Michael Godden – League Coach Report
The opportunity to respond this week is one of the great things about the home and away season. The performance against South highlighted, in my opinion, a lack of mental preparation and the players knew that. So, to be able to come out against a very determined and drilled side gave us the chance to put a performance together which was closer to our standards.
The game started with us entering our 50 enough times to put a really good score on the board, but we found it hard to get through the numbers in our 50 which is something we have to continue to work on.
Our second quarter was a much more efficient one and we started to see some good movement forward. After the main break we had our chances to break the game open, but then again so did they, so it became a real arm wrestle. It was really disappointing to have two goals kicked against us late in the quarter because I thought prior to that we had some real momentum. Apart from our last quarter against South, our last quarter’s have been very good and once again for most of the quarter it was – we got out to a 30 point lead, but to have 3 goals kicked against us late in the game was really disappointing and something we have to rectify. If we don’t address these drop off’s in intensity at some stage it will really hurt us.
I feel every week we are finding something we need to improve on, but in saying that I also feel we are starting to find what works for us. What we need to do is continue to work on our defensive action while trying to get a lot more attacking plays together so we can put games away.
This week is another huge test and a chance to continue to improve in all areas of our game and get four consistent quarters together.
I would like to congratulate the entire Club on 4 really good wins, especially the Reserves who had real injury worries all day and finished with only 16 fit men on the field. The ability of our Reserves coach Craig Smith to adapt to the changes and the players to draw on their courage is a fantastic thing for the future of our Club. The wins of all grades this weekend is great; we need all at our Club to know what it takes to win consistently so it becomes habit.
Finally, to all of the Eagles people who came to the match on the weekend I say a big thank you. I am led to believe that it was our biggest crowd against West Adelaide since 2001 which is a good result for the Club. I hope to see you all at Woodville Oval again this Saturday against North Adelaide in what is an important match against a team fighting for a place in the finals series.
Craig Smith – Reserves Coach Report
It appeared that circumstance had conspired against us on Sunday. This made the win even the more meritorious. We were forced to play the entire second half with sixteen fit men, and adding to this was the fact that we were coming off a six day break. Even so when the need was there our boys dug deep and managed to come up with the win.
The game was a bit of an arm wrestle in the first half as you would expect from two teams in the top three of the table. The turning point came mid way through the second quarter when an inspirational act from Cody Hicks saw him knocked out. His courage to make the contest was just the spark our boys needed and we kicked the last couple of goals in the second quarter to see us go into the long break eleven points in front.
With no rotations left and Jarrad Redden forced to play full forward despite a quad strain we asked the boys for a big effort. The boys responded and managed to do enough in the second half to see us run out victorious by 16pts.
There were some outstanding individual efforts on the day and Aaron Day and Luke Thompson should be given enormous credit for keeping us in the game with their excellent efforts across half forward. Toddy Culley was very strong across half back and as mentioned Jarrad Redden showed courage to play the second half injured and still make a valued contribution.
We have another six day break this week to lick our wounds so recovery will be of paramount importance and our focus will continue to be improvement in skills and decision making.
Terry Hutton – Under 18’s Coach Report
In fine conditions 2 evenly balanced sides fought out a very tight contest at West Adelaide’s home ground. Many scrimmages occurred as umpires were quick to pay free kicks.
West Adelaide’s short kicks found targets. They ran the ball quickly down field to set up scoring opportunities. The Eagles were able to match them with some very good plays.
In the second quarter a tight contest was developing yet the Eagles were threatening to break the game open. A run on game developed and the side peppered the goals. Several easy shots were missed. Lack of close checking allowed West to score comfortably to stay in touch.
In the third quarter a dour struggle developed. Pressure on opposition was still very good but often went unrewarded. The play on style was often spoilt with look away handballs that fell short of targets. Clean take of the ball was often missing. This allowed West to come back into the game. With clever use of short kick, we swept forward unchecked down the field. The Eagles failed to work back quickly enough into the back line.
In the last quarter a hard fought contest developed. The warm conditions took their toll as players slowed down. West Adelaide stormed back strongly. The Eagles found difficulty in converting relatively easy shots on goal.
Captain Jared Brusnahan tried to inspire his team with dashing displays from the wing. Cunningham was solid in the full back line. Summerton rebounded strongly and drove the ball forward whilst Fairclough was courageous in his attacks on the ball. Huppatz battled in the Ruck and gave our on ballers first sight of the ball.
Darren Hams – Under 16’s Coach Report
In a pleasing four quarter consistent performance, we were able to produce some of our best team footy for the year.
When the game was on in the first quarter our midfield through Nick Clift, James Batty and Luke Dunstan were able to get their hands on the football first, our defensive pressure when West Adelaide when they had the ball was also very good.
Ruckman Karl Muller and Dane Pfitzner provided first use opportunities to the midfield who were able to spot targets going forward in which Tasman Fitzgerald who kicked 7 goals was well up in the best players along with 7 other players contributing to the goal tally.
This week we played the hard running and linking game we have been on at the lads for a while now and it was pleasing to see a lot of attack come from our defensive area with Pat Hill and Albert Dunstan not only beating their immediate opponents but really providing some drive out of the backlines.
With our last game this weekend against Central District this weekend another team performance is eminent to finish off on a positive note.