Coach’s Wrap:

As lightning flickered through the blackened sky, we traversed the sound in search of a win. Travelling with both women’s and men’s teams we landed with purpose, excited to see what our new recruits had to offer.

Zeke and Julian suited up for the home team to ensure we could play 14 v 14, a sacrifice appreciated by all. They both showed plenty of promise throughout the game, with Zeke giving us a 6th option in ruck going forward .

The highly anticipated fab 4 midfield combination transgressed into startling reality. Nic (yeah I go ok) Xerris, Thomas (catch me if you can) Page, Charlie (God I’ve missed this) McDonald and Rasamataz (king of the airways) Bruun dominated the game from the first seconds through to the final siren.

Nic could have kicked 10 himself but endeared himself to the club by hitting up leading targets and sharing the love time and time again. His poise and decision making was exquisite. Can’t wait to see him up against the big guns of the comp. Pagey’s blind turn was jaw- dropping, and probably saved him from being taken out by a huge bump only a parent probably saw coming .

Jeremy, Rueben and Lucas took giant leaps forward and stepped out of the shadows and into the rainbow-lit spotlight. Jeremy was nimble and ever-present around the half forward line while Rueben found his groove down back, reading the play and thwarting numerous Malmö surges. Lucas’ confidence continues to grow and he attacked the ball well.

The coach identified tackling pressure as an area that has dropped off in recent games and Captain Kaj responded in spades. Able to shake off the previous night’s amber liquid emotions of Meyke’s farewell, he hit bodies hard and turned the ball over to our advantage.

Jack is back! Heading into the finals it’s pretty exciting to see this man finding form and passion for the contest. With our regular seasonal forwards out of action, Jack is a vital piece of the puzzle in the next month, so it was pleasing to see him warm up with a lazy 8 yesterday.

Craig, Fraser and Christian made the most of limited opportunities down back but all 3 were able to play up the ground and snag a couple. Coffee Ras left his mark on the game with a classy goal before he sets off to some far off coffee land…travel well Ras! Our ruck combo worked well all day with Bram and James supporting big Ras, feeding our runners all day.

Great win, great day. Thanks to Jason for helping out with rotations, timekeeping, scorekeeping and photos; Hannah for filling drinks; and our team of loyal supporters on the sidelines.

See you Tuesday