Coaches Report

Round 14 Coaches Report – Under 18’s

Round 14 U18 Match Report

West Adelaide 15.7 (97) def. North Adelaide 10.5 (65)

 

Round 14 saw us play North Adelaide for the third time in four weeks at Prospect. The nature of this competition with player movement means no two games are the same, and this was no exception with state football and illness resulting in changes to our side. In addition, Dylan White played his second reserves game and we were thrilled to find out that Harry Lemmey was making his league debut at just 17 years of age!

We were able to start the game reasonably well after winning the toss and kicking with a strong breeze. We would have capitalized more on the scoreboard had we been more direct to goal, but found ourselves going too far in to the pockets and either not getting shots or having them from tough positions. Taking a 9-point lead in to the first break we continued to play well in the second and some controlled ball movement meant we were still able to attack in to the breeze. Our last 10 minutes of the second was disappointing and we lost accountability across the oval. North were good enough to take advantage of this and kicked 3 quick goals to lead by 8 points at half-time.

Our third quarter was excellent, led by Luke Young who kicked 3 goals for the quarter and swung the momentum back our way. 6 goals to 1 meant we led by 22 points at the last change. In the last quarter we scored 4 goals to 2 in to the wind which was a great result and showed that we could adapt our style of play pending conditions which will hold us in good stead moving in to future matches. Tom Scully kicked multiple goals in the last and we ran out 32 point winners.

Pleasingly all players contributed to this result. Everyone laid tackles which lives up to our team first and relentless team values. We have been emphasising the importance of fundamentals and we displayed this throughout the game, most evident by Kyan Eagleton who created at least 2 goals for us by being active on the mark and forcing turnovers. With Lachlan Tredwell and Liam Westdijk both out of the game before half time with concussion, it would have been easy to find it too difficult on this day but that’s not the attitude this group have and they continue to find ways to force and change momentum in games.

Kobe Ryan was excellent leading our midfield with 32 disposals and 8 clearances. Luke Young had his best game of the year kicking 4 goals whilst Jed Obst was excellent on the wing. Harry Barnett got back to some of his early season form, Finn Higham was solid as always down back and Kyan Eagleton’s forward pressure was outstanding.

Lockdown means we don’t know when our next game is or who our opponent is. What I do know is that our group will be ready no matter what. Time and time again these young men have found a way to overcome adversity, both on and off the field – and there is no group I would rather be leading through the latter part of this season.

Stay safe and see you at the footy soon!

Best: Kobe Ryan, Luke Young, Jed Obst, Harry Barnett, Finn Higham, Kyan Eagleton

Goals: Luke Young (4), Tom Scully (3), Saleh Baltagie, Kyan Eagleton (2), Jack Sullivan, Harry Barnett, Liam Westdijk, Lachlan Tredwell (1)

 

Paul Streatfield

Talent Manager & U18 Coach