Tara Murray
Hillside is still a work in progress but has put a second win on the board in the Essendon District Football League division 1 competition.
After a good performance on Good Friday, the Sharks had a bigger test on Saturday against Craigieburn which also won on Good Friday.
Hillside started the better of the two teams, leading by 23 points at quarter time.
The middle quarters became a real arm wrestle, with the Eagles reducing the margin to 13 points heading into the final break.
The Sharks managed to reload in the last quarter to do enough to get the win, 11.12 (78)-8.9 (57).
Sharks coach Chris Daley said he would have taken a start to the season when the fixture came out.
He said they had their moments against the Eagles, but it wasn’t a four quarter performance.
“We started reasonably well and we had the game in hand for a while,” he said. “We kicked five goals to one in the opening quarter.
“Maybe we thought we had it in hand. We kept Craigieburn in the game. We got back to what we did in the first quarter in the last quarter to finish it off.”
Daley said their inside 50s weren’t great in the middle couple of quarters and made it hard for their forwards.
Josh Covelli finished with seven goals as the key target up forward. Daley said the midfielders didn’t help Covelli.
“Josh kicked four goals in the first quarter and three goals in the last quarter,” he said. “He’s a weapon for us and we need to look after him.
“He’s one of the best one-on-one players up forward and we need to understand that and not make him run as much.”
Daley said Hudson Shaw was best on ground, while Lachlan Pettigrove, Zain Yamak and Mitchell Hearne all had good games.
Pettigrove didn’t play after half time due to an ankle injury.
Daley said with nearly a third of their side being new players this season, they would still take some time to settle.
“We finished equal with inside 50s,” he said. “We are nowhere near a finished product.
“We were beaten around the stoppage on the weekend. We need to create some ball in our half, rather than relying on the transition from the back half.
“It will help with getting more one-on-one contests. We’ll take a few games to work out combinations and players strengths.
The Sharks will get an even bigger test this Saturday, facing West Coburg.
The Burgers have played in the last two grand finals and started the season with win against Maribyrnong Park.
“It’s one we’re looking forward to,” Daley said.
In other matches, Burnside Heights started the division 2 season with a big win against Hadfield, 18.21 (129)-5.6 (36).
