Queenscliff coach Heath Jamieson says his team is starting to consistently produce the game style he implemented when he returned to the club ahead of the 2024 season.
Twenty-five games into his second stint at the Couta Bowl, signs of the club’s reemergence as a Bellarine contender are there for all to see.
Jamieson’s men followed their upset of the previously unbeaten Geelong Amateur before the bye with a clinical 102-point hiding of Portarlington – the first triple-figure margin in the competition this year.
“We didn’t have a timeframe on when we thought we were going to play better footy, but it was more the guys just getting it now,” he said.
“And they’ve done a lot of work over the pre-season to get their bodies in condition to play a high-pressure game style.
“If you’re not fit, you can’t play it.
“It’s hats off to the boys. They’ve turned it around.”
The victory over the Demons was Queenscliff’s fourth of the season, just three short of last year’s total return of seven wins.
Third spot on the ladder has the Coutas well and truly in finals contention, and it’s a discussion Jamieson isn’t shying away from.
“I think your goal should always be to play finals,” he said. “That’s why you play your 18 roster games – to qualify for a final series.
“If you’re not thinking about that, you’re probably thinking about the wrong things.”
A career-high five-goal haul from youngster Paddy Bradley highlighted Queenscliff’s performance.
But Jamieson was also keen to praise the performances of young bigs Kai Keenan and Joe Cincotta, who shared duties against Portarlington man mountain Scott Greenhough.
“Scotty Greenhough’s just a monster of a man who’s probably been the premier ruckman in local footy in Victoria for a long time,” he said.
“Those two battled hard against him all day.”
Queenscliff’s next test is a trip to Torquay to take on a Tigers outfit with the same 4-3 win-loss record.
“A good challenge for us next week; we look forward to that one,” Jamieson said.
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