St Albans coach Alex Tortora believes his side is closing in on a breakthrough victory, with his young squad starting to build more consistent quarters of football together.
The Supersaints fell victim to Lara at the weekend, losing by 13 points in the wintry conditions at St Albans Reserve.
Tortora said the group was not far off of breaking the drought, with St Albans without a win since 2019.
“The boys are starting to show patches where they’re competing well with good teams, we just need to be able to sustain it,” he said.
“There’s been a few times in each game where we aren’t playing our best and the opposition take advantage of that.
“We’re getting better with that, the group is getting more experienced and more accustomed to the level of competition, so we’re only going to get better.”
Tortora and his team was busy in the off-season, signing five players that have all featured in the senior side this season.
Fletcher Keck has been strong off half back, averaging 27.5 disposals, five marks and 1.3 inside 50s per game, while Joss Howlett has been deployed as a deep forward and has kicked a goal in every game but round 1.
Harley Cobb has added more depth to the midfield, Ben Davis is another target up forward and Jaymz Farrell has increased his output in every game so far this season.
Joss Howlett. Ben Davis. Jaymz Farrell. Harley Cobb. Fletcher Keck.
Captain Jacob Russell has turned into one of the competition’s best midfielders, sitting 11th in the competition for disposals (25.8 per game), fourth for contested possessions (15), second in clearances (7.3), fourth in tackles (5) and fifth in inside 50s (5).
Throw in Sam Donegan, who played his first game of the season as a small forward and booted three goals on his way back from a back injury, and the Supersaints have some bright young pieces.
Tortora said the group was getting used to the demands of the competition.
“The GFL is a really great standard of footy, so there has definitely been a step up for the boys, whether that’s a step up from under-18s, reserves or a different competition,” he said.
“They’re finding out that GFL is pretty hot footy, but each week those boys are getting a little bit better and a little bit quicker.
“They just need to get games under their belts now, I have no doubt the deeper we get into the season the better they’re going to be.
We’re really happy with those new boys and their attitude and how they’re going, they all want to learn and grow with the group, which has been great to see, so hopefully we can keep improving and we’re not far away from a win now.”