Under 18 Coaches Report – West v Norwood

Round 12 U18 Match Report

West Adelaide 15.8 (98) def. Norwood 7.4 (46)

Playing Norwood when college players are available is always a tough challenge and we expected this game to be no different. Both sides had several changes to the teams that faced each other a month ago – but with that game going down to the last kick of the day we needed to be on from the start.

The message to our group during the week was that if we kept moving and playing urgent football then we would always be in the match and would be hard to defend. The game started as a tight struggle as both teams sounded each other out. Turnovers from both sides meant there weren’t many clean passages of play in the first quarter and it was one goal each at quarter time. Riley Thilthorpe who was returning from injury looked good up forward presenting strongly and taking some nice contested marks.

The second and third quarters saw us play some of our best football for the year and kick a combined 7 goals to just 2 from the Redlegs. Quick ball movement from defence was assisted by good two-way running from our midfielders. For the first time this year our forwards functioned well on a big oval and were able to ensure we had good link from the midfield to the forward line. As a result we were able to put the Norwood defence under pressure and ultimately score heavily during this time.

The game opened up for both teams in the last quarter with a combined 9 goals kicked between the two teams. What was most pleasing was that we kept playing right until the final siren. After a relatively quiet first 3 quarters Beau Nunan kicked 4 goals in the last to finish with 6 for the game.

Dion Brauer played his best game for the club with 3 goals and Riley Thilthorpe finished with 3 for the game. Led by Jason Westley with 12, our team again put the opposition under enormous pressure laying 79 tackles. Our midfield were on top for the majority of the game and overall it really was a case of all played well.

This week we face North Adelaide on Saturday at home after the league match. It would be great to see as many people as possible stay to watch this important game with both sides currently sitting in the top 4 and looking to consolidate their position. We are playing some solid football to date but still have a lot of work to do to ensure we become the team we think we can be.

Best: Riley Thilthorpe, Beau Nunan, Joel Groom, Eduard Van den Berg, Dion Brauer, Bailey Chamberlain

Goals: Beau Nunan (6), Dion Brauer, Riley Thilthorpe (3), Bailey Fielke, Mac Nield, Oliver Ebert (1)

Paul Streatfield

Talent & Development Manager / U18 Coach