U18 COUNTRY VS CITY TRIAL
2/03/2015 3:14:01 PM
Norwood Football Club Under 18 Trial Match Report
EP Livestock and CPH Country Academy v Metropolitan Squad
The Norwood Under 18 Metro Squad boarded a brand new Kanga Coach at Coopers Stadium on Saturday 28th February at 7am and set off on a 700km drive to play the EP Livestock and CPH Country Academy team in Port Lincoln at 6pm. The Country players travelled from all over the Eyre Peninsula to be at Mallee Park at 4pm, ready to show the Norwood coaches why they deserve a chance to play for the Norwood Under 18 team during the 2015 season.
Mallee Park was in very good condition and the metro team got away to a good start. They played to Ben Warren’s game plan and they spread hard and used the ball well. The country team were really competitive and they showed a fierce desire to tackle with aggression and this kept them in the game. At three quarter time the metro team had significantly more possessions and were 6 goals to 2 ahead. The country team were asked to run harder in transition and try and get the ball going forward. The country team maintained their fierce aggression but also got the ball moving forward quickly and kicked 4 unanswered goals to have the scoreboard tied away at 6 goals each with 2 minutes to play. The metro coaches (Paul Streatfield, Geoff Riddle, Scott Prebble, Scott Irrgang and Ray Kropinski) were certainly up out of their seats and stalking the boundary line as the country team won the centre clearance. The ball was kicked in long and high to Michael Dewson who got two hands to it but could not complete the mark under excellent pressure from Connor Hillcoat and the metro team cleared the ball and took it the length of the ground. Chris Olsson took a mark 45m out from goal as the siren sounded, he was kicking into a strong wind and his kick was stopped just on the line. A 6 goal all tie was a good result for our first Norwood U18 country v metro trial.
It was a great learning experience for the country players, this was their fourth academy session and during the game Ben Warren spent the game on the oval talking with and helping the forwards improve their positioning and running patterns and Robbie Neill did the same job at the other end for the defenders. The country players have been exposed to many different concepts and structures during their 4 sessions and it was fantastic to have Ben and Robbie help solidify these ideas on the oval during a game.
Some of the players to watch from this game were: Country - Sam Clements (Under 18 strong, smart inside mid), Brock McFarlane (U17 midfielder who is an elite runner and is very coachable), Mitch Gum (U16 ruck/forward who has sticky hands and showed an excellent vertical jump in the ruck), Tom Charlton (U17 190cm forward who moves beautifully and took some lovely pack marks), Brodie White (U17 outside mid who moves really well and kicks with penetration) and Troy Simpson (U17 outside mid who has outstanding vision and movement). Metro – Darcy Pisani (U17 inside mid who is really tough and has excellent agility), Jack Bollmeyer (U18 inside mid who is very strong and a really good aerobic athlete), Aaron Stewart (U18 outside mid who is very clean in the air and off the floor and has a very nice kick), Harry Cross (U18 mid/defender who has excellent agility and loves to tackle) and Chris Lodovici (U18 outside mid who has excellent vision, loves to step past his opposition and is a wonderful kick).
Many thanks to Mallee Park Football Club and Harry Miller Senior for providing the oval and club room. Nick Cubbitt, Mickaila Dorsi and Chris Bagg for travelling and being the medical staff for both teams. Andrew Taheny and Gavin Goodfellow for all their assistance with the Academy. Ben Warren for his significant input into the Academy sessions and him giving up his weekend to come and work with the country players during this game. Paul Streatfield, Geoff Riddle, Scott Irrgang, Scott Prebble and Ray Kropinski for coaching the metro team. EP Livestock and CPH for their generous sponsorship of the Academy program. Robbie Neill has done a tremendous job setting up and facilitating all the academy sessions and ensuring that every visit Norwood had to the EP was well organised and very educational for the players. It has been a significant work load and he has done a wonderful job giving the country players a taste of what is available at Norwood.
I am sure all Norwood supporters are looking forward to watching the exciting talent from our country zone move through our club and represent us at league level.
David Oatey
U18 Coach
Back: L. McInnis, C. Wild, M. Gum, B. White, J. Andrews, B. McFarlane, T. Charlton, B. Brown, R. Maitland, E. Thompson, T. Maughan, L. Andrews,T Collins, T. Sinclair, M. Dewson, B. McComb
Front: Brayden Martin, Cole Gerloff, L. McDonald, J. Wilkins, S. Clements, C. Woolford, G. Hutchinson, M. Marschall, K. Olds, T. Simpson, J. Sampson
Coaches: David Oatey, Ben Warren, Robbie Neill
Back: R. Kropinski (runner), P. Streatfield (coach), T. Nunn, H. Cross, A. Davies, O. Petrohilos, C, Hillcoat, M. Carter, M. Walters, J. Bollmeyer, K. Blades, C. Nickson, G. Riddle (assistant coach), S. Irrgang (assistant coach), S. Prebble (assistant coach)
Middle: T. Bielby, J. Bower, A. Zeni, D. Pisani, A. Stewart, J. Pitman, H. George, B. Martin
Front: T. Breden, C. Olsson, C. Lodovici, K. Nurton, M. Haynes, J. Smith, J. Astbury, C. Distefano
Last Modified on 02/03/2015 18:09