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Driving Forward

By Connor Schmidtke

Ringwood are making a late season charge for the number one spot on the ladder, in the Eastern Football League’s Second Division, as several key names continue to return to the Redbacks squad.

Across the last month of football, Ringwood have remained unbeaten against a handful of teams vying for their own place in the finals, with their smallest winning margin a 45-point win over Mulgrave, proving how dominant their last four weeks have been for the 2019 runners up.

These last four wins came after a slight stumble from the Redbacks, losing their only two games for the season in a three-week period against East Burwood and South Belgrave, Ringwood’s two main competitors for the premiership this year.

The main feature of Ringwood’s strong season so far has been their defensive prowess, conceding the least points of any side in the division. They average around 46-points against per game, showing why they are a threat once again in Division Two.

Ringwood coach Brett Rowe said that their set-up and personnel have been the key behind his side’s defensive dominance.

“It’s well documented that defence wins premierships.

It’s not a major focus for us, we just have good defenders who know how to set up the ground and each player. Then from there, it flows through our ball movement and gives us a level of unpredictability heading forward.

“We don’t have that major focus anymore, but we do have a couple extra options going forward which has really helped us as well.”

Rowe said his side’s form these past four weeks has been pleasing, following a disappointing loss against East Burwood in Round Nine.

“We’re in a good position as a team at the moment.

“Since we lost the East Burwood game, which was a disappointing loss from our perspective, we’ve straightened up a few things and had a focus on a couple of issues we thought needed addressing,

“Thankfully the last few weeks they have improved. It’s given us some better scoring opportunities the way we’ve moved the ball, and that’s flowed into how we set up the ground behind us.

“That’s what has driven our strong last four weeks.”

At the beginning of the year, Coach Rowe and his playing group faced a number of uncertainties following two heavily affected seasons by the Covid pandemic.

Ringwood have had several close shaves with premiership glory across the past five seasons, having finished on top of the ladder numerous times and suffered two grand final defeats.

In 2021, they were robbed of another chance at a flag when the season was cancelled, with the Redbacks sitting on top of the Division Two ladder again.

Rowe said that despite the unknowns of the year ahead, his side’s attitude and motivation had been incredible.

“We just didn’t know what was going to eventuate.

“As the year has gone on, the group have learned to embrace each other again and they’ve realised that even though we lost a couple of players, we still had a lot to offer as a team.

“I think the motivation is straight forward for us, it’s no secret what happened to us pre-covid. So, it’s just trying to steel everyone up to give us real belief as a group that the premiership is something that is still possible for us.

“When you’ve got a group that has a real drive, it doesn’t take much to get them going. I think it’s just what’s at the end of the year if we can get there.

“Obviously, there’s still a lot of footy to be played, but that is our driving factor.”

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