Bulleen are missing their former captain Ashleigh Beagley, head coach Adrian Drury has admitted following his team’s loss to Bundoora on Monday.
The Lions had taken an early lead through a Brianna Davey own goal, but strikes from Gulcan Koca, Enza Barilla and Ilona Jakab condemned them to a third defeat on the trot.
“It came completely out of the blue,” Drury said of Beagley’s move to Perth for work commitments.
“We found out about it and then four days later, she was gone.”
Emily Dolzan took up the armband for the home game on Monday, slotting in well on the right flank but Drury still seems keen for Beagley to have a change of heart and return.
“[Beagley] is a natural leader of the squad, she’s been here four years,” he said.
“I made her the captain as soon as I came here, her work rate’s fantastic and with the game that we play, she would have suited us great [against Bundoora].
“That’s where we’re struggling, we’re doing so well in defence but there’s only so long you can hold on.”
Drury did concede however, that the club’s lack of striking options was in part due to an injury crisis among the club’s forwards.
“We’re missing chances and we’re missing a lot of forwards,” he said.
“We’ve got Fede Frew to come back and Ale (Alesandra) Varallo to come back too, they’re both fantastic talents, both 15, 16 years old.”
The coach was still optimistic that Beagley would make a return in the near future though, revealing that not all hope was lost.
“She may come back, it’s a three month probation so we’re hoping she fails the probation,” Drury said.
“Sorry about that, Ashleigh.”