“This is the best time of year to play football” said everyone who has ever played finals! There is no doubt that even the footy Gods are excited about this time of year as the sun always comes out and it shines a little warmer, the grass just smells that bit fresher and it’s just a great time of year.
I think the sun did poke its head out between the rain clouds at least once last Sunday as the Sydney Swans reserves headed out to Blacktown to take on the NT Thunder in a preliminary final. For the winner it was onto to a Grand Final while a loss would mean the end of the season for the other team.
We defeated NT earlier in the year, but in our last meeting just over a month ago things didn’t go to plan and we were soundly beaten. We knew that we were in for a tough match both in terms of the contested possessions, as well as trying to match them on the outside with their leg speed.
Fortunately, we could not have asked for a better start kicking the first goal of the game after about a minute, but we wouldn’t hold the lead for long as NT got an instant reply. Both teams worked hard to kick goals as that faint glimpse of sunshine vanished and the rain tumbled down. The NT kicked three goals to our two for the quarter and led by five points at the first break.
Our opposition adapted to the slippery conditions quicker kicking the first two goals of the second quarter to extend their lead out to 17 points. The NT’s pressure mixed with our over possessing of the ball stifled our ability to move the ball effectively. It took some time before we managed to answer late and kick two goals of our own and reduce the margin back to two goals at half time.
While we did change things around a little at half time, ultimately the second half would come down to hard work and desire. We were being beaten to the ball and that needed to change. Our boys dug in, we won the ball inside, and worked harder to match their spread on the outside. Our hard work was rewarded on the scoreboard and the pleasing thing was our ability to maintain it for the second half.
We finished strongly and recorded a good win, which set us up for a Grand Final berth this weekend. No matter what the level of football, this is the time of year you want to be playing and we are excited about the opportunity we have before us. With the seniors having the weekend off we’d love to see as many Swans fans as possible in Brisbane to come and cheer on the boys. I know they would love your support.
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 – Dan Robinson
Dan was given the job to shut down key NT playmaker Cameron Ilett and he did a superb job restricting him to just 11 disposals for the game. Ilett was identified as a key to the Thunder with his big body at stoppages and ball-winning ability. Dan was disciplined in his approach, nullifying his influence whilst still finding a bit of the ball himself.
Key Stats: Eight kicks, nine handballs, one mark, four clearances
Jeremy Laidler
With five key senior players coming back into the side against Fremantle in the qualifying final on Saturday afternoon, Jeremy was one of the unlucky ones who missed out. He came back to the reserves with a fantastic attitude and this reflected in his performance on Sunday. He was able to read the play well with numerous intercepts and impacted the contests strongly with six spoils.
Key stats: 12 kicks, six handballs, six marks, six spoils, seven intercepts
Tom Mitchell
It was a solid game from Tom this week. In wet and slippery conditions, he was right at home in the congestion with eight important clearances. He was also able to hit the scoreboard with two nice goals in the last quarter to help seal the win.
Key Stats: 13 kicks, 16 handballs, one mark, eight clearances, two goals
Toby Nankervis
Toby played mainly forward with limited time in the ruck. He presented well and gave a strong contest aerially inside our forward 50. He could have easily kicked another three or four goals but was unable to close the deal on a few marking opportunities he was presented with.
Key Stats: seven kicks, seven handballs, five marks, two goals
Sam Naismith
After getting the call up to the seniors against Richmond last week, Sam was able to get a taste of what it is like at the highest level. He was able to bring a new level of intensity to his game and this showed on Sunday being the dominant ruckman on the ground with a game-high 48 hit-outs. His effort and work rate in and around the congestion was excellent and he worked hard to give our midfielders first look at the ball.
Key stats: eight kicks, nine handballs, four marks, 11 tackles, 48 hit-outs
Dean Towers
Dean was able to impact the game with his leg speed both from a defensive side with a couple of terrific chase down tackles and an offensive side by working hard to get on the end of some ball inside 50 and cashing in with some nice goals.
Key Stats: 10 kicks, eight handballs, three marks, three goals
Xavier Richards
Xavier had to take on competition leading goal kicker Darren Ewing and he kept him scoreless for the game. Ewing has proven to be a handful for key defenders throughout the course of the year kicking a few bags, so it was important to shut him out of the game. Whilst Xavier didn’t get a lot of the ball he defended well and contributed well to the win.
Key Stats: four kicks, three handballs, two marks, three intercepts
