U18’s Match Report – Round 16 vs South Adelaide

Round 16 saw us head to Noarlunga for the first time this year. We had 9 changes to our side from the previous match for various reasons, and we welcomed Alex Curtis for his first game of U18 football at the club. Alex has only been training with us recently and is from the Riverland, and with Harry Barnett getting a league call up there was an opening for Alex to ruck for us in this match.

The feeling in the rooms pre-game was different to what I’ve seen before. It was calm and measured, and I felt assured talking to the players that they were completely focused and knew what would be required to perform well as a group. We led by 31 points at half time but knew South would come as they are a good side and we needed to stay calm and absorb their pressure.

In the third quarter we were able to take the most of our opportunities which was good to see. South had their chances and fortunately didn’t convert. In the last quarter a lot of the sting had gone out of the game but we were able to slightly extend our lead and keep them scoreless to run out 65 point winners.

One of our main focus areas at training has been controlling the speed of play and not getting caught up in frantic moments in games, as well as playing to the time and scoreboard whatever that may be. I was pleased in this game that our group showed great maturity and were able to make sensible decisions without panic.

Kobe Ryan was impressive with 37 disposals and 2 goals in the midfield, Jamie Kovacic played his best game of the year with 8 shots on goal, and Charlie Haysman continued his good run of form in defence. Harrison Barker had 20 disposals and nearly blew-up our GPS unit with his workrate from a forward role, and Jonah Zinndorf was clean and calm in defence proving to be a difficult opponent.

Our group have been excellent over the last month to turn their form around. Whatever happens in the coming weeks will play out, but we are giving it our absolute best and are solely focused on what we can control. This Saturday we play North Adelaide at home for the second time in 4 games. The match is at 10:45am and we hope to see as many people there as possible.

Best: Kobe Ryan, Jamie Kovacic, Charlie Haysman, Harrison Barker, Jonah Zinndorf

Goals: Jamie Kovacic (4), Kade Hilton, Kobe Ryan, Tom Scully (2), Liam Bennetts, Judd Hansen, Ethan Johnson, Jordan White (1)

Paul Streatfield

Talent Manager & U18 Coach