Coming up against a side which had clearly turned their prior seasons around with some good wins this year, the Redbacks spoke before the game of the need to be focused and settled if they wanted to win.

And despite some initial pressure from the Yowies, the Redbacks took attacking control early, with the bulk of the first half spent on the offense.

A number of chances presented themselves for the Redbacks in the first half, but some swift defence and some wasted chances meant that the Redbacks just couldn’t find the back of the net.

As frustration quickly kicked in, the game quality diminished, with the Redbacks having to work extra hard to maintain control, after consistently handing the ball over to the opposition.

With 10 minutes to go in the first half, this lack of discipline saw a ball passed directly to the Yowies midfield from the Redbacks defence, who made no mistake with their first real chance on goal, passing the ball wide, then scoring in the top corner of the post.

With the Redbacks down a goal at half-time, the need to switch on and turn things around was increasingly important.

“We were extremely disappointed and frustrated at half-time,” coach Tamara Burns said.

“We’d missed opportunities, myself in particular, and we’d effectively handed the opposition a goal in our lack-lustre approach.

“We were better than that, and that’s one of the biggest frustrations to encounter in sport.

“So we agreed to shake it off. We were only one goal down, and games are won or lost by a lot more, so this second half had to be ours.”

Within minutes of the second half kicking off, the Redbacks were putting the half time talk into action. Midfielders Bri St Legder, Tegan Gray, Aishar Hamdan, Mia Windred and Shannaye Hartland were making some great plays and opening the field back up.

And almost as quickly as the second half started, the Redbacks were on the board after Hartland found the back of the net following a great combination play from the side.

The goal helped the team to lift, with Yowies never really looking a threat again.

Despite the dominance though, the second goal didn’t seem like it was going to come, and for a while it looked as though the Redbacks would need to settle for a draw.

However the Redbacks held strong and sure enough, with 15 to go, the elusive second goal finally arrived, with Maria Wilson slotting a beautiful goal away.

With ten to go, the Redbacks found the form they’d misplaced in the first half, with two more goals to St Ledger and Wilson, both off the back of some great teamwork and perseverance.

The final score of 4-1 a much better representation of the balance of the game.

Next week sees the team travel to South West Rocks for the start of the back half of the round. The Redbacks were defeated by SWR in Round 1, and are keen to turn things around this time.

“We’ve had some great wins so far this season, and some disappointing losses,” Burns said. “Our success will hinge on how we perform in the back end of the season, and in the lead up to finals. We have what it takes, we just need to use it.”