But for the second week in a row, they fell agonisingly short.
The Pioneers booted 12.2 for the day in the NAB League under 18 football clash with Sandringham Dragons at Victoria Park in Echuca on Saturday.
Despite having a 13-point lead at three-quarter-time, the Pioneers fell down in key moments in the final quarter in a four-point loss to top four side Sandringham.
Pioneers coach Rick Coburn said, despite the result, there were a lot of positives to be taken away from the match.
“We were really proud of our effort,” he said.
“The players toiled away really hard and competed well. We got a lot of close shots at goal which is really important for us because we have been working on getting deeper entries for our forwards to work with. It’s a lot easier to kick straight when you are shooting from 25 instead of 50.”
But it was simple mistakes that would cost the Pioneers in the end.
“We probably let ourselves down at stages with some fundamental skill errors,” he said.
“In really close matches, it’s the little things which will come back and haunt you and unfortunately we saw it happen today.”
The Dragons sit 11 spots higher on the ladder than the Pioneers, but Coburn would not use the quality of the opposition as an excuse for the result.
“We consider ourselves to be a really good footy side, so the result stings. It’s a missed opportunity for us to not get the win today.”
The match is the first of two Pioneers clashes to take place in Echuca this season, and the Pioneers knew of the importance of playing in front of a strong crowd at Victoria Park.
“This is our region, this is our home. We don’t get to play here often so let’s show everyone here our brand of footy,” Coburn told his charges before the match.
Not only did the Pioneers deliver a strong showing, but three Echuca locals showed their home fans why they had been selected to the program in the first place.
Jack Evans was named in the best for his showing, with Riley Clarke kicking two majors, while Joe Guiney was solid all day.
For all players, the opportunity to run out on the home field was an incredible opportunity.
“It was something we were really excited for going into the match,” Guiney said.
“It was a lot of fun getting out there and having a local crowd come down and watch, but we also would have loved to get the win for them today.
“We thought we had them, but unfortunately we couldn’t get it done in the end. Across the ground we played some great footy, but the last couple of contests didn’t go our way and that ended up hurting us.”
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