JEPARIT-RAINBOW will be looking to put an end to its mid-season struggles when it faces Laharum at the weekend.
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For the second consecutive season the Storm have fallen away at a crucial time of the year. The side has lost to Kalkee and the Swifts in the past month and only just scraped through for the a three-point win against the Bombers last weekend.
Storm coach Tim Inkster said his side needed to find some hunger and drive for the final third of the season.
“Laharum is coming off a bye and playing down there will be tough and they are playing for their finals hopes,” Inkster said.
“We just aren’t playing good football at the moment and have a fair few players out of form and not working hard enough. We are struggling bit and still have a few out with injuries, which just keeps that cycle going. We aren’t really improving the team, we just have a few come in and then a few go out.”
Sitting in third and one game off the top two, Inkster said his team needed to improve before finals.
“The players need to realise what’s on offer if they put the effort in,” he said.
“We need to put a bit more work in. It happened last year and what we’ve done hasn’t changed that this season unfortunately.”
Laharum coach Robbie Miller said his side’s season was on the line on Saturday.
“It doesn’t get any easier for us but we really need to play some good footy – we outscored them in the second half last time so hopefully we can play a similar brand,” he said.
Laharum will be boosted by the inclusions of Heath MacInnes and Daniel Easson, who will be playing his first game since re-joining the club mid-way through the season.
“Daniel is a quality footballer and his work rate is huge,” Miller said.
“He isn’t afraid to go in hard and have a sore body at the end of the day. He will be important for us.”
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