The QBE Sydney Swans Academy fell to its first loss in the U18 Academy Series on Saturday, but head coach Jared Crouch says his chargers turned in starring performances.
Sydney recorded a 32-point loss to Tasmania in Glenorchy as the young Swans again strived to stake their claims ahead of the National and Rookie Drafts.
Every player who will be 18 years of age by December 31 will be eligible for the Drafts and Crouch was pleased with his side’s efforts in the 18.5 (113) to 12.9 (81) defeat.
“Nick Blakey has been very good in every game he’s played for us,” Crouch said.
“Josh Stern is an overage player and sometimes you miss how good he actually is. It’s not until you go and study the video that you see he’s at the bottom of the pack, distributing the ball to a lot of his teammates and helping get the ball going forward.
“So Nick and Josh are two of the older guys who certainly played some good football on the weekend.”
Blakey last week nominated Sydney as his preferred club of choice ahead of the Draft and booted three first-half goals in the clash with Tasmania.
The 18-year-old had already bagged five goals in Sydney’s championship-opener against the Brisbane Lions and another seven in Round 2 against GWS.
He also took an outstanding speccy on Saturday and turned heads with his strong leading and expert reading of the play.
Stern was strong in the midfield and at half-back and has fired in combination with ruckmen Zac Cameron and Christian Loone throughout the Series.
But a host of Under-17s have also bolstered Sydney in the five-round competition and Crouch said they again impressed in the loss to Tasmania.
“Nick Brewer, Luke Parks, Harry Parker – they’re all Under-17s who continue to play well,” Crouch said.
“So there are a lot of younger guys getting opportunities and showing that they can match it at this level and the exciting thing is we get to watch them all again next year.”
Sydney was up against it from the outset on Saturday as Tasmania raced to six first-term goals to the visitors’ one to take a 30-point lead into quarter-time.
But the Swans refused to lie down, responding with a four-goals-to-three second stanza and booting another seven across the third and fourth terms to make a fist of the contest.
Sydney and Tasmania were the only two undefeated sides ahead of the Round 4 fixture and Saturday’s victors were flying off the back of a 96-point win over Brisbane the week prior.
Crouch tipped his hat to Tasmania but was proud of Sydney’s grit.
“Full credit to Tasmania – they came out and played really good football,” Crouch said.
“They jumped us early and our boys fought on. I was really pleased with the fact they continued to have good patches throughout the game. It was just the ability to claw that margin back that Tasmania got on us early and they managed to maintain that for the whole game.”
The Swans are now set for their first home match since facing the Giants in Round 2.
They beat the Northern Territory in Alice Springs in Round 3 and after meeting Tasmania will host the Gold Coast Suns in Blacktown on Saturday.
The Suns have won two and lost two ahead of the clash with the Swans and were brilliant in an 89-point win over the Northern Territory in the Top End on Saturday.
Crouch said the Swans keenly awaited another huge test.
“We’ve had a disappointment down in Tasmania but we get to come back home,” Crouch said.
“It’s the last game of the Series and you always want to finish on a high.
“We’ll prepare ourselves for a very good side in the Gold Coast. There’s everything to play for and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Gold Coast forwards Caleb Graham (six goals, 22 touches) and Josh Gore (five goals, 18 possessions) played starring roles in the win over the Northern Territory.
They led the way in an 18-goal onslaught but Crouch backs the Swans’ up-and-coming defence to hold firm.
“Tasmania had a couple of guys who had kicked big bags going into the game on Saturday but no one kicked a bag of goals against us,” Crouch said.
“The defenders played pretty well.”
