Senior coach Josh Fraser stressed the importance of finishing the season off strong as the Northern Blues ready themselves for their final game of 2016.
Speaking post-game on Saturday, Fraser singled out some positive signs from his young side which went down to Williamstown at Ikon Park.
The first-year coach said the playing group needed to bring its A-game this weekend when it heads to Windy Hill to play Essendon on Saturday morning.
“It’s the same goal as it is every other week: we need to turn up with a very good plan and execute,” Fraser said.
“Our agenda is that every game we play in we’re held to the same standards and that we don’t have any drop off. Whatever we’re doing now is hopefully going to set us up as a club going forward.
“It’s a really important game on Saturday and one where the players will be judged just as hard as they would if it was Round 1.”
The Blues started strongly against the Seagulls but fell away as the match went on, ultimately going down by 55 points as Williamstown cemented a top-four spot.
It was a particularly youthful Northern side taking to the field even by its own 2016 standards: only four players who played had AFL experience and 14 Blues were under the age of 21.
Fraser said he was pleased with how his players applied themselves against the reigning premiers, despite the result.
“It was a good learning experience - this standard of football is a very good one in the VFL and the good sides have bigger bodies who can endure for four quarters,” Fraser said.
“That’s where we’re heading and we think we’re building some good depth in our list: we gave exposure to some of our boys on the weekend and they stood up in patches.
“They showed they can compete and can do it. We had to put our best foot forward and we showed we’re good enough in patches, but just not able to do it for long enough.”
Northern heads to Windy Hill on Saturday morning in the first of a Blues-Bombers double header that day, with the VFL match at 11am preceding the Round 23 AFL game at the MCG.
