Hasleby wants big response on ANZAC Day

SOUTH Fremantle coach Paul Hasleby is glad the Bulldogs have a short turnaround from Saturday's loss to Subiaco before the ANZAC Day derby at Fremantle Oval in the hunt for the first win of 2013.

Hasleby is making no secret that Saturday's 41-point loss to Subiaco was the Bulldogs' most disappointing performance of the season to date, but the positive is that Thursday's clash is just around the corner and offers the South Fremantle players an immediate chance to bounce back.

"It's actually really good to only get a four or five-day break after a result like that so there's a chance to redeem ourselves very quickly. There's no better way to do that than in front of a big crowd against the arch enemy East Fremantle," Hasleby said.

"We were able to overcome them late last year when our backs were against the wall and it's our plan again this week to do whatever we can to upset their finals chances, but also get ourselves back into the mix."

The opening four losses of the season to Claremont, Perth, West Perth and Swan Districts saw enough signs to suggest South Fremantle wasn’t too far off the mark and the Bulldogs had a chance to win each of those matches.

However, the 41-point loss to Subiaco at home last Saturday was a different story, but Hasleby is hoping his players quickly put it behind them now and get ready for the ANZAC Day derby.

"I hope that was an aberration. For the first four weeks there was some terrific effort and there was only a quarter here or a quarter there where we lost the games, but we were completely outclassed and outworked by Subiaco on the weekend," he said.

"The margin was probably even a little bit generous to us and they probably should have won by a little more. That was disappointing to be 0-4 and not give a yelp, but we just need to improve on that going into the big derby."

Hasleby knows that he has a developing group at his disposal and even though every team has off days, when you are inexperienced like the Bulldogs are at present that can be magnified even more.

"All footy teams have days where they are flat and you are off, and we had one of those. When you're not chock full of great players and you're not a great team, you can't get away with it," he said.

"There's no doubt that other sides in the competition have off days, but some of those have real class and depth so they can cover for that. On the weekend we just couldn’t do that and turn it around, which was a bit disappointing."

While losing the first four games was far from fun either, Hasleby is hoping the performance against Subiaco on Saturday hurt the playing group so much that they now simply can't wait to run out onto Fremantle Oval come Thursday to make amends.

"You certainly learn a lot when you lose and the boys should never accept losing and never be happy after a loss," Hasleby said.

"You just have to absolutely hate it and that's the challenge for them is to learn to change their ways and the way we go about thing until we get that win.

"We just have to be desperate and do whatever we can to try and post a win because sometimes when you get a bit of confidence from one win, that can turn into a lot more."

South Fremantle also lost veteran swingman Andrew McCarrey to a torn medial ligament in his right knee during Saturday's game, but the news wasn’t as bad as it could be and he looks set to miss just seven to eight weeks.

"He hasn’t been able to get a good run at it this year and he's been injured in most games he has played so that has limited what he has been able to do during the week," he said.

"I'm a big believer that the training track is where you get a lot of your confidence from. He is going to be a big loss, but it creates an opportunity for somebody else to come in and show what they can do."

Adam McIntosh and Jacob Martinez were both challenged last week to go back to the reserves and get some confidence back, and regain the confidence of the coaching staff and the pair did a tremendous job.

McIntosh finished with 37 possessions and Martinez 27, and Hasleby was pleased with how both handled the demotion.

"Both were terrific and we learn a lot about that from a coaching perspective," he said.

"Sometimes getting dropped isn’t the worst thing and you can go back in one game and not only get confidence in yourself, but instil confidence back into the coaching group.

"Sometimes you leave players in the side for longer thinking that dropping them will damage them, but to go back and get confidence can be a great thing."

Another good sign in the reserves last week was the first performance of the year of former East Fremantle forward Justin Monaco.

He showed what he could do on WA Day last year kicking five goals against the Bulldogs. He has now only been back training for a couple of weeks, but had 19 possessions and seven marks on Saturday. Hasleby knows, though, that his big test comes backing that up against his former side this week.

"We recruited him for a reason and it's good to have him back training. He is coming off a pretty low base so it was a good performance but experience tells me that most players can play a really good game first up," Hasleby said.

"The second and third games are always a bit harder so that will be the challenge for him, but he was hard at the ball, aggressive and ran off well, and we know he has a really good football brain."

By Chris Pike