Under 18s Match Report: West v Eagles

Round 10 U18 Match Report

West Adelaide 13.12 (90) drew with Woodville – West Torrens 14.6 (90)

Round 10 saw us host the Eagles in the annual Jake Watson memorial match, a tradition that means so much to both clubs as we remember Jake Watson along with Ben Mitchell, Glenn Knott and Corey Siemers who tragically passed away during their time playing at our club. There is no extra motivation needed on a night as important as this, but to go along with it the match saw 2nd face 3rd with the outcome important for ladder implications.

Lachlan Tredwell and Darcy Minchella were selected for their first games of Under-18 football and both looked at home. Lachlan kicked 3 goals and was a focal point up forward, whilst Darcy competed well when in the ruck and took some important marks around the ground.

The first half saw both teams have periods of dominance. We were able to get to a 25-point lead on the back of some excellent first quarter football, before the Eagles piled on 5 goals straight and took a 12 point lead in to half time. We weren’t able to adapt quickly enough to their running handball game and needed to apply more pressure in front of them, a focus for the second half.

The third quarter was a tight affair and we were able to score a couple of late goals to take a 2 point lead in to the last change. In the last quarter the game opened up with both teams scoring freely. We had more chances on goal but hit the post a couple of times and missed a couple we should have converted. The Eagles were accurate kicking 5 goals from 6 chances.

14 points down with 7 minutes to play is a daunting task and most teams would find it too difficult, but our boys again showed they have the will to keep going and play until the final siren. Jake Watson and the other past bloods would have been proud of this fight, as I was on the night. A draw was a fair result as both teams showed they can be damaging with the ball, but both also had lapses that allowed the opposition to score freely.

Jesse Thackeray played very well again with 27 disposals and 11 clearances, Jed Obst returned from college football and accumulated 21 possessions including the goal that levelled the scores late. Lachlan Tredwell was excellent with 3 goals in his first game at this level whilst Dylan White finished with 23 disposals and 8 tackles in a well rounded performance.

I would like to thank everyone for their attendance on Friday night. It was noticeable that the crowd was bigger and louder than normal and we appreciated this support on a special night for our club.

This weekend we begin a string of games against North Adelaide. Our match is on Saturday at Prospect Oval starting at 12:30pm. With North sitting just outside the top 4, we will need to be switched on and at our best as we know their best football is very good.

Best: Jesse Thackeray, Jed Obst, Lachlan Tredwell, Dylan White, Finn Higham, Luke Young

Goals: Lachlan Tredwell (3), Dylan White, Luke Young, Mitchell Hahn (2), Jed Obst, Jack Sullivan, Dylan McCormick, Tyrell Sgroi (1)

Paul Streatfield

U18 Coach