U18’s Match Report – Round 18 vs Norwood

Round 18 saw us travel to The Parade to face Norwood who were in excellent form winning 7 of their last 8 games. We had also been playing well winning our last 5, and we knew that with Sturt winning earlier in the day we needed to win by about 6 goals to advance to the finals. We had 7 changes to our side from the previous week with some colleges not having school games.

Rather than summarising the entire game, I will highlight that inconsistency hurt us in this game as it has in some others. Our first quarter was good and we were able to score and win the contested ball and were in front at quarter time. The second and third quarter saw Norwood get on top with quick ball movement and we were unable to match their run. We knew we had to score quickly so we couldn’t play conservatively and needed to make some changes to attack the game. I was pleased that in the last quarter we were able to keep competing and kept the margin to what it finished at when it could have been even higher.

Kobe Ryan played a solid game despite receiving additional attention finishing with 25 disposals. Harry Lemmey again showed his exciting potential at either end of the ground with 9 marks and a goal, and Judd Hansen capped off an excellent season with 3 goals as our most dangerous forward on the day. Tyson Coe battled hard all game with 22 disposals and a goal, while Kade Hilton showed glimpses of the exciting player he is going to be for us in years to come.

Ultimately our season finishes shorter than we wanted it to, but this was our first loss since July 2 and the group have been outstanding to be up for a long period of time. We didn’t get it right on this day but we never gave in. The boys are hurting but I hope they understand that their season has been positive and they’ve all improved as players. You will see a lot of them running around in our senior sides or higher in the years to come. Thankyou for your support throughout the year and we look forward to bouncing back in 2023.

Best: Kobe Ryan, Harry Lemmey, Judd Hansen, Tyson Coe, Kade Hilton

Goals: Judd Hansen (3), Liam Westdijk, Tyson Coe, Harry Lemmey, Kade Hilton, Jamie Kovacic (1)

Paul Streatfield

Talent Manager & U18 Coach