Under 18s Match Report: West v South

Round 9 U18 Match Report

West Adelaide 8.9 (57) def. by South Adelaide 12.10 (82)

Round 9 saw us travel to Noarlunga for the second time in a month to face the Panthers. Zach Still came in for his first game after training very well for a long time. Tom Scully returned to college football and David Midwinter was a late withdrawal with shin soreness.

South got the jump with the first 2 goals and we took a bit of time to get going. Once we settled we played some good football in the first quarter and went in level at quarter time. In the second quarter we were excellent. Kicking 6 goals to 2 for the term, our ball movement was fast and we played with the natural flair that we encourage our players to bring each week. Mitch Hahn was damaging up forward, our mids were competing well and our defence held up well. Unfortunately Patrick Singleton left the field early in the match with a broken collarbone – we wish him all the best with his recovery. Our lead was 27 points at half-time thanks to Luke Young’s second goal on the siren.

Sometimes we can overcomplicate football. On Saturday we saw that when we play with urgency and make quick decisions we are a very good side. When South lifted their intensity in the second half we didn’t go with them. It goes to show what a good competition this is when if you’re off for a bit the opposition will hurt you. Certainly cannot question the effort of our group and we did have more inside 50’s in the last quarter than South but were unable to capitalise. We are disappointed most with some undisciplined acts that proved costly in the second half that we need to ensure don’t continue.

Charlie Pridham was influential down back again with 31 disposals including 15 handball received. Oscar Steene was impressive as our primary ruckman, while Mitchell Hahn kicked 3 goals and Dylan White gathered 29 disposals in one of his best games of the year.

Our group have grasped a number of opportunities this year, yet on Saturday we let one go. We will judge ourselves on our response this week.  On Friday night this week we play Woodville-West Torrens for the Jake Watson Shield. This is the most significant minor round match in our U18 calendar and our boys will be up for the occasion. The match is at 6pm and with no other West Adelaide matches this weekend we would love as many supporters there as possible.

Best: Charlie Pridham, Oscar Steene, Mitchell Hahn, Dylan White, Luke Young, Cade Kennedy

Goals: Mitchell Hahn (3), Luke Young (2), Dylan White, Saleh Baltagie, Jaeden Watts (1)

Paul Streatfield

U18 Coach