Ron Fuller's Thoughts
Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 11:37 pmOnce again Ron in his weekly email to members has been very open and honest - it is a terrific service to our supporters that the club and in particular Ron provides after every game.
COACHES' COMMENTS
Well, we are still in the competition! The season has seemed to fly by and it just goes to show how important early wins are when you try to construct a season. It allows teams to have some down moments which don’t necessarily affect their overall standing.
We have seen Sturt, Glenelg and Central District experience some performances which are down on their season average, but they are all still firmly entrenched in the top three. We are still desperate to play finals of course and the indifferent form of those clubs mentioned means that for the first time that I can remember all teams who participate in the finals must give themselves a chance at the flag.
The result against Glenelg means we have beaten the top four clubs this year, which also highlights how important it is to win those 50/50 games to qualify. We hadn’t played Glenelg since the second round and it was interesting to note that they had 18 of the 21 players from that game still in their team. They have been quite settled.
Interestingly we only had seven in our team from the Round 2 clash. It is not surprising that five of them were Mark McKenzie, Brad Dabrowski, Leigh Treeby, Luke Jarrad and Luke Powell, who have all been outstanding for us all season. The other two are Zack Hier and Brad Geddes who have both fought their way back into the team and have performed well over the last month. Unfortunately, Brad has suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him out for a few weeks.
It was very pleasing for us to hang in for the game and tough out the result, especially as I felt Glenelg produced the most opportunities. We have had many situations this year where we have created a lot of chances for ourselves but haven’t taken advantage and often let the opposition in, so it was refreshing to reverse that trend.
The improvement in our defence is one of the reasons we were able to create the win over Glenelg, and it will need to be maintained if we are to do the same this week against Norwood. We have seen the Norwood forward line be very productive this year.
We are in similar circumstances as Norwood and it will surely be a game where both clubs are keen to put their best efforts forward. We are one and one for the season and whoever takes the advantage for the year will also benefit in others ways I am sure. It is a lot harder from fourth or fifth of course but it is impossible if you aren’t in there at all, so at least we are still alive.
I mentioned that we are desperate to play in finals, but it is still very much about improving our game sufficiently to win games, which is our main objective. As we all know, once our footy is good enough the results come and good form follows which is what you need going into the final series anyway.
Our immediate and most important challenge now is Norwood at home however. I look forward to seeing as many of our supporters as possible at the game to help get us home. Those that were at Woodville Oval on Saturday did help in those vital last few minutes and it was greatly appreciated by the players.
Ron Fuller
COACHES' COMMENTS
Well, we are still in the competition! The season has seemed to fly by and it just goes to show how important early wins are when you try to construct a season. It allows teams to have some down moments which don’t necessarily affect their overall standing.
We have seen Sturt, Glenelg and Central District experience some performances which are down on their season average, but they are all still firmly entrenched in the top three. We are still desperate to play finals of course and the indifferent form of those clubs mentioned means that for the first time that I can remember all teams who participate in the finals must give themselves a chance at the flag.
The result against Glenelg means we have beaten the top four clubs this year, which also highlights how important it is to win those 50/50 games to qualify. We hadn’t played Glenelg since the second round and it was interesting to note that they had 18 of the 21 players from that game still in their team. They have been quite settled.
Interestingly we only had seven in our team from the Round 2 clash. It is not surprising that five of them were Mark McKenzie, Brad Dabrowski, Leigh Treeby, Luke Jarrad and Luke Powell, who have all been outstanding for us all season. The other two are Zack Hier and Brad Geddes who have both fought their way back into the team and have performed well over the last month. Unfortunately, Brad has suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him out for a few weeks.
It was very pleasing for us to hang in for the game and tough out the result, especially as I felt Glenelg produced the most opportunities. We have had many situations this year where we have created a lot of chances for ourselves but haven’t taken advantage and often let the opposition in, so it was refreshing to reverse that trend.
The improvement in our defence is one of the reasons we were able to create the win over Glenelg, and it will need to be maintained if we are to do the same this week against Norwood. We have seen the Norwood forward line be very productive this year.
We are in similar circumstances as Norwood and it will surely be a game where both clubs are keen to put their best efforts forward. We are one and one for the season and whoever takes the advantage for the year will also benefit in others ways I am sure. It is a lot harder from fourth or fifth of course but it is impossible if you aren’t in there at all, so at least we are still alive.
I mentioned that we are desperate to play in finals, but it is still very much about improving our game sufficiently to win games, which is our main objective. As we all know, once our footy is good enough the results come and good form follows which is what you need going into the final series anyway.
Our immediate and most important challenge now is Norwood at home however. I look forward to seeing as many of our supporters as possible at the game to help get us home. Those that were at Woodville Oval on Saturday did help in those vital last few minutes and it was greatly appreciated by the players.
Ron Fuller
