Seniors
Coaches report
Balwyn at Balwyn round 1 was always going be no easy task.
We had 12 guys playing their first game for Norwood and 6 senior debutants.
We started well. The pressure on the ball at Balwyn’s small ground is important and for almost a half we were elite at this with 54 tackles to half time.
Mal Owers looked dangerous forward with 2 early goals and Connor Smith good in the midfield. Yaz and Hayden Kemp led the way with the tackling.
We led at the 22 min mark of the second quarter but Balwyn kicked 3 late ones which hurt considering the effort in the first half.
The third quarter was disappointing. Balwyn took control in the midfield with their 4-5 senior mature bodies and they linked up from stoppages which made life difficult for our back 6.
Whilst the last quarter was better the momentum was hard to stop.
Our better players were Ben McLean who did a great job on Charlie Haley, one of the competitions best players, down back considering the pressure he was under after half time. Mal Owers and Will Quirk, both from Myrtleford, had good first games for the club and Connor Smith fought hard in the midfield.
Some of our young guys (we had 9 teenagers including 5 17 year olds) showed they have big futures and didn’t look out of place playing senior footy. Lincoln Wright and Jimmy Menzies both hitting the scoreboard.
Playing such a polished and experienced team first up was always going to be difficult. We played with spirit and real competitiveness for a half now the test is to try to maintain that intensity for longer. This will continue to improve as the year goes on.
-Brett Moyle
Reserves
Coaches report
Under siege and undermanned, the boys were up against from the 1st bounce! With the help from some U19s backing up from their own game, the game was played out at a level we weren’t expecting from our group, with the team being hard at it and fought till the end against an opponent who were bigger and well drilled!
Even though the score line looked like a blow-out, it didn’t reflect the game, with the boys making Balwyn work for their goals, which was evident from the inaccuracy in front! Plenty to love with this group moving forward, with them showing heart and fight till the final siren, and belief we can go places together and grow from this game.
With an influx of players coming back next game, the dev squad looks like it will grow and become a team that will surprise many!
Special mention to Noah Knight who used his face to body out an opponent to take a great mark, unfortunately his nose wasn’t prepared for the hit and decided to break! Hope the fix makes you come back better looking than you already were!!! Bring on the rest of the season
Go Wooders!!!
-Jack Holmes
Under 19s
Coaches report
It was great to get into Round 1 with a 51 point win over Balwyn. With many new additions to the team over the summer we were looking forward to seeing how the team would gel together. We hit the ground running and went onto the 1st and 2nd quarter with our noses in front of Balwyn.
We have had a focus on ball movement, so it was great to see it coming into action. The boys worked hard in the 2nd half with 7 goals to 2. It was a great effort by the boys with some great positives to come out of the game. We now look forward to getting back home next week to take on Rowville.
Congratulations to our new captains Lachie Christie and Sam Plut for leading the team to their first win. Special mention to Athan down back, Tom Noar through the middle and Connor in the forward line. Keep up the great work.
-Chris Landy