Reserves Match Report – R11

Round 11 saw us ap against North Adelaide for the third time this season. With both previous matches being close encounters, we knew that if we came with the right mindset and a high work rate for 4 quarters then we would put ourselves in a good position to get back on the winners list.

Our focus all week had been on the contest and our defensive transition, which I could tell from the start of the game were both on and this helped us to get out to a 16 point half time lead. We knew North would come at us in the second half and to the credit of our young group, every time they did, we were up to the challenge and responded running out with a 22-point win.

Our undersized back 7 went into the game with an average age of 19 and I could not have been prouder with how they went about it on Sunday. The composure and leadership they showed rubbed off on our whole group and was a big part in why we ended up with the win.

Jesse Thackeray and Jordan White (Both products of our Riverland zone) continued their outstanding seasons, Nic Steele showed why he is so important to our group with his hard running, leadership and 4qtr work rate while Josh Sheppard and Riley Corbett both worked tirelessly to give us a contest in our forward half all day.

The challenge for our group going forward is to produce this energy and effort on a more consistent basis both from week to week and quarter to quarter. We have shown when we play to our structures and our intensity is high, we are in games, and we look forward to bringing this again this weekend at home to Sturt.

Reserves Coach – Daimon Head