The Fort McMurray Monarchs find themselves in a hole at the halfway point of the 2019 season.

The Monarchs now sit at 1-3, following a tough 42-31 loss to the visiting Calgary Wolfpack this past weekend.

With the loss – the team sits in 4th place in the AFL standings.

Head Coach Kevin Garbuio tells Mix News they got behind the 8-ball early in Saturday’s game and couldn’t recover.

“Defensively, we were a little too aggressive and weren’t rushing with our eyes open and we were running past ball carriers so, we missed a few tackle-for-loss opportunities. We cranked it up as the game went on, but you can’t spot a team 28 points in the first half and expect to win.”

Garbuio notes while the team is dealing with growing pains – they’re optimistic they can turn the season around.

He feels as it stands, they are simply making a lot of mistakes that are characteristic of a young squad.

“All the little things that are mistakes that happen with young teams. It happens in youth sports level, where you have a huge turnover and your going to have to go through these mistakes that are unfortunate, but we have got to make sure we clean it up as the season goes on.”

The Monarchs are off this week but will be back in action on July 6 – as they take on the Central Alberta Buccaneers at TC Field in Timberlea.