U18’s Match Report – Round 15 v Glenelg

Round 15 saw us travel to Glenelg to play the Tigers for the second time this year. After getting close to them last time we played, we felt we were well prepared for the challenge and knew that we had to keep winning to keep our season alive, a challenge we’ve had for a month now. Kade Hilton, Harry Lemmey, Ben Excell and Liam Bennetts came into our side from the previous week.

In the first half we played the sort of football that we expect from our side. We had a good mix of contested ball and then offensive movement that allowed us to score ourselves, whilst also holding Glenelg to just 4 goals for the half. We led by 16 points at half-time but knew the game was far from over. Lachlan Tredwell kicked 2 first-half goals and looked damaging up forward.

Our third quarter was disappointing, but not taking anything away from Glenelg as they lifted their pressure and were terrific. We knew we had gone away from some fundamentals in our game, largely our ability to defend in fast play which we need to get better at in the coming weeks. Having said that, we still held up ok and only conceded 3 goals of the term and trailed by 5 points at the last change.

The final term was a genuine arm wrestle. We were able to kick 2 goals to one, with Darcy Minchella and Harry Lemmey ensuring we took the lead early on. Neither team scored in the last 7 minutes of the game and we held on for a 2-point win. Our defence held strong under enormous pressure with Glenelg having repeat entries as the siren sounded. A great result for our side and we know we have more improvement left in us.

Darcy Minchella played his best game for us and added 21 disposals and 11 marks to his hitout dominance. Charlie Haysman was excellent down back amassing 25 disposals and Jack Oates played an important key defensive role. Oscar Talbot was impressive after receiving a late call up for the game whilst Jordan White and Finn Higham continued their impressive form.

With the competition bye this week we will refresh and reset ourselves to mount a challenge in the last 3 games of the year. We look forward to playing South next weekend and know they will be a good opponent. Our game is on Sunday August 7 at Noarlunga and we would love your support.

Best: Darcy Minchella, Charlie Haysman, Jack Oates, Oscar Talbot, Jordan White, Finn Higham

Paul Streatfield

Talent Manager & U18 Coach