Coaches Report R1 & R2
Report from new A Grade Coach Sean Jackson for the first 2 rounds.
Dear ROCFC Sponsors
Season 2016 opened up with a home game against Tea Tree Gully and it is fair to say we were found wanting. After a terrific pre season and good trial game form it was disappointing to play in the manner we did.
We struggled in particular to contain Tea Tree Gullys full forward who had a day he won’t forget kicking his entire teams score of nine goals in the first half and eleven for the match.
Ollie Wilkie’s performance against the premier big man in the competition Adam Cockshell was however promising although this was not reflected in our ability to win the battle of the midfields.
Although it is obviously only early days we have received a big reality check and we will need to improve quickly to counter the reigning premiers Goodwood Saints at their ground next week.
Seven days is indeed a long time after a poor loss so it was very heartening to see our boys turn their form around with a gutsy win against Goodwood Saints on their ground.
We kicked against the breeze in the first quarter and held them okay but then butchered the ball in the second quarter kicking 3 goals, nine points to trail by 2 goals at half time.
Our second half was hopefully a sign of things to come. We restricted Goodwood to four goals and kicked eight goals ourselves to finally hit the front with less than five minutes remaining and eventually run out winners by seven points.
It was fantastic to see Connor Deegan play his first A grade game and have his guernsey presented by past player John Corbett. This is a new tradition we have started this season and one we hope to continue as we maintain our ties with our retired players.
Luke Manual stood out as our best player amongst a much more even contribution from our players. Heath Commane impressed kicking five goals in the second half whilst Charlie and Tom O’Malley continued their good form from round one and Nick Hombsch played very well and Anthony Medhurst wound back the clock with a vintage performance up forward.
The challenge now for us is to continue to improve as we take on Port Districts at their ground this week.
As always your support will be most appreciated.
Sean Jackson
A-Grade Coach
