I was pleased to find all 22 players had rocked up on time to Blacktown on Saturday morning to take on the Gold Coast Suns reserves. I say pleased because of the heavy fog that had engulfed all of Sydney that morning. From the road you could just make out the grandstands of the ground. With visibility down to less than 50 meters at that time of the day, it would have been easy to get lost or even take a few unexpected detours! I am sure a few of the boys did make a couple of wrong turns in the conditions, but they all arrived safely and started their preparations. It was still two hours before the opening bounce and although you couldn’t see either goals from the stands, there was plenty of time for the fog to lift.
Preparations for the game continued and although conditions were still foggy for the first warm up outside, we could see the fog slowly lifting. I did get a little concerned when I reached the coaches box after giving my final address to see the fog was still around. But it did seem as though the footy gods were playing with us as the umpire raised the ball to start the game, with the fog rapidly disappearing which allowed us to see the whole field, but left the ground in a wet and slippery condition.
The boys started well and our pressure looked good. We managed to get the ball inside our forward 50, kicking a couple of goals and holding the Suns goalless in the first quarter. The footy gods continued to play with the conditions, with blue skies and a nice warm sun appearing that quickly dried the ground. The conditions must have been to the liking of the Suns, although we were a long way from any beach. The sun and warmth seemed to energize them and their pressure lifted and they kicked some nice goals. We on the other hand looked as though the sun was draining our energy and our pressure dropped along with our run, which slowed our ball movement. We were outscored for the quarter and went into the long break with a small lead.
The message was simple at half time: We can’t play good football without our energy and enthusiasm and it is everyone’s responsibility to bring it. We started to show signs of improvement in the third quarter. Our ruckman were giving us first use and the run was starting to come. We kicked four goals while the Suns hung in there with two goals of their own.
We managed to play some better football in the last quarter. We took the game on and were rewarded with six goals. We looked better all over the field with more synergy between the forwards, midfielders and defenders. It was a good win against a physical opponent.
It’s back to the SCG for the last time this year this weekend when we host UWS on Saturday morning. It would be great to see plenty of fans in the stands early to cheer on the boys. There is no doubt the support of the fans will help the boys find the energy and enthusiasm from the start of the game and will help them put in a good performance.
Player Focus:
Each week, the Sydney Swans development coaches, Josh Francou, Jared Crouch and Nick Davis will highlight the performances of some of the Swans’ NEAFL players.
These players are those who contributed well on game day, made improvements or played a significant role for the Swans.
NEAFL Player of the Week – Tommy Walsh
Tommy was our most influential player in the reserves this week. He was heavily involved in the game from start to finish. The defensive side of his game was very good with numerous intercepts and spoils and having a strong physical presence in aerial contests. Offensively he was also able to help with our ball movement from the back half.
Key Stats: 14 kicks, 13 handballs, seven marks, 15 intercepts, eight spoils
George Hewett
George was very good again this week. He continues to make good decisions and always looks to have time and space when in traffic. His tackling on the weekend was a strength with five for the match, as was his stoppage work around the ruck contests with seven clearances.
Key Stats: 14 kicks, 19 handballs, seven marks, one goal
Zak Jones
It was Zak’s first game back from injury and he was solid down back. One of the strengths of his game is the competitiveness he shows and he didn’t disappoint on the weekend. He was able to read the play well and intercept the ball on a number of occasions. Although he played limited game time, he ran the game out well.
Key stats: 13 kicks, six handballs, five marks, four tackles, five intercepts
Harrison Marsh
Since coming back from injury, Marshy has looked very comfortable down back. He again defended very strongly on the weekend with good use of the body on his opponent, and he also had a presence in marking contests with some good spoiling. Offensively he showed some explosive speed with good reaction time allowing him to give some drive out of the back half.
Key Stats: 16 kicks, nine handballs, nine marks, seven spoils, five intercepts
Jordan Lockyer
Jordan had a good game across the centre and down back against the Suns. He has had big numbers in terms of possessions in recent weeks and had another 31 on Saturday and had an impact on the game with five clearances and eight inside 50’s.
Key stats: 17 kicks, 14 handballs, eight marks
