Under 18s Match Report – Round 2

Round 2 U18 Match Report

West Adelaide 16.13 (109) def. Central District 5.11 (41)

After a competitive loss to Glenelg the week before we headed to Elizabeth to face Central in our round 2 match. We welcomed Dylan White, Mitchell Hahn and David Midwinter for their first games of the season and the group were eager to show they had learnt from the previous week and were ready to progress their game to another level.

Conditions weren’t easy as a strong wind pushed toward the scoreboard end. We lost the toss and kicked in to it but were able to win the quarter 3 goals to 1 on the back of some sensible controlled ball movement through the middle and patience going forward. When we kicked with it in the second quarter we were able to score but we also conceded too much the other way. We led by 15 points at half-time but knew our best footy was still ahead of us. To Central’s credit they were competing well and their contested ball was a highlight.

The group needed to remain patient and play each moment as it presented itself. To their credit the second half was excellent and we were able to create more scoring opportunities on the back of players being active at all times on the move and some great forward pressure when we sent the ball forward. I was pleased we were able to put the foot down in the last quarter and have 13 shots on goal. The final margin was 68 points and was a good reflection of our performance on the day.

Our midfield were well set-up and stuck to our structures well to control clearances and our defence held up well when the Bulldogs went forward. 64 tackles as a team was slightly short of our target but was still pleasing as we controlled the possession also. Dylan McCormick (9) and Kobe Ryan (8) led the tackle numbers for us.

Kobe Ryan was our best on the day with 33 disposals and 8 clearances. Harry Barnett and Oscar Steene provided a good contest in the ruck all day and Jaeden Watts led our 11 goal scorers with 3 of his own.

Overall a positive day for the group and all players contributed to the outcome. This week we come back home to play Sturt on Saturday at 11:30am. We expect a tight contest and will work hard during the week to prepare for it as best we can.

Paul Streatfield

U18 Coach