Michael Godden – Senior Coach Report
This week has definitely been a hectic one, with a lot of distractions around the Club in which the playing group and myself obviously didn’t deal with well enough. In order to be a great Club we need to address our mental strength and mindset when we go into every game. As the game showed it only takes 5 minutes to win or lose a game and on Saturday we were on the losing end. The decision making, skill execution and indecisiveness are all directly related to our mental application and this week we were well below par.
The game was a fairly tight contest right up until that 5 minute period in the third quarter where Glenelg played some very good football and blew the game apart, and we weren’t able to stop the run quickly enough. In saying that we had our chances in the second quarter to take control of the game, but to finish with 1 goal 6 points doesn’t help with the final result. Late in the game I felt we could have really been blown away, but to the players credit they didn’t stop trying and fought all the way to the line.
One positive for the day was the debut for the Club of Aaron Day, Craig Parry and Sam Heinjus, who all got some important time in the middle, along with the recall of Matthew Broadbent, Luke Thompson and Dale Symmons will certainly serve us well in the future.
As I said in the beginning of this report, today was very disappointing in a lot of areas, but as always at this time of year we are a work in progress whilst trying to earn the right to play in the major round. What we do and how we react from the information gained from a bad loss is the most important thing.
Craig Smith – Reserves Coach Report
Round 8 turned out to be the round of opportunity for the Eagles boys. Some of these opportunities were taken, but unfortunately some of them were missed.
There is no doubt that both the league and reserves sides had some disruptions during the week with suspension, injuries and AFL call ups, but these are the norm for most Clubs week in and week out so it was made clear to our boys that excuses would not be made.
The signs didn’t look good early with our boys having to weather an early storm but we managed to steady and head into quarter time in front. It was a tight battle for the next two quarters with both teams trading goals. At three quarter time the vibe was good and we were protecting a 15 point lead. The first 15 minutes of the last quarter were very disappointing with Glenelg kicking away and it looked like we were going to be beaten convincingly. To the boys credit they stuck at it and managed to fight back and get within 5 points with a couple minutes to go, but Glenelg kicked a steadying goal and the contest was over. It was both frustrating and disappointing that we had allowed them to run over us in the final quarter.
Skill errors continue to be our nemesis and we will continue to focus at improving in this area on the track. I mentioned to the players after the game that this result should sting as it was indeed a missed opportunity. Let’s hope that the boys use this sting as a spur for the visit to the Ponderosa this coming weekend.
It was pleasing to see four under 18’s guys get an opportunity on Saturday and they all equipped themselves very well. Cameron Sutcliffe played well again with limited game time, while Braden Cunningham played like a veteran on the last line of defense. Jarred Brusnahan worked tirelessly on the wing and Sam Flanegen showed some real poise and polish around the forward line. It is always encouraging to see our younger boys come in and make a real impact. The future of the Club continues to look bright.
It seems every week I finish my report talking about the challenging week ahead, but I guess that is the nature of the competition. I am certain the players are looking forward to this week. There is no bigger challenge in the SANFL then coming up against Central Districts at Elizabeth. I am confident that we will rise to this challenge.
Terry Hutton – Under 18’s Coach Report
Two top teams appeared evenly matched as both were in the top four. The opening quarter proved fast with Glenelg getting the jump on the home team with clever handball and very accurate kicking. Scrimmages occurred all over the field as both teams applied pressure on their opponents. The backs were put under constant pressure as the ball came in far too easily.
The second quarter saw the battle continue. Glenelg slowly got on top with hard running forward once they had possession. The Eagles were slow to read the play and to work back onto the loose Glenelg players. They were often second to the ball against better opposition. Decisions were slow and that put team mates under constant pressure. The ball was often in the forward 50 but we were unable to score.
The third quarter saw Glenelg again control the play with stronger work rate and the willingness to take the opposition on at all opportunities. They piled on 4 goals very quickly so the Eagles were always trying to play catch up. Many positional changes were made but to little effect.
The fourth quarter saw something of a fightback where disciplined man on man put Glenelg under real pressure for the first time in the match and hence created more opportunities to score. Our team work developed. At last the Eagles were contesting all over the ground. As a result Eagles outscored the Bays but fell short of a winning score. Easy shots for goals were missed. A disappointing result but one that hopefully will make them more determined next week.