyd says Dowling has found his feet after crossing from GFNL powerhouse St Mary’s on the eve of the season.
“He’s certainly become a problem for the other teams in the last month,” Holroyd said.
“There was no shortage of shots at goal from him on the weekend.
“And there were a few he missed, and you go, ‘How did he miss those?’
“But then he kicked a few he has no right kicking, either.
Aside from co-captain Liam Cogan, Holroyd and colleague Riley Kershaw will have close to a full squad to pick from for the meeting with the Hawks.
Cam Lewis and Xavier Muhor missed the victory over the Grubbers due to illness but are expected to be right after the break.
“We’ve had a few unavailable for personal reasons: weddings, holidays,” Holroyd said.
“I think we’re going to start to have a pretty clean slate.
“It will be, as far as I’m aware, injuries that we need to worry about.”
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