Round 18 Colts wrap up with Coach Brad Dodd

 

 

 

BD: When Aaron arrived to pre-season he was seen as a ruckman but we threw him the challenge of training as a key back.  He’s a rangey type that needs to add some bulk to his frame but he has met every challenge we’ve thrown at him under the guidance of our backs coach, Danny Chartres.   Jack Walsh and Connor Heuer were apart of our U16's program. They joined the Colts program straight after the conclusion of their season. Jack is only small but very tenacious with a neat kick while Connor is a leading forward. This was our youngest team for the year which was very exciting. We’ve played 3 of our U16's so far and hopefully we can get a look at a couple of others over the last 2 games. 

 

 

BD: East Perth were first to the ball and capitalised every time they went Inside 50. We gave away some silly free kicks and gave up some easy goals which was frustrating. At the end of the day, we were well beaten around the ball. The challenge was for our midfield to respond.

 

 

BD: East Perth were well on top early in the quarter and had 4 opportunities to open up a handy lead but didn’t take them. It was pleasing to be able to get back into the game mid quarter when we were under pressure. We began to win the 50/50s and use the ball a bit better. 

 

 

BD: It was a really important last 5 minutes where we kicked 2 goals to open up the break. We were pretty dominant, having 16 Inside 50's to 2.  The problem was East Perth kicked 2.1 to stay in the game.  Jai Tregenza and Brendan Cooke were really important in the ruck while Jason Carter had a big influence on the game off the wing. We knew East Perth would throw everything at us in the last. We were in a similar position against South Fremantle a few weeks back and drop the game. 

 

 

BD: East Perth kicked the first goal and had a bit of momentum so it was pleasing to see the boys respond and tough out the win. We weren’t quite capable of delivering the knockout blow, which is a credit to East Perth but something that has been an issue for the last few seasons. We moved Tyson Powell up forward and though he didn’t have a lot of touches,  he gave us another tall target which meant we were more direct. 

 

 

BD: Jake Willis continued his good form. While his pressure up forward was again excellent, he managed to find a bit more of the ball and hit the scoreboard, kicking 2 goals. We went a little smaller in our forward line this week.   Kilian Rawson returned to the side and took his opportunities, kicking 3 goals. Through the middle, Lachlan Riley found the ball again, though he wasn’t as polished with it as he has been. Jason Carter was really influential in the 3rd quarter. Jarvis Pina, Lachie Beverly and James Ewing were rock solid down back. 

 

 

BD: At the moment we have James Sturrock playing League and 6 of our squad playing Reserves, which is fantastic. We’ve rested a few of our 17 year olds over the last few games so they’ll all be back for the last 2 games. In terms of selection, we’ll continue to expose players to different challenges. Hopefully we can push a few more up to League and Reserves if opportunities arise. We’ll recharge a little this week before taking on Claremont at Claremont Oval in 2 weeks time.