ROUND 2 - MATCH DAY WRAP UP WITH COACH BRAD DODD

Tuesday, April 10, 2018 - 9:04 AM

The Ocean Hill Estate - Peel Thunder Colts travelled down to Steel Blue Oval to take on Swan Districts last Saturday. After the game, we spoke with Head Coach, Brad Dodd.

For the second game in a row, the Thunder were slow out of the blocks, is that a concern?

BD: We’d like to be starting better, thats for sure. It was a pretty tough start to the game, both sides had a fierce attack on the man and ball. There were over 60 tackles between both teams for the quarter- which had an impact on our ball use. Swans played the slippery conditions slightly better and we were guilty of some positioning issues down back and were made to pay.

More of the same in the 2nd Quarter, what was the message to the group at half time when you were 22 point down?

BD: It was pretty clear to us that Swans were outnumbering us at most contests in general play. We knew the game was likely to open up a little after the break but we needed to start to run. Pretty simple really. We challenged our players that hadn’t had a great start to turn it around. They needed to find ways to kick start their own games.

For the second week in a row, the team came to life in the 3rd.

BD: It was a real arm wrestle for the first half of the quarter but we started to have repeat entries inside 50, locking the ball in our half but we weren’t making the most of our chances on the scoreboard. In the end, it took an individual effort by first gamer, Andrew Butler to get us going. He had 4 or 5 defensive efforts, smothered the ball and kicked a goal to set us away.

Heading into the last with a 1 point lead, kicking into a slight breeze….

BD: As a group, we were pretty confident. We felt like we’d started to play our brand of football on the back of an increased work rate. We knew Swans would re-group and we expected it to go down to the wire. Unfortunately, we conceded the first goal from the CB and despite answering and having some opportunities to take the lead, Swans locked the ball in their half for most of the quarter and we found it hard to get it out.

A 2 point loss in a real arm wrestle, who were your better performers?

BD: I was really happy with Zach Rankin on the wing. Zach is a 17 year old who played his first game last week. He’s one of our better runners and has a really strong work ethic. Andrew Butler came in for his first Colts game. Andrew missed nearly all of last year with an injury and had a delayed start to pre-season. But he’s been excellent since after Xmas and was unlucky to miss out Round 1. He gave us plenty of energy and a strong competitor in the contest. Jarvis Pina was excellent across half back- really strong in the air and defended well for most of the game. Backs Jye Kimpton, Lachie Beverly and Lachlan Cullen continued their strong start to the season while Lee Chapman and Bailey Taylor were solid. James Sturrock tried hard on his wing.

Some unlucky news regarding Durak Tucker during the week?

BD: Durak dislocated his knee in an innocuous incident at training. At first thought the diagnosis was quite minor but after a scan it revealed he had ruptured his ACL and would need a reconstruction. Durak will miss the remainder of the season. His pre-season and early season form had been absolutely outstanding. He had set himself up for a great season. Durak is quite a resilient character, and while disappointed, he’s already champing at the bit to get stuck into rehab.

Next week, back at home to face the Demons, who had a big win against the Sharks.

BD: I think we’ve already seen over the first few weeks that it’s a really even competition. Subiaco and Swans have gotten off to good starts, while most other teams have already had a win. Perth have some extremely talented players and it’ll be another great challenge for our group.

Peel Thunder v Perth

Sunday 15th @Bendigo Bank Stadium

Colts - 9am

Senior Development - 11.30am

League - 2.15pm

16's - 5.oopm