INGLEWOOD brushed off a niggling Calivil after quarter time on Saturday to take the points and the next step towards a top five finish in Loddon Valley football.
Coach Fergus Payne lamented the first half performance although the Blues had scooted to a 33-point lead.
He said the Blues had not capitalised on the win when they had opportunities.
“We played much better in the second half ... we’re vying with Maiden Gully for fifth spot,” Payne said.
“If you want to be playing finals, every game is there to be won and we played well on Saturday.
“We transition the ball well between the arcs and that helped us have more impact and made things easier to defend when deep inside the 50 (metres).”
It was midfielder Harry Veitch who starred in the Blues’ emphatic win while back flanker Campbell Love was a key cog in that efficiency.
“He really helped us transition the ball, got into good spots and that set us up well to head forward,” said Payne.
The Blues’ goalkicking power also went to a new level with seven players on the list headed by Seb Erharter with five. Erharter has now kicked 37 goals from seven games and is rarely out of the best players for Inglewood.
“The spread of goalkickers is good ... sharing the ball around, kicking goals and that breeds team footy into everyone,” said Payne.
Inglewood took precautions too on Saturday. Defender Gabe Nevins had a sore foot early in the fourth quarter.
“We tossed up whether to let him rest in the forward line or on the bench. We didn’t want to take any risks so Gabe watched on.”
Inglewood is sitting fourth on the ladder, on equal points with Bears Lagoon Serpentine.
The Blues are at home this Saturday to Maiden Gully and another win will increase the buffer between top five sides and other contenders.
“We just want to keep playing well,” Payne said.