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Our third game for the NEAFL season against the Brisbane Lions turned was a cliffhanger which the boys from Brisbane ended up winning by four points. We were once again slow out of the blocks and trailed by 22 points at quarter time.
Disappointingly, two of the Lions goals came from 50m penalties however we did also benefit from stray kicking with the Lions missing several very kickable shots.
The second term was perhaps one of our best for the year and we worked hard to produced 7 goals.
During the second period, Karmichael began to dictate through the midfield on the back of some excellent ruck work again from Tom Hickey, while Nathan Ablett and Marc Lock were dangerous up forward thanks to good supply from Luke Russell and Brandon Matera.
The second half proved to be a real arm wrestle and it was only midway through the third quarter that we showed real signs of quality ball movement.
Unfortunately our finishing at times wasn’t up to scratch and we squandered a number of crucial opportunities.
Losing Karmichael with a head wound which required nine stitches caused a shift in momentum.
Brisbane were able to get their hands on the footy at stoppages and took the ascendancy on the scoreboard.
The final quarter was one of lost opportunities , we controlled enough of the play but failed to complete our work against a Brisbane defence that got extra assistance from their midfielders in their back half.
Among our best, Jack Hutchins had a greatly improved game at full back against Bryce Retzlaff.
Karmichael provided super midfield grunt and terrific leadership with his skills improving at rapid speed.
Tom Hickey is the most improved player at the club and did another excellent job in the ruck and forward.
Luke Russell showed excellent ability to run and break the lines and solid defensive effort while Nathan Ablett scored two goals, but more importantly his workrate and ability to provide a key target all day was very good.
Josh Caddy played only one half of footy , but was excellent with twenty + possessions in the midfield while Marc Lock’s three goal contribution was also worthy of a mention.
The week ahead sees our NEAFL team tackle GWS for a second time this season.
If we can limit the goals we allow the opposition to get through 50m penalties and tidy up our defensive consistency over four quarters we’ll be in with a good chance to reverse the result we had against them in Blacktown earlier this year.
Come early (10am) to cheer us on at Metricon before the senior game against Adelaide.
Go GC SUNS,
Harty
