The Goulburn Valley League round four fixture was played at Rochester Recreation Reserve and saw the Tigers struggle to move the ball effectively in the early stages.
“Our first half was really erratic,” Tigers co-coach Linda Rasmussen said.
“We probably threw the ball away a bit too much, but we settled in the second half and it made a bit more of a contest, which was great.”
Rochester found itself in a hole early, trailing by seven goals after just one quarter, a lead the Bulldogs extended to 13 by the main break.
The Tigers fought back throughout the second half but were only able to reduce the deficit to nine, 38-47, by the time the game ended.
The Tigers were without core players Teal Hocking and Morgan Dingwall, who are both sidelined with injuries.
“It will be good when we can get a full team on the court,” Rasmussen said.
“The last two losses have been against two good sides, but they’re the ones that we need to be competitive against and start beating those teams if we want to make finals.”
Rassmussen praised the work of her defenders this week for keeping the side in the contest.
“Jamie Dingwall we gave our best-on to, just lots of turnovers, a really clean defender,” she said.
“We’re short at our defensive end but they don’t let it seem that way with really nice intercepts.”
Rasmussen and coaching partner Rachel Whipp have marshalled Rochester to an even 2-2 so far this year, sixth on the table, as the A-grade side looks to make finals for the first time in two decades.
Next Saturday will see the Tigers travel to Victoria Park to battle reigning premier Echuca, which has made a slow start to its title defence.
“I think it’ll be a really good game,” Rasmussen said.
“I think it depends on us and injuries and who we’ve got available on the park, but whenever you come up against Echuca, you always know you’re going to have a battle on your hands, so it’ll be a good contest.”
The Murray Bombers languish in eighth after winning just one of their opening four fixtures.
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