COACHES REPORT: SANFL League / Reserves, Round 4

Reserves, R4 – Sturt 18.11.119 V West Adelaide 10.5.65

In round four (ANZAC Round), our reserves team fought hard but were beaten by a strong Sturt outfit, losing by 9 goals at the final siren.

We started the game with a classy goal from tall forward Jack Oates but Sturt dominated the midfield and piled on the next six goals to set up a commanding lead. Ned Stevens, returning from injury, took advantage of a neat entry by Jack Sullivan (11 disposals, 3 F50s) to convert truly and keep us in touch at the first break.

The second quarter saw Sturt continue to win the midfield battle (61 to 15 hit outs), which set up three unanswered goals from stoppage. To halt their momentum, Tyson Birss (17 disposals, 4 tackles) played higher to support the midfielders and create opportunities going back to goal, including some clean hands to release Sam Davidson who would find Stevens for his second goal. Steven’s was again busy, following up his own work to earn a free kick and slot his third for the match to close out the second quarter, with us trailing Sturt by 6 goals.

In the third term, we moved young gun Joel Parker (12 possessions, 2 F50s) into the middle where he racked up 7 contested possessions and provided energy and speed to compliment Harvey Bock (11 possessions, 4 tackles) who was assigned a run-with role. Parker’s speed and contested work released Oscar Kregar (11 disposals, 7 tackles, 4 F50s) to deliver a deep ball which was gathered by Max McKenzie who drew a free kick and converted to keep us within touch.

Sturt capitalised on some fundamental errors in the next 6 minutes to kick another run of three goals before Kregar sent a penetrating kick inside 50 to Max McKenzie, who registered his second major.

After losing gun wingman Sam Davidson to concussion, we entered the fourth quarter with an11-goal deficit. Defender Ray Harding moved into the Ruck which sparked an immediate shift in momentum. Sullivan gathered a loose ball which led to a crafty goal by Lachlan Tredwell and Jonti Koehne kicked a great goal tight on the boundary. Sturt responded quickly on the back of our own crucial errors, but Kregar and McKenzie both kicked majors to win the quarter.

We expect to play a more consistent brand of football and will welcome back some players from injury as we prepare for Round 5 versus North Adelaide.

– Reserves coach, Sam Elliot.

Best players: Ned Stevens, Tyson Birss, Harvey Bock, Joel Parker, Hamish Dow.

Goals: Max Mckenzie (3.1), Ned Stevens (3.2), Jonty Koehne (1.0), Oscar Kregar (1.0). Jack Oates (1.0), Lachlan Tredwell (1.1)

Next Game: V North Adelaide, Sunday May 4th, Prospect Oval, 11:30AM

SANFL R4 – Sturt 17.15.117 V West Adelaide 5.11.41

Dear Members and Supporters,

Heading into the weekend’s clash against Sturt, we had a clear focus on three key areas:

1. Keeping Sturt to under 70 uncontested marks,
2. Winning the ground ball and tackle numbers, and
3. Taking the ball deep inside our F50 when the opportunities presented

We achieved our goal of keeping Sturt to under 70 uncontested marks, which was a positive reflection of our work rate and defensive structure. However, we fell short in the contested side of the game, finishing -11 in ground balls and -6 in tackles — areas we pride ourselves on and will be working hard to address. Due to Sturt’s elite pressure around the contest and on the ball carrier we were unable to provide our forwards with enough opportunity to compete and kick us a winning score.

A concern from the game was the number of scoring opportunities Sturt created from free kicks. They were awarded 11 shots on goal from free kicks across the match, and it’s something we’ll review closely to understand how we can better manage our discipline and technique.

There were some strong individual performances, with Lachy Squire and Cade Kennedy doing an excellent job limiting the impact of Will Snelling, holding him to just 15 disposals. Adam Bunworth continued his good form against some of the competition’s best small forwards, keeping Hone to just five disposals — with both of Hone’s goals coming via free kicks.

The game itself was a tale of moments. We gave up seven shots on goal from stoppage in the first quarter, three of Sturt’s goals coming directly from free kicks. After making some adjustments around stoppages, we were able to neutralise their dominance and head into the main break 20 points down — with both of Sturt’s second-quarter goals again coming from free kicks.

In the third term, Sturt’s contested work went to another level. They won the ball inside, both via first possession and their ability to force us into error, and they took control of field position, gaining real momentum with two more goals free kicks inside their forward 50, which stretched the margin out to 51 points by three-quarter time. We looked to throw the magnets around in the final term in search of a spark, but credit to Sturt, they maintained their pressure and kicked four goals to none in the final term — with two more coming from free kicks.

While the result wasn’t what we wanted, we take plenty of learnings away from the game, particularly around the contest and our discipline. We’ll review it closely and again get to work this week on the track.

Thanks as always for your support.

League head coach, Adam Hartlett.

Best Players: Lachy Squire, Sam Frost, Adam Bunworth

Goals: Samuel Burbridge (1.1), Riley Corbett (1.1), Riley Hill (1.0), Tom Scully (1.1), Dylan White (1.1)

Next Game: V North Adelaide, Sunday May 4th, Prospect Oval, 2:10PM