In life there is no escaping two things, death and taxes. In football they are the scoreboard and the ladder.

This week what they say is that playing the bottom side – who had not won a game – we failed to kick a goal in the first half, rallied in the second half, but lost, putting ourselves at risk of relegation to a division our club has not been in since 1964.

Yarra Valley targeted this game as one they could win. On the other hand, the attitude we displayed in the first quarter suggested we would prefer to be somewhere else. Easy goals were missed, we were second to the ball and out numbered in every contest. The home supporters couldn’t believe the quarter-time score. Our second term was not much better.

The Bushrangers kicked the first goal of the third quarter to make it six to zero. That prompted an overdue response and we managed six goals for the term, but as the game opened up, still conceded four. Chris Horsley was instrumental with three majors for the quarter, as Matt Keown moved to defence to provide a springboard, swapping with Mick O’Donoghue who was a good forward target.

In the last quarter we closed to within five points with plenty of time left but failed to go on with it, squandering some golden opportunities. The truth was the better and more desperate team on the day won.

Our best were Horsley and Nick Holt who were both returning from lengthy injury lay-offs. O’Donoghue and Lachlan Ezard put in all day, while Pat Kelly and Gerrard Bence worked their way into the contest.

Next week we play Old Geelong at Como Park, followed by Old Mentonians at home. A win in either game will ensure we remain in Division One on 2016. The unpalatable alternative is we rely on other results.