Under 18s Coaches Report

Round 13 U18 Match Report

West Adelaide 12.10 (82) def. North Adelaide 5.11 (41)

It had been 14 weeks since we last played North and on that occasion they gave us a first-half touch up – probably the only time a team has completely outplayed us all year. Since that game our group have been gradually developing and improving and I was eager to see how we would go against them this time. North had been playing some good football and were second on the ladder so this shaped up as a good test for our group.

In an exciting day for the football club, four of our players were playing reserves football and Riley Thilthorpe made his league debut – meaning opportunities had opened up for players in our team. Tom Pearce, Mack Pederick, Harvey Bock and Austin Forbes returned to our side for the clash.

With our previous encounter v North in mind, our focus was on a fast start. Our midfield were able to get on top and send the ball moving quickly and our forwards applied great pressure. A six goal to none first quarter was a good start however we knew North would hit back.

After that point the game was relatively even. Both sides had their chances and after North made a charge on a couple of occasions, we were able to settle and get the game back on our terms. Our defenders held up well from North’s entries and were able to accelerate the game back our way. Harvey Bock played his best game of the year and Michael Laudato was again strong down back. In the end the final margin of 41 points doesn’t reflect the game – but it does reflect our fast start and good last quarter. The rest of the game was reasonably evenly battled.

Special mention this week goes three of our big men who were asked to play the full game to ensure we had enough tall/marking options around the ground. Well done to Hugo Kelly, Harri Bailye and Saul Morelli on carrying out this task and battling through the game & also to our midfielders who played without Jason Westley from early in the second quarter who was ruled out with concussion.

This week we return to Unley to play Sturt for the fourth time this year. We still have a lot of improvement to focus on. The best thing right now is that we have a driven group who are playing their role and are enjoying playing football together. The game is on Saturday at 10:30am, it would be great to see lots of West support there.

Best: Harvey Bock, Bailey Chamberlain, Michael Laudato, Beau Nunan, Aryan Sareen, Joel Groom

Goals: Beau Nunan (4), Bailey Chamberlain (2), Mac Nield, Hugo Kelly, Jason Westley, Harri Bailye, Bailey Boughen, Oliver Ebert (1)

Paul Streatfield

Talent & Development Manager / U18 Coach