Hi team,
Put simply ‘switch on’ equals awesome footy. I could start and end this match report right there! We were almost back to full strength but that was not the difference. After our last game l reported that our boys simply didn’t want the footy enough that day, which we addressed at training and before this game.
This week, even before the first bounce, l could sense that our boys were back, fully switched on, and about to show us what they can really do. We were captained in fine style by Adrian Gonzales and Boston Hughes who got us starting with the wind and the ball spent most of its time in our forward line in the first quarter. In game summary – we were on top at the first break, on top by a bit more at half time, lost the third quarter but went into the last quarter a few goals ahead and then ran away with it. There were so many highlights this week that I have to do it in point form, so here goes my attempt to name a few:
– It all started when Harry ‘the enforcer’ Haines gets off a plane on Thursday afternoon demanding to be dropped off at training on the way home from the airport.
– Tom ‘full back of the century’ Strickland turns up 10 minutes before the game, fully dressed, mouthguard in and ready to go, after clearing customs at the airport only a few hours earlier.
– Before the game I took Harry Haines and James Jebb aside asking them to work together in the middle to send the ball into our forward line as much as possible, and if the ball came back, to create a wall of defence and send it back into our forward line again. They did not let us down on both fronts in both the first and last quarters.
– Shae Newey opened his goal scoring account in the first quarter kicking his first ever major, but wasn’t happy enough with this, so soon after bagged a second. Great work Shae – I knew this was coming. (We now have 16 goal kickers this year!)
– During the first quarter after Luke Kollmorgen kicked 3 points in a row, the threat of walking home resulted in him snapping one over his shoulder while running towards the boundary line, which sailed through the sticks for his first of a couple on the day.
– In the second quarter while still suffering from jet lag, Stricko was given the job at full back and pulled off a horizontal dive to save a certain goal – great work, will be missed on lightning prem day!
– Also in the second quarter Zac Saunders broke through the middle booting the ball with everything he had across the entire back zone, which bounced through the goals but was denied by the umpire as he had kicked it from the midfield! We all thought it was brilliant anyway Zac!
– Hewy Sawatzki and Adrian ‘speedy’ Gonzales were solid all game getting in and under packs and bringing the ball back into space. There were some great kick and handball combinations and Speedy also chimed in with 2 goals.
– Massimo Champness seems to be seriously on the up, he played a great game today getting plenty of the ball in his best game so far.
– Loved seeing Boston Hughes, Tyler Birt and Riley Vien all getting more amongst the play today gaining more and more confidence as they get more of the ball. Great game from you three!
– Archie Dowling and Lachy Curtis continue to perform, no matter where I put them on the ground, and never question where they play – great team players.
This week I could have given out an award to everyone. Every single player had a real go and did their bit for the team – which builds confidence and enables them to really enjoy their footy, and is a pleasure for the parents to watch. In the rooms after the game it is great to see all the parents stand back to watch the boys arm-in-arm belt out the song on their own – this makes a coach very proud.
When our boys play with the attitude shown today they are very hard to beat. We only have 2 games plus a lightning carnival to go, let’s keep the intensity up, keep switching on when we need to, and play in the same spirit our boys demonstrated today.
Koje & Kurt
Coaches
