Sport
4 July, 2026
Coach keeps hope for finals spot
BOORT coach Andrew Rutley has discovered that the best-laid plans do often go awry.
BOORT coach Andrew Rutley has discovered that the best-laid plans do often go awry.
In preparing for the match against Sea Lake Nandaly, Rutley noted that the Tigers scored 60 per cent of their goals from opposition turnovers.
So not turning over the ball was the main focus of the Magpies’ strategy.
“And the main reason why we lost was a poor start and our turnovers – we butchered the ball,” Rutley said.
The result was a 91-point defeat that ended a three-match winning streak and piled on the pressure for the team to make a run at the finals.
“We just gave them the ball back and they just killed us going the other way,” Rutley said.
“It’s very frustrating – we try to give them all the information as to how teams play and what are their strengths and weaknesses. But at the end of the day, the boys have to put that into practice.”
Boort was 25 points behind at the first change, and the margin continued to blow out, with Sea Lake having 20 more scoring shots than the Magpies.
Remarkably, 10 of the Tigers’ 21 goals came from free kicks, which Rutley said came from a combination of undisciplined acts from his players and “decisions which did not go our way”.
Rutley has not given up on finals, although Boort has a 3-6 record and a poor percentage, and sits in sixth place on the ladder with six rounds remaining, a game and a half behind Birchip Watchem. He acknowledged that the Magpies must win the coming matches against other teams fighting for fourth.
Next up after the bye is Calder United, followed by Birchip Watchem – a clash that Boort simply has to win.
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