Reserves Match Report

Round 17 saw us return from the bye to play the Eagles at home. We had shown in previous weeks that we are capable of putting some good football together, but we placed a large focus on playing with more instinct and freedom with the aim of players having the best chance to show us their natural ability.

We have some key measurables that we use on game day that are in line with the League game plan. Ultimately these rely heavily on contest and pressure. There’s no doubt that in the first half this was the best aspect of our game, and pleasingly we were also able to string together some exciting ball movement that gave us a good chance of scoring. We went in to half time with a 7-point lead but knew we still had areas to improve on.

The third quarter saw the Eagles lift their intensity and they had a clear plan to speed the game up. Whilst our effort remained high, we weren’t able to get our hands on the ball enough which meant the quarter was played largely in our back half. Our defenders held up well early on, but pure weight of numbers resulted in the Eagles kicking 4 goals for the quarter and we trailed at the last change.

I was pleased with the way the group kept playing in the last quarter. Our energy remained high and we handled the pressure much better than the third quarter. It isn’t always easy to reset at a break but the players did well and showed good maturity to run the game out the way they did. Ultimately we fell short by 23 points but there are many learnings we take out of the game and will get to work on this week.

Dylan Bramich was impressive kicking 4 goals, Mitch Maguire battled hard all day and Cooper Patterson competed well in defence.

We have 2 games to go this year and still have plenty to get out of the season. We are treating each training and game as a headstart for 2025 and appreciate all of your continued support each week.

Best: Dylan Bramich, Sam Davidson, Mitch Maguire, Jordan White, Cooper Patterson

Goals: Dylan Bramich (4), Sam Davidson, Jack Hutton, Mitch Maguire, Rhys Mooney, Joel Stevens (1)

Head of Football & Talent – Paul Streatfield