Sydney Swans reserves coach Jared Crouch said defence will be one of the team’s major focuses heading into the opening round of the NEAFL season.

Following Friday night’s 22-goal practice match victory over Sydney University, Crouch said the team’s defensive efforts will be closely assessed in the lead up to round one.

“One of the things to be mindful of in regard to a number of our younger guys is that the offence part of their game is very good, and in a game like Friday’s that certainly comes to the fore,” Crouch said.

“We need to make sure against GWS and then against Gold Coast, that our defensive football is at the front of our mindset.”

The reserves were assisted on Friday night by senior players Marty Mattner, Nick Smith, Shane Mumford and Craig Bird as they notched up more match time ahead of the seniors’ opening round clash against GWS this Saturday.

Crouch said he hoped his young defenders took advantage of the on-field leadership provided by Mattner and Smith throughout the match.

“Marty Mattner, when he went down in defence was just really clear and loud with his instructions to the other guys,” he said.

“It’s not that the younger players don’t know it, it’s just having that voice out there, and hopefully they saw what Marty was doing out there and took a little bit from that.

“Nick and all the other guys were all the same with their voice and instructions, which was clear, loud and just helped get the job done.”

At the opposite end of the field, the reserves showed plenty of promise up forward, with the team combining for 27 goals during the match.

Leading the way was young draftee Tim Membrey, who finished the match with six goals, while Dan Robinson (four), Mitch Morton (three), Brandon Jack (three) and Tommy Walsh (two) also finished with multiple goals.

Crouch said Membrey, along with Alex Brown and Jed lamb were among the team’s best.

“Tim played really well up forward and managed to kick six goals,” he said.

“Jed Lamb was another one who continues to play really well. He’s been playing very well after a solid pre-season.

“Alex Brown is another one. He got 15 minutes over in Adelaide last week, but hasn’t had a lot of game time in the pre-season, but he was a target up forward for us and was OK down in defence when he was down there as well.”

Despite posting a big win against them on Friday night, Crouch said he was pleased with the improvement of Sydney Uni, who will enter their second year in the NEAFL this season.

“It was really pleasing to see that Sydney Uni had improved. The score line doesn’t reflect that because we had those senior players playing, but they were certainly more competitive,” Crouch said.

“There was a bit of a concern about the quality of competition we were coming up against because it was the last opportunity for some senior players to get match time, but Sydney Uni came and had a crack and if they continue to do that week in, week out in the competition against the other sides then they will surprise a couple of teams this year and will win a few games.”