League Match Report – Round 17

Round 17 saw us venture to Adelaide Oval to play in the second annual Neil Kerley Tribute Match. We all know the impact Neil had on our club and football in general, and it is an honour for our club to lead this match each year. The challenge of playing a quality side at Adelaide Oval was exciting for our group. The biggest games of the year are played at Adelaide Oval, and we are striving to be part of more of them in the years to come.

I was pleased with our start to the game. We were able to apply good pressure on Adelaide and our contested ball was a feature early. We were able to absorb their pressure and then score the other way, taking a 15 point lead in to the first change. In the second quarter Adelaide’s pressure increased and we made some errors with our decision making and skill execution. Despite this we still held a narrow lead at half time.

Our second half was disappointing as we were comprehensively beaten both inside and outside the contest. We were unable to gain any control on the ball, and Adelaide played at a speed and intensity that we were unable to rise to. I have no doubt the effort of the group remained high as it always does, but we clearly have a lot of learnings to take out of this match if we are going to continue to develop as a group.

Sam Frost and Brady Searle battled well all day in the midfield, Will Patton and Callum Park were solid down back and Michael Laudato showed some promising moments up forward.

We get back to work this week looking for an improved performance on Saturday. We will get as much as possible out of the next fortnight as we look to finish the year strongly and push forward over the off-season.

Again I’d like to thank everyone for their continued support, not just on the weekend but for our club in general. I hope to see you this weekend for our last home match of the season.

Goals: J. Gore (2), H. Ellem, M. Laudato, L. Redfern, N. Stevens (1)

Best: Brady Searle, Callum Park, Michael Laudato

Adam Hartlett – League Coach