2013 Eagles email

Dear Members, Partners and Affiliates of the Woodville West Torrens Football Club,

It is with great excitement that I write and inform you of some of the great changes coming your way this season in relation to the home match lunch experience.

The Eagles Football Club is well aware that part of our strategy requires us to continue exploring and expanding our business and corporate ties to leverage partnership opportunities. Let me point out, this is not rocket science, we merely wish to market a palpable event on a day and time to suit the masses with the aim of getting a larger crowd, greater support, gaining exposure and introducing new people and businesses to our great Club – further creating Club ambassadors.

Therefore we will be hosting our first Chairman’s Business Lunch on Friday the 5th of April 2013. Our aim behind these networking afternoons is to preview the up and coming home game having named the team the night before and discuss match ups with our Coach Michael Godden and our Captain or Vice-Captain Luke Powell or Luke Jarrad. We also hope to bring you a quality Guest Speaker and MC where possible to add another dimension of entertainment to the afternoon. There will be a business card draw and unique auction items up for grabs!

This will then allow our new facility upstairs to be utilized to its full capacity each and every home game in being open for both lunch and dinner service to everyone. This provides the capability of having over 300 people enjoying our hospitality upstairs whilst relishing the great view of the game.

I thank you all in advance for your unwavering commitment and support to our Club and encourage you to get the word out in order to ensure the success of these up and coming networking lunch opportunities. Eagles’ corporate partners, members, opposition members and partners and even general sports lovers and corporates who enjoy a great networking event are all welcome! We aim to please and to provide an experience that is representative of our Club’s inclusive culture and great value for money.

Finally, I am pleased to announce that the guest speaker for our opening Chairman’s Business Lunch this year on Friday the 5th of April is none other than the legendary Dennis Lillee. MC for the proceedings will be the magnificent Wayne Phillips – this is the first of 10 this year not to miss. Get in quick to avoid disappointment

Regards

Uby Faddoul

Chief Executive Officer

EAGLES ANNOUNCE 2013 WOODVILLE OVAL PROMOTIONS



The Woodville West Torrens Football Club have announced their home match promotional plans for the 2013 SANFL season, once again with a strong family and community focus.

Firstly there will be a free jumping castle, free face painting and a free junior members giveaway at every home game.

Also the IGA Family Friendly Area will remain in it's prime viewing position, on the north western hill, within 30 metres of the main gate and all key facilities, enabling the easiest possible access for young families coming to the match.

With the Eagles signed up junior membership base now over 1,500, it marks Woodville West Torrens as one of the most family focused clubs in the SANFL.

Eagles CEO Uby Faddoul is excited about the home match experience fans will enjoy "As a club we need to ensure we provide a fun football experience for families and develop stronger links with our local community. At the Eagles we are fully committed to this and look forward to continue leading the league in this area."



Following are the individual home game themes;

BRING A MATE DAY - Saturday April 6th v West

- We are encouraging all our members to share the excitement of a new year at Woodville in our newly renovated clubrooms by bringing a mate with them to enjoy a great afternoon of SANFL footy.

PAST PLAYERS DAY – Saturday April 27th v Port

- Based just 3km up the road, the Port Magpies are one of our fiercest rivals so there is no better time to invite all the past players to provide their support and reminisce on previous battles.

LADIES DAY – Sunday May 5th v South

- A traditional event at the Eagles now revamped with a new organising committee, meaning all the ladies attending are going to be spoilt for the afternoon.

SERVICES DAY – Saturday May 25th v Glenelg

- A new event for the Eagles in 2013 where we will look to involve many of the key services groups in our area (Police, Fire Department, Ambulance, Armed Forces) in the events of the day.

AUSKICK DAY – Sunday Jun 9th v Sturt

- The Eagles have hundreds of Auskick participants in it’s zone and this is their day as the star players and key supporters of the future to enjoy SANFL footy as our guests.

DISTRICT DAY – Sunday July 7th v North

- Recently, the Eagles were recognised as the best developer of AFL talent in the country so this is a day to acknowledge and invite all the footy clubs in our metro & country zones to come together for the one day.

COMMUNITY WEEK – Saturday July 20 v Central & Saturday July 27 v Sturt

- With two games at Woodville back to back, the Eagles have expanded their award winning event into a week of celebrating their local community. Over the two games many local groups will be involved around the ground promoting their activities with the Community Treasure Hunt a sure fire hit with the kids.

KIDS DAY – Saturday August 10 v South

- Always a huge event, with the kids pre-game parade and a stack of giveaways (including a free Vilis donut) for all the young fans attending. It is also an opportunity to recognise those involved in school and junior club football.

1993 PREMIERSHIP REUNION – August 31 or September 1 v Norwood

- Woodville West Torrens’s first premiership was a very special occasion for the club and 20 years on it’s time to catch up and celebrate against the defending 2012 premiers.



The Eagles play their first trial game this Saturday March 16th v South at Noarlunga (League 6.30pm) and our second against North at the Kilburn Football Club (Blair Athol Reserve) on Saturday March 23rd (League 2.10pm).



We open the 2013 SANFL season on Saturday March 30th against Sturt at Unley.



For more information contact Uby Faddoul (CEO) or Luke Jarrad (Marketing Manager) on 8347 2444

UPDATE FROM THE CEO

RE: New Oval Naming Rights Sponsor for Woodville Oval – Maughan Thiem Hyundai

Dear Members, Partners and Affiliates of the Woodville West Torrens Football Club,

A few weeks ago I wrote to inform you that we were undergoing negotiations with a potential new naming rights sponsor for our oval. Both parties have reached agreement and as a result there is no doubt in my mind that this will be one of the most rewarding and mutually beneficial relationships in the history of our Club.

I am now pleased to announce to you that Maughan Thiem Hyundai is the new naming rights partner for Woodville Oval for the next 3 years. Maughan Thiem is a local South Australian Business with a proud history of over one hundred years, since 1912!

Discussions took place over several weeks with Daniel Thomas (General Manager, Maughan Thiem Hyundai) who was very accommodating and flexible in relation to the future partnership with our great Club. Maughan Thiem Hyundai has been a corporate partner of ours now for a period of 4 years. It never ceases to amaze us just how much Peter and Daniel Thomas and the team are willing to do for the Eagles and the sporting groups in the community at large! They truly are great South Australian people leading a great South Australian Business. We look forward to working hard with Daniel and his team to ensure that our business works for them!

Daniel Thomas, General Manager of Maughan Thiem Hyundai said, “Maughan Thiem Hyundai is very excited about our new 3 year naming rights agreement with the Eagles! Not only are we great supporters of the Club, but we know that this makes good business sense. The Eagles are a progressive Club both on and off the field and therefore we both fit culturally in relation to our target markets and strategies. We are thrilled about the prospect of greater exposure for our business through the naming rights of Maughan Thiem Hyundai Oval and our solid partnership with the Eagles.”

I must also thank the City of Charles Sturt and the Woodville Cricket Club for their assistance and cooperation throughout the approval process of renaming Woodville Oval. Sam Higgins from the City of Charles Sturt and Casey Tanner from the Woodville Cricket Club were great to deal with and were very supportive of this partnership. On a final note, congratulations to our Marketing and Partnerships Manager, Luke Jarrad, for his unwavering commitment in “making this happen.”



Regards

Uby Faddoul

Chief Executive Officer

Michael Godden – League Coach Report
Footy’s back!!!

The emotional highs and lows that we all love due to the uncertainty of football was no more evident than Saturday’s game against Sturt. After the indifferent trial game form there was a real desire within the change rooms to make sure we started strongly and put ourselves in a winning position early. What actually happened was only an ‘ok’ first quarter where we didn’t make the most of our opportunities, then followed by a terrible second quarter. Sturt clearly outplayed us, smashed us in the middle and gave their forwards first look at it in which they were able to capitalise. Interestingly though, we only had a couple less inside 50’s in that second quarter but only managed to finish with 3-4 to Sturt’s 7-0.

After a couple of minor adjustments and some discussion at half time the players came out and showed they don’t only have the desire, they also have the capabilities to perform when their mindset is right. We had 37-10 Inside 50’s and kicked 13-6 to 4-2 in the second half which was a great reward for some hard work to finally come out 26 points in front, to record a very important win ahead of 2 games vs last year’s Grand Finalists.

Like all games this one taught me a lot about our group. First, with the loss of the leaders we have had at our Club the younger leaders proved to themselves they know what to do when required and they can stand up when their Club needs them, which is great for their confidence. Second, we can score quickly which is always a good thing to have in your armoury. Third, we had some structures that worked and some that didn’t, we had some match ups that worked and some that didn’t, the key to all of these is we identify them and learn from the experience.

It was great to see the Eagles colours back out at the footy again. I am sure we are all looking forward to our first home game this weekend. So hopefully you can all come along (and some extras) and watch us continue to improve and have a real crack at a very good team in West Adelaide.

I would also like to take this opportunity to ensure you all as valued members of the Eagles Football Club that if you have heard my comments regarding the AFL Reserves team in the media there is in no way any thought in my mind I want the SANFL to be compromised. You will be hard pressed to find anyone more passionate about the SANFL than me. I have dedicated my life to it for 25 years, 21 of them at league level. I have my concerns about the competition in the future and I want to see it flourish. What I am saying is why should we put our heads in the sand and not at least listen to the proposals. We can always reject them. My worries are with the influence that the AFL has had on all other State Leagues, and I believe they could try with us so if there is going to be pressure on us to change our competition in any way then we should at least try to control the way it happens to keep our competition unique and passionate. I am sure our President Kurt Slaven, along with our Board will make sure the Eagles Football Club’s interests are looked after and we can see the Eagles Football Club flourish for many more years to come.

Eagles 18.14 (122) defeated Sturt 15.6 (96)


Jarrad Wright – Reserves Coach Report

Season 2013 is finally here after a demanding and exciting preseason. After the positive run home in the 2012 season, the reserves group had been champing at the bit to get cracking straight into preseason training and season 2013. Trial Games had been a success in seeing the solid training that Tim Reeves and Fitness Staff had planned for the summer pay off with solid performances against South Adelaide and North Adelaide. What were kids last year now look like young men and ready to play good consistent reserves football.

Our first hit out for points was against Sturt at Unley Oval who is always a very strong reserves side, and again will be this year. Round 1 football tempo always lifts a fair percentage than from the trial matches and this was no exception with speed of ball movement catching us out throughout the game and putting our defence under a fair amount of pressure with the ball moving through the midfield quick and precise. The game ebbed and flowed with goal for goal in the early stages of the game with Sturt extending their lead to nearly 4 goals, but to the players credit fought back to be only 6 points down at half time which is a good sign for the group.

My message to the players at half time was to get back to hunting the ball and the player as Sturt dictated the play for most of the half and we still managed to be very competitive. The second half started with a flurry of Eagles goals kicking the first 2 within 5 mins to take the lead and looking like we had started playing for the day, but to Sturt’s credit they also showed fight and we again showed lapse of concentration making some basic skill errors going forward and allowing Sturt to set the pace around the stoppages with the extra number out the back. Unfortunately with only being 1 point down at 3 quarter time we just could not find a way to win in the last with Sturt maintaining upper hand in the arm wrestle with Sturt kicking the final 2 goals of the game in the final 5 minutes blowing the victory out to 15 points at the final siren.

As I said to the players after the game, we have to be better as a collective at maintaining defensive pressure for the entire game and minimising the concentration lapses. Our attacking side we were very good also with being able to kick a winning score but unfortunately not being able to defend it. A very good learning experience for the group that we have to be better in transition from attack to defend and applying enough pressure on the opposition to give the team a chance of getting the 2 points.

Eagles 16.7 (103) were defeated by Sturt 18.10 (118)




Shane Grimm – Under 18 Coach Report

It was great to be finally playing a game for points after such a long Pre-Season. It was also good to come up against a Club like Sturt first up who have always have a strong junior program. It would give us an indication into how our hard work was progressing.

We started the game well and kicked the first 3 goals of the game within the first 5 minutes of the quarter and were looking very switched on. Unfortunately we let ourselves down with some poor decision making in the next 5 minutes which allowed Sturt to kick 2 goals in that period, but the players regained momentum of the game and then took control of the game kicking another 4 goals to enter the first break with a 24 point lead.

The second term had a similar feel to the first and we continued to control the game, this lead to Sturt sending 2 extra players behind the ball which meant that our Forwards had to work hard to find space to lead in to. It was a struggle for a while but we still managed to kick another 5 goals to go in to the half time break with 12 goals straight and a lead of 46 points.

We had some issues at the half time break with some injuries to players which left us down to 1 fit player on the bench, so it was going to be a challenge for the players to see how well prepared physically they were.

Again we were confronted with extra numbers inside our forward 50 but this was again handled very well by the team and we again outscored Sturt by 4 goals to 2 in this quarter. The conditions had become wet which made the ball hard to handle and the centre wicket was also causing problems as players struggled to keep their feet. At three quarter time we held a commanding 58 point lead.

The final term was a struggle with the wet conditions continuing to be a factor as well as the issue we had with only 1 fit player on the bench, which meant that we had players spending the majority of the quarter on the ground. This made it hard for our players to push forward as they were struggling with fatigue but they toughed it out and only allowed Sturt to kick 1 goal in the final term even though we could only manage to kick 5 behinds.

I was happy with the result at the end of the game and we had a solid contribution from all players which is a positive, but as always there was still a few things we need to get better at but it is only early in the year.

Eagles 16.7 (103) defeated Sturt 7.8 (50)


Darren Hams – Under 16 Coach Report

The SANFL Under 16 competition began a week prior to all other SANFL games and being our second game for 2013, the Under 16’s have got off to a good start by winning its first game against Centrals and over the Easter weekend we were able to defeat Sturt on our home ground.

With a Squad of 36 players the theory behind the Under 16 competition is to play and prepare players who are good enough to play a higher level.

After trials against Port and West Adelaide we ventured out to Elizabeth for our first game in which we were in control of the game all day yet up until the 3 quarter time break we were only 7 points up. We broke away in the last term by kicking 6 goals to 2 to win by a comfortable margin of 33 points. Stephen Phillips kicked 4 goals, whilst Ashley Giles, James Schmusch and Sam Schoder kicked 2 each. Our midfield led by Harrison Jolly, Harrison Gameau and Daniel Polanski provided many opportunities for our forward line to capitalise on whilst Stephen Phillips had sticky fingers and marked just about everything that was placed to his advantage.

For Game 2 against Sturt we managed five changes to ensure players could have the opportunity to show us their talents at this level. Inconsistency at times can be an issue with underage players but this week we got off to a really good start by kicking 3 goals to no score up until the 15 minute mark of the first quarter then we lapsed a little in concentration to allow Sturt to reply with a couple of quick ones to bring back the margin by 9 points at quarter time.

The second and third quarters came with Sturt slightly outscoring us 5 goals to 4 goals. In which at three quarter time we were slightly ahead by 4 points. Again we came home with a wet sail and kicked 6 goals to one in the last quarter. Two weeks in a row now we have kicked 6 goals in our final quarter, I think the heavy rotations which are done during the first half certainly help our lads run out a full game.

Harrison Jolly was again good in the midfield whilst our defence led by Frank Marafioti and Lachlan Smith played tight rebounding football. Up forward Luke Hayes kicked 3, 2 each to Daniel Polanski, Sam Schoder and Scott Weger.

This week we look forward to playing West Adelaide under lights at City Mazda Stadium on Friday Night.

Eagles vs Central District - 24th March 2013
Eagles 12.10 (82) defeated Central District 7.7 (49)

Eagles vs Sturt - 30th March 2013
Eagles 13.9 (87) defeated Sturt 8.7 (55)

Michael Godden – Senior Coach Report
Following on from the last half against Sturt we felt confident going into a big game vs West.

Unfortunately things didn’t turn out the way we had planned. They clearly out played us. They were quicker, more skilful, better balanced and hungrier than we were. There is no doubt when you lose a Grand Final it does instil in you something which is hard to replicate. In saying that I thought we were poor in a lot of areas that are controllable, it’s not just desire.

The first quarter was serviceable, equal entries but still trailing by 15 points due to 3 silly errors that resulted in goals to West.

The second quarter was very disappointing, having 15 entries but only able to score 2 points vs West who had only 9 entries for 2 goals 4 behinds. Much more efficient!

Much like last week when they scored 10-2 to put Centrals away, the third was where the damage was done with West running all over us to score 7-3.

The last quarter was ok, with us having more entries and equal scoring shots but still losing the quarter by 5 points to ultimately lose by 72.

Against a confidence side like West who can make you look silly when they spread forward on a 50/50, it is so important you make the most of your chances. When you look back at the second quarter we waisted a lot of energy for no result. This is where the quality comes in. You must be able to hit the targets when required and finish the hard work if you want to be a very good League side. We executed too many simple errors that cost us and they had quality players that didn’t make the same mistakes.

The only positive I can find is late in the third and in the last we were able to get the young lads around the footy more and give them some valuable experience in hard work and working against a quality midfield.

As much as Saturday was disappointing these things happen at times and it’s what you learn from it that counts. I understand West are a very good side and we have a lot of ground to make up to mix it with teams like that, but it is only round 2 and we will get a lot better as we gel more, and work out all of our strengths and weaknesses both as individuals and as a group.

Finally I would like to congratulate Darren Hams, Shane Grimm and Jarrad Wright on the start to their respective seasons. It is great for the future of our Club to see all grades start the season well and is a good reward for all the hard work over the last few years. I am sure they can keep it up and keep the pressure on the grades above.

Eagles 7.8 (50) were defeated by West Adelaide 18.14 (122)





Jarrad Wright – Reserves Coach Report
Well it was a great day for footy on Saturday and the weather really turned it on for our first home game for the year. After a pretty good first outing against Sturt last week but unable to bring home the 2 points, we knew the areas that we had to work on and do better this week against a very good opposition in West Adelaide.



During the week we focused on increasing our intensity at the ball and opposition by 5-10%, and you could tell the lads were very pumped up for the game with the warm up being very boisterous and up and about. Sometimes it hard to gather whether or not it is going to flow onto the field as the testosterone and exciting peaks early and by the end of the first quarter this can be drained. This was definitely not the case on Saturday with the Reserves applying terrific pressure at the opposition and attack the ball with full intent to win the contested ball or if not at least impact the point of play.



During the week and in the planning we had set targets to defend well and not allow West Adelaide to get the release player out the back, to the players credit they did not allow this for the first half which helped the backline out with genuine one on one contests (this was much different to the week prior against Sturt). The area of ball movement to attack has been very consistent over the pre-season and the work we have done as a team is showing with the reserves being able to kick a winnable score.



The last half was always going to be a tough task with having limited rotations only 1 player on the bench in the third quarter and no players left in the last quarter. We knew that the fast transition of play we had played in the first half would be the undoing of our good work in the second half as the players would run out of legs. Westies in the last quarter started their run on with 5 unanswered goals to come within a single major, but to the boys credit they showed fight and composure to finish with the final 2 goals of the game to come out winners by 17 points.



Some very good individual efforts by Jack Muirhead, Patty Sinor, Tim Mackenzie, Caleb Lloyd, Pete Lindsay but everyone played their role.



These games are a very good test of character for the individual and team to see who has got the strength to finish the game off with no rest/rotations, which was even more trying in warm conditions. As a coach and a collective playing group we can now build on this throughout the season.



Eagles 14.8 (92) defeated West Adelaide 11.9 (75)


Shane Grimm – Under 18’s Coach Report
After a good first up win against Sturt in Round 1 I was very eager to see how we would perform against West in Round 2 on their home ground. West had a 170 point win against Centrals in Round 1 and have some quality players in their Under 18 team, so it was always going to be a good test to see if we could play consistent football week in week out.

West started the game well and kicked the first 2 goals of the game within the first 3 minutes, before we got on the board with some nice play from a centre clearance to set up a shot for Tasman Fitzgerald after a nice Mark inside 50. We started to get on top of West over the next 20 minutes or so and our tall forwards were all showing positive signs, especially in the air. We kicked 4 unanswered goals before conceding a late goal just before quarter time, but we went into the first break looking like the better side and with a 6 point lead. Joe Sinor and Paul Ventura were very productive in the first term picking up 10 and 8 possessions respectively.

We started the better in the second term with a goal after 30 seconds and then another after 90 seconds to start to put a stamp on the game. The quarter was a very productive one for us kicking 5 goals to 1 from West, but there were a few things that I wasn’t happy with that we were hoping to address at Half Time. I felt that we were hand-balling the ball too much and that we had to get back to running with the football and kicking more often, especially with the advantage I felt we had up forward. West were struggling to cope with our talls and our pace once the ball hit the ground as well as the defensive pressure we were applying, was making it hard for West to run the ball out of defense and was giving us more opportunity to score.

The third quarter was exactly the way we have instructed our players to play, they run in support of team mates and provided options to team mates whenever we were in possession and once West gained possession our pressure and tackling was outstanding which enabled us to regain possession or at least provide a lot of pressure to the West player in possession. We kicked the first 5 goals of the third term and went in to the final break with a commanding 61 point lead.

We made some positional changes at three quarter time which enabled a few extra players to have a run through the midfield, and others to spend time up forward. The final quarter became a scoring onslaught as we piled on 11 goals to Westies 3. Izzy Blumson was very productive in the final term given the opportunity to play as a small forward kicking 3 goals and providing a lot of pressure once the ball hit the ground. At the final siren we had run out 109 point winners over a strong West Adelaide side on paper.

The most positive thing to come out of Friday night’s game was the effort and intensity that we played with for the entire game. Our players are preparing themselves very well mentally and physically at the moment which gives them their best chance of playing well each week. The challenge going forward will be to see if we can maintain the intensity we are playing with throughout the season.

Eagles 26.11 (167) defeated West Adelaide 8.10 (58)

Darren Hams – Under 16’s Coach Report
After two good wins against Centrals and Sturt, we had the opportunity to win three in a row as well as redeem some pride from our big loss against Westies in our trial only a month ago. Again this was a Friday night game and looked forward to the challenge of how much we have improved in the last month. Another 5 changes were made from our win against Sturt the previous week and as of this game the 16’s have played 28 players in the three games thus far.

Westies began well by kicking the first two goals we then replied with one at the 10 minute mark but the first quarter was dominated by Westies and their ability to play quick transition footy and catch our guys not switching to defensive mode quick enough. At quarter time Westies lead by 11 points in what was a fast quarter of footy.

Our second quarter was more productive from a defensive point of view and we were able to restrict West to 1 goal whilst we kicked 2. By half time the gap had been closed to 7 points but the bad news was that we were down to only 19 fit men. Westies slightly outscored us for the quarter to lead by 17 points at three quarter time.

At three quarter time we asked the players to dig deep and give a lion hearted effort due to another player injuring himself during the third quarter. The lads gave it their all during the last quarter and we got back to within 7 points but having no rotations really hurt us in the end with Westies going on to win by 19 points. All credit must go to the lads who battled it out under warm conditions. But we unfortunately fell short. Well done to Tom Thunig, Sam Holman, Harrison Jolly and Harry Gameau who contributed well around the footy whilst Daniel Polanski kicked 3 goals, with Luke Hoare and Sam Schoder kicking 2 goals apiece.

Going into the bye we sit with 2 wins and one loss, I guess you would take that given that it is an eight game program and having the mindset to provide opportunities for development to our squad members isn’t a bad result.

With the School holidays approaching we look forward to playing Glenelg on Wednesday 17th then Norwood on the Saturday with another game on the following Wednesday and Saturday as well, the school holiday period is certainly one of recovery and rehabilitation with the lads learning how beneficial ice baths can be.

Eagles 12.7 (79) were defeated by West Adelaide 14.14 (98)

It's good that the u16/u18 coaches do reports as well.

UPDATE FROM THE CEO

RE: Malcolm Blight – Number 1 Ticket Holder

Dear Members, Partners and Affiliates of the Woodville West Torrens Football Club, this is to advise you of some very exciting news.

Malcolm Blight

· Currently Director of Coaching at the Gold Coast Suns

Magarey Medallist
Brownlow Medallist
Woodville Best and Fairest, Captain and Coach, Life Member and Life Governor
Adelaide Football Club dual Premiership coach
SANFL Team of the Century
South Australian Football Hall of Fame
Australian Football Hall of Fame
The Club is pleased to announce that Malcolm Blight will be our guest speaker at the next Chairman’s Business Lunch on Friday the 26th of April. Please note that this will also include the Eagles Vs Magpies preview with Coach Michael Godden and Vice-Captain Luke Jarrad. As per previous practice, all sponsors will be able to utilize their allocated hospitality tickets as per agreements for this fantastic event.

This day will be very special for a few more reasons! We are officially unveiling a full Bronze Bust of the late Bob Hank – we would like to acknowledge that this memorial gift to our club was wonderfully donated by Basil Sellers. We will also be unveiling the new Life Governors Wall (upstairs) within the presence of our Clubs great Life Governors.

After the sad loss last year of Bob Hank (our previous Number 1 Ticket holder), the time has come to appoint and announce our new Number 1 Ticket Holder. Therefore, the final part of the official proceedings on that day will be to present Malcolm Blight with his number 1 Ticket to the Woodville West Torrens Football Club. Malcolm stated that although there is no replacement for Bob Hank, he would be honored to be that person for our Club.

As you can see, Friday the 26th of April will be an absolutely action packed event with a guest speaker of the highest caliber. I would recommend getting in quickly to avoid disappointment – tickets are strictly limited.

For Bookings please contact Laura Harriss on 8347 2444 or events@wwtfc.com.au.

Regards

Uby Faddoul

Chief Executive Officer

Dear Michael,



On Friday the 26th of April 2013 the Eagles Football Club will be hosting the second Match Day, Chairman’s Business Lunch in the Eagles Function Centre. We are proud to announce that Malcolm Blight will be guest speaker and Ian Shuttleworth as MC.



The Lunch will include a 3 course menu and beverage package and tickets are selling fast at $85.00 per person, book now to avoid disappointment.



Bookings are essential and full payment is required at the time of making your booking



Please see the event flyer for details and for further information or to make a booking please contact me on 08 8347 2444 or events@wwtfc.com.au



Refer below for the Corporate Lunch Series Calendar for the remainder of 2013.



2013 CORPORATE LUNCH SERIES



Friday – Home Match Lunch Details

ROUND
GAME
FUNCTION DATE
GUEST SPEAKER

2
Eagles VS West Adelaide
Friday 5 April 2013
Dennis Lillee, 190 guests attended

5
Eagles VS Port Adelaide
Friday 26 April 2013
Malcolm Blight

8
Eagles VS Glenelg
Friday 24 May 2013
TBC

14
Eagles VS North Adelaide
Friday 5 July 2013
TBC

19
Eagles VS South Adelaide
Friday 9 August 2013
TBC


Game Day Lunch Details

ROUND
GAME
FUNCTION DATE
GUEST SPEAKER

6
Eagles VS South Adelaide
Sunday 5 May 2013
TBC

10
Eagles VS Sturt
Sunday 9 June 2013
TBC

16
Eagles VS Central Districts
Saturday 20 July 2013
TBC

17
Eagles VS Sturt
Saturday 27 July 2013
TBC

22
Eagles VS Norwood
TBC
TBC

Eagles vs Norwood

Michael Godden – League Coach Report

When you have a bad loss like we did against West, then you have a bye, it seems like an eternity before your next game. So with this time it was really important we reviewed the game vs. West in detail and made sure we didn’t make the same mistakes again. Through this process we made some significant changes and the players to their credit were able to adjust and execute quickly. There is also no doubt with the inclusions we had it made a difference to our balance. It’s nice to get the AFL boys back but make no mistake in reality it is quite a difficult task for them and for us to make the boys understand the structures and then for them to be able to execute in a very short period. This is one area I congratulate all the playing group on their ability to adapt and all the coaches for making the transition for the players easier. Among the eight changes it was great to see Jarrad Allmond’s return to the Club, Glenn Dawson making his long awaited debut and Malcolm Karpany straight in from the Under 18’s all performing well and showed us just some of the depth we have at the Eagles.



The game started a bit rough with Norwood going forward to kick the first goal only 1 minute into the game. Once that goal was scored the players seem to rally and for the next 3 quarters the effort and execution was very good. The last quarter was a bit of a scrap but the boys had done the work early to set the game up, finally running out winners by 36 points.



I was pleased on lots of levels from Friday night. Firstly, the resilience to perform on the big stage against very good opposition considering our poor performance two weeks ago. Second, the pressure the players were able to consistently apply which gave us enough opportunities to win the ball back, and finally, the ball movement seemed precise and deliberate. With all of this said it is important the playing group understand that this is now the standard they have set and we cannot let that effort slip.



Going forward from here we must review the game and see what we did well and wrong (there is always plenty we would have done wrong). Then we must work on these areas and continually improve as individuals because in the context of the season it’s just one win, and it was one we needed. So now we put it behind us and focus on getting better and making sure we prepare with purpose so we can be ready for a big game this week against Port. We don’t like losing at home, and we certainly don’t like losing two in a row at home so this week is as important game as ever.



Eagles 14.6 (90) defeated Norwood 7.12 (54)



Jarrad Wright – Reserves Coach Report

Another solid performance by the Reserves team on Friday night with a tight and tough win over Norwood at The Parade. It’s always a challenging trip to their home ground especially on a Friday afternoon which is not a known preparation for the group.



We started the game quite well with dominating possession but finding it hard to penetrate the Norwood press zone through midfield, from the box it seemed quite easy as we had so much room over the top inside our 50m but always seemed to choose the slow play option rather than taking the game on and moving the ball quick to give genuine 1 v 1 contests inside 50. This clearly showed on our stats with inside 50 to possession ration being down the entire game and Norwood’s rebound 50s very high percentage ratio. To Norwood’s credit they play their style of football very well and especially on their ground which is smaller than most, congestion at stoppages and numbers can be quite hard to pick the right route through, and we found it difficult but we kept on sticking to the process and held on for a good win.



After coming off the bye it’s always the “unknown” on how the team will face up after 2 weeks of solid training without having a hit-out against opposition and I was still not sure after the warm up before running out on the ground as the group was fairly quiet. It’s hard to read into these things but you know your gut feel is normally the correct one, I believe we were near out most capable football but we grinded it out which was pleasing.



Another good week on the track and we get back to Woodville Oval this week to face up against Port.

Congratulations to the League & U18 teams with getting the 2 points providing the Club with 3 x wins for the weekend.



Eagles 12.10 (82) defeated Norwood 10.13 (73)



Shane Grimm – Under 18 Coach Report

It had been 15 days since our Round 2 game against West Adelaide and we started off as though we hadn’t played a game for about a month.

We spoke before the game about the way Norwood play and the way we wanted to combat their style as well as playing the style of Footy that we wanted to play, unfortunately our players had trouble following the guidelines given to them before the game.

At quarter time we had 23 more possessions, 16 more handball receives had taken 16 more marks than Norwood but had 5 less Inside 50 entries and we trailed by 13 points. I stressed that it was important that we got back to playing the way we wanted to play rather than getting sucked into playing a handball based game, which is what Norwood had forced us into. We had a very potent Forward line and we were also a lot taller than the Norwood defenders but we refused to get the ball inside our 50 metre area with any purpose.

At half time we trailed by 20 points and it was the first time this year, including trial games that we had found ourselves in this position, so I challenged the players to see if we could turn around the situation we found ourselves in as well as challenging individual players who were not performing to dig deep and show some character and not accept the situation we found ourselves in.

The third quarter was better and we did get the momentum of the game swinging slightly back in our favour by kicking 2 goals while keeping Norwood goalless. At three quarter time we still trailed by 9 points but we had at least put ourselves into a position to challenge for a win.

The final term was very entertaining as the lead changed on many occasions, and in a very tense last couple of minutes our players hung in and showed a lot of character to record a tight 5 point come from behind win. Some pleasing things to come out of the second half was the leadership shown by some of our players in particular Giles Ellis and Paul Ventura. Both players lead by example at critical stages of the game and showed some real maturity.



Although the game did not go as planned the players showed that they could hang in there when things were not going the way we would like until the momentum turned back in our favour. Even an ugly win is still a win.



Eagles 10.12 (72) defeated Norwood 9.13 (67)





Darren Hams – Under 16 Coach Report



The April School Holidays is a busy time in the calendar for the SANFL U16 Competition. With midweek games on the Wednesday’s as well as the Saturday’s, players get a greater understanding on how to rehabilitate themselves from one game to the next, with ice baths being a big part of training.



On Wednesday 17th we ventured down to Glenelg to play our fourth game. Glenelg helped us early with some inaccurate kicking and at quarter time we opened up a 15 point lead, by half time Glenelg repelled our attack quite well, with our lads struggling to switch into defence mode once a turnover occurred. At half time Glenelg had narrowly got their nose in front to lead by 1 goal.



Our third quarter was our most productive quarter for the game kicking 5 goals 4 to Glenelg 3 goals 3. Therefore going into the last quarter we had given ourselves a chance to win, the question was how hard we were willing to work for it as we were kicking into a slight breeze. We began the last quarter well but couldn’t hit a target in the forward 50 in which Glenelg again repelled our forward movement to convert up the other end. Our lads dropped their heads and unfortunately we were ran over with Glenelg kicking 7 goals in the final term to win by 6 goals. Good performances by Scott Weger who worked hard for his 5 goals, whilst Sam Schoder played some good patches with Harry Gameau in Ruck and on ballers Lachlan Smith and Harrison Jolly battling hard for most of the day.



Eagles 10.13 (73) were defeated by Glenelg 16.16 (112)



In our second home game for the year against Norwood we were hopeful for a better result than on Wednesday. Norwood began the game well and our lads seemed to get lost in the way Norwood play and were too worried about what they were doing as opposed to what we wanted to achieve. We struggled to find open space in our forward line due to Norwood pushing back behind the footy and unfortunately by half time Norwood had control of the game and were leading by 5 goals. Our ruckman Harry Gameau and Based Baqeri battled hard in the Ruck and won more than our share of clearances but most occasions were ineffective going forward. On baller Damien Cardone showed some good work whilst Luke Zille down back and Lachlan Jaeschke worked hard to create a contest across half forward.



Norwood went on to win the game by 10 goals in which their players played their individual roles a lot better than we did.



Eagles 3.10 (28) were defeated by Norwood 13.14 (92)

Eagles vs Port Adelaide



Michael Godden – League Coach Report



After a solid bounce back against Norwood it was important we consolidate that win with another at home. Our last performance at home was terrible against West and we didn’t want a repeat of that effort.



Even though the first quarter was ok against a very stiff and difficult wind I felt we didn’t have the same energy levels we did the previous week. So after a dour first term the second and third weren’t much better. In the second when we had use of the breeze I didn’t think we used it well and we continually found Ports spare in defence. After some discussion and education to the group from all the coaches we handled the loose better and used our advantages with Ainger and Redden in attack in the last quarter. Ultimately finishing off with a 7 goal to 2 term and running out winners by 29 points.



One pleasing aspect of Saturday’s game was we played pretty ordinary for 2 and a half quarters but still got the job done by 5 goals. This is exactly what you need to do to make sure you continue momentum while we are trying to iron out the creases. Like most seasons this will be a work in progress throughout the year.



So we now turn to this Sunday against South. With the way the season has started at 3-1 and the fact we have played the two top teams it puts us in a good position early in the year, but like every week this is the most important especially with the bye next week. South rolled us in the trial easily and they got the job done against us at home last year, so we are all hard at work making sure we have learnt from those experiences and can formulate a good game plan against them this weekend.



As always I thank you for supporting the lads and I look forward to seeing you all again at Maughan Thiem Hyundai Oval this Sunday to help the boys get over the line . It will be a few weeks till we are home again so please get out there and cheer loud.



Go the Eags!



Eagles 16.8 (104) defeated Port Adelaide 11.9 (75)





Jarrad Wright – Reserves Coach Report



Congratulations to the League and U18 teams for another win over the weekend, a great result for the Club second week running. The Reserves also had another win on Saturday at home against Port Adelaide by 16 points. Don’t get me wrong, a great result for the ladder position but a disappointing performance in the development of the group to what we achieve to gain week to week and this is to play and output potential League standard efforts week to week and quarter to quarter.



From researching the opposition statistics and some vision I had a plan place which I believed would be one that would be successful in the 2 points but also in the individual improvement of game knowledge of adapting to types of game styles. With Port changing the coaching staff this year a new game style to what we are used to playing against Port was a challenge. We kicked against a pretty solid wind in the first quarter and battled through the congestion and managed to scrap out the first quarter to give us a chance to really capitalise with the wind in the second. Port’s pressure and intensity was very good and better than ours for most of the first half but luckily for us could not penetrate our CHB line.



The third quarter was much like to first with a real battle on our hand against the wind, skill execution was down and this really showed with our lack of Inside 50 to conversion ratio at 3 quarter time. With a handy 21 point lead going into the last you would assume that we would kick away in the last with the wind. That’s pretty much what majority of the players did all game and certainly in the last was assume that it would “just happen”. Unfortunately Port outworked us in the last to win the quarter and really have the upper hand with more inside 50m entries but could only peg back a goal and the Eagles winning its third straight.



The Club is in a very solid position with the depth we have and limited injury list and the bolster of a few AFL listed players playing cameos in a few games this year is applying tremendous pressure not only in the League team but the Reserves Team as well. Positions are never cemented in our group this year because of this and the efforts and performances have to be maintained to hold your spot. As I said above a great position for the Club to be in but I have felt that on the weekend the output was not at the standard it should be at, especially when there is players in the ranks that would kill to be playing for the Eagles. Take nothing away from Port they played well, but I believe our effort and adhering to team structures has a lot of improvement in it, when you look at it a massive upside when we are 3 wins and 1 loss. Tom Schwarz, Angus Poole and Zac Fitzgerald all played very well with all showing league standard of effort and execution. All definitely put their hands up for selection next week.



Eagles 12.9 (81) defeated Port Adelaide 10.5 (65)



Shane Grimm – Under 18’s Coach Report



This week the Under 18’s made our way to Alberton Oval for this week’s game against Port Adelaide. Port had shown some good early season form and play a style of footy that has caused us problems in the past so this weeks game was always going to be a challenge.

We lost the toss and had to kick into a strong breeze, which could have been an issue if we were not fully prepared and switched on. I felt that we totally controlled the first quarter, with some very good ball movement and run into the breeze and we were unlucky not to be further in front at the quarter time break.

The second quarter was slightly disappointing, not because of our work rate or our effort, but because of our lack of finish skills in front of goal. Where in the first quarter we were very disciplined with our delivery in the second quarter with the aid of a strong breeze we tended to blaze away and our Forwards did not always prepare themselves quickly enough to be in the best position to compete when the ball was kick forward. We scored 2 goals and 7 behinds for the quarter and still seemed to be the better side but Port made the most of their opportunities going forward and at half time we only held a 7 point lead even though we had gone inside our Forward 50 on 13 more occasions than Port. Another area of our game that needed to improve was our tackling, 12 tackles to half time is poor with 11 players yet to register a tackle.

Our third quarter was similar to the first, we controlled possession of the ball well and we had lots of options whenever we were in possession of the ball, but this time we put the score on the board. Even though we only kicked 3 goals for the quarter it was against a very strong breeze and we had also managed to restrict Port to just 1 goal. At three quarter time we had stretched our lead out to 17 points with the advantage of the breeze in the final term. One of the things we spoke about at half time was our tackling and we vastly improved in that area during the third term. At half time we had only registered 12 tackles, in the third quarter we laid 17 tackles, but we still had 5 players still yet to register a tackle.

We started the final term slowly and Port managed to kick the first goal at the 12 minute mark to make the lead 19 points, but we steadied with the next 3 goals to put the game beyond doubt. Both teams scored 1 more goal each before the game ended leaving the Eagles winners by 31 points.

One of the pleasing aspects of the game was the performances of our Under 19 age group players, we have 12 players in this age group at the moment and we can only play 6 each week in the Under 18 side and there are also some playing Reserves football. All of these players are capable of playing Reserves level football but due to the depth we have at the moment find themselves waiting for an opportunity. They will get their opportunity before the season is over and we are sure that they will be sufficiently prepared to be able to perform at the Level. Of the 6 players we had this week Karl Muller was outstanding in the Ruck with 15 possessions and 32 hit outs to receive the best player award, Tasman Fitzgerald took 13 marks and kicked 2 goals from Centre Half Forward. Tom Whittlesea was excellent in defence constantly repelling Ports advances. Joe Sinor was creative in the midfield with 37 possessions which included 7 clearances. Giles Ellis’ game showed great leadership and he collected 20 possessions as well as providing a lot of defensive pressure and Dane Pfitzner was a constant thorn in Port’s side and he finished with 2 goals.



Eagles 10.16 (76) defeated Port Adelaide 6.9 (45)



Darren Hams – Under 16’s Coach Report



Our final 2 games of the U16 School Holiday’s were against undefeated team North Adelaide on the Wednesday and Port Adelaide on the Saturday.



Against North on the Wednesday we began in a competitive fashion but unfortunately wasted some opportunities going forward by only kicking 3 points for the term, North capitalised on their inside 50’s by kicking 3 goals and lead by this at quarter time. The second quarter was more productive in kicking 2 goals but our players inability to work hard back behind the ball exploited our backline with North kicking 5 goals for the term. After half time our effort and desire to get hold of the footy improved but the quality of North seemed to wear us down late in the quarters. To our guys credit we battled hard and in the end the score line wasn’t a reflection on how the game was played, North were much more effective when they went forward and ran out victors by 11 goals. Our better players were Brandon Taylor who attacked the ball well out of Full Back, Based Baqeri in Ruck, on baller Damien Cardone, Josh Wallent and Tom Thunig also gave us a good effort across the wing and half back.



Eagles 5.5 (35) were defeated by North Adelaide 16.15 (111)



With 9 changes from the Wednesday game we came up against Port Adelaide, both ourselves and Port still had a chance of making the Final four with this game going to the team who wanted to win the most. We unfortunately lost the toss and began the first quarter kicking into a 5 goal breeze with Port kicking 7 for the quarter to lead by 6 goals. At quarter time we spoke to the lads about not relying on the wind to do the work for you and ensure that we make the right option going forward by lowering our eyes and not blazing away. Unfortunately we didn’t use the breeze as effectively as we would have liked and kicked 5 goals 8 for the quarter with Port kicking 2 goals themselves.



During the half time break we spoke about running and carrying the ball a little more into the breeze but also ensuring we were able to work back hard and help out our back line. Port quickly jumped us during the third term and our goals dropped their heads which opened up the flood gates for Port to score, in which they did by kicking 9 goals 5 for the quarter. At three quarter time it was about playing for some pride and respectability we again kicked 5 goals 5 to finish off the game. Damien Cardone in the midfield was good again, Brayden Brusnahan-Hill in the back line competed well, with Sam Schoder up forward by providing a target up forward and kicking 2 goals, with Harrison Gameau and Based Baqeri in Ruck competing in the air in windy conditions. Our other multiple goal scorers include Andy Georgeson and Brandon Taylor with 2 each, whilst Ashley Giles, Luke Hayes, Lachlan Slack, Sam Holman and Based Baqeri with one each.



Over the last few games we have been able to observe and identify who has not only the ability but also the effort, work rate and intensity required to play at this level in which I’m sure has opened a few eyes.

This week we take on South Adelaide down at Noarlunga in which there will be multiple changes again this week due to College football beginning but we are hopeful in finishing off the program with a win.



Eagles 11.14 (80) were defeated by Port Adelaide 20.7 (127)

Eagles vs South Adelaide

Michael Godden – League Coach Report

That was exactly what the group needed. After the big loss to West earlier this year we needed some percentage back and Sunday’s game gave us that.



We went into the week very focused on preparing better than we did against Port. The mood during the week and prior to the Port game I felt was lacking an edge, so the players took this on board and prepared extremely well during the week and Sunday’s warm up seemed focused and purposeful. This is a great lesson in preparation. If you leave nothing to chance then you should feel comfortable to just go out and do what you do best without any stress.



During the first quarter, even though we did win it, I felt it was a really tough battle with neither side being able to capitalise efficiently on the scoreboard. After quarter time the players really found something, they placed an enormous amount of pressure on South and created many turn-overs, then were able to use the ball pretty well to kick away. One of the focus points this week was our ability to win 4 quarters, we hadn’t done it all season so the lads were very much focused on a quarter by quarter effort. This short sighted approached help the players be consistent in their efforts, finally winning all 4 quarters.



Interesting on the stats sheet we only had 3 more possessions than South but 35 more Inside 50’s. This highlights the efficiency was good. I still felt we wasted some opportunities going forward and our accuracy wasn’t great but I can’t complain with a great effort by the boys and a good win.



Even though the performance was a good one, like every game we did things wrong that we must improve on. So over the next two weeks leading into a massive game vs North at Prospect we need to stay focused, work hard, be critical of ourselves and most importantly improve.



Finally, it’s amazing what difference a year can make 0-5 to 4-1 and improving is a good place to be at the moment. Hopefully some of you can get down and support the Eagles boys representing SA in the State Game vs. NEAFL. They have some very good players and I am sure it will be a tight contest and an enjoyable game of footy. So if you are starved this weekend please head down to Richmond and support the boys.



Eagles 23.19 (157) defeated South Adelaide 6.7 (43)


Jarred Wright – Reserves Coach Report

What a pleasing weekend of football for the Club with all grades grabbing the points and going into the State game bye without the ill taste of defeat. Congrats to the League, U18’s & U16’s on good wins on the weekend.



The Reserves played on Sunday at home against South Adelaide and we needed to bounce back from a lack lustre performance again Port with losing 3 out of 4 quarters (but still winning the game). We needed to work on our concentration for a full 4 quarters and make sure the effort was also following suit. South always play a very contested style of footy and this was perfect for us to get back to basics and really improve at our contested ball but also work rate, as with the man an man style the answer is pretty simple to how to beat your opponent “work harder”, along with our strategies of ball movement.



The first half was controlled by us with maintaining most of the possession with pure pressure on South Adelaide, having 17 tackles in the first quarter we managed to regain possession quite quickly. The ball movement was very good and sharp having 26 inside 50 and 14 scoring shots, this disappointing area was a finishing skills with only managing 4 goals 10 behinds to half time and having a 13 point lead going into the main break and leaving the door open for South to get back into the game.



It was pretty clear the message at half time and the players knew the ball movement and pressure had to remain as this had been the area needed to improve on a 4 quarter effort. To the lads credit they did not allow South back into the game and continued to apply the effort to win contested ball and finish off their hard work by taking the game by 66 points, still needed to work on our goal kicking accuracy with 13 goals 18 behinds not the conversion rate desired and could still be a losing score in most games.



Some very good performances by individuals, Nathan Batley and Jake Summerton were fresh back into the team with both unfortunately not playing last game through missing out on selection but applied themselves terrifically. Cameron Elli-Yolmen was again dominant through the back line with Lachlan Carey getting back some form. All round though the team completed a solid performance and we go into the bye confident to take on North Adelaide in 2 weeks time who are also playing good footy.



See you in 2 weeks time.



Eagles 13.18 (96) defeated South Adelaide 4.6 (30)



Shane Grimm – Under 18’s Coach Report

The Under 18 enters the second phase of the program in Round 6 with all players who attend Independent Schools unavailable to play with their SANFL Clubs. While this does affect the numbers and the quality of players available for selection for the next 12 weeks or so, it also gives a number of players the opportunity to show the Club if they are capable of playing at Under 18 level.

We had 8 changes from our Round 5 game against Port Adelaide and I was very interested to see how the new players coming into the team would perform. They have all been involved in our Pre-Season and our Trial Games so they do have an understanding of the way we want the game to be played, now we needed to see if they were capable of executing it.

The game was played in very blustery conditions, with no real advantage to either side. The first 20 minutes of the quarter were a real struggle with both sides having trouble adapting to the conditions. We did manage to get on top of South late in the first quarter with a late rush of 6 goals in the final 7 minutes of the quarter to really blow the game wide open and enter quarter time with a 36 point lead. We managed to get on top in the midfield with Karl Muller dominating in the Ruck, which enabled us to get first hands on the ball and enter our Forward 50 quickly which gave our Forwards the chance to compete 1 on 1 with their opponent.

We continued our dominance in the second term kicking 5 unanswered goals to enter the half time break 66 points in front and looking like we were heading for a very big win. We had some very good performers to half time with Joe Sinor picking up 18 possessions and kicking 3 goals while Sam Lodge had 14 touches in the midfield and Alby Dunstan had also had 14 possessions at half forward. Paul Ventura was also providing a lot of drive through the midfield with 13 possessions.

The third term was a terrible spectacle with both teams only registering 1 goal each, unfortunately we were very wasteful in front of goal adding 5 behinds to our goal. The conditions as well as some injuries to both teams had become a factor in the game with both sides having players on the bench who were unable to come back on to the field.

By the start of the final term we had no players left on the bench who were able to come back on to the ground, so we made some adjustments to the line up on the field to allow players to get a rest if they needed one. The final term was much like the third term but this time both teams managed 2 goals each and again we managed 5 behinds to go with our 2 goals.



I was very happy with the efforts of the more senior players on the weekend who all provided leadership to our less experienced players as well as the efforts of the group of players that we had who had played less than 5 games for the Club. On the weekend we had 13 players who have played less than 5 games of Under 18’s football and the majority of that group performed extremely well and played their roles the way we would expect a more experienced player to perform. Michael Schwarz in his second game was very good on a wing and collected 26 possessions, Michael Visentin in his third game collected 20 possessions and had 9 tackles and a group of Under 17 players who have been performing well over the first 5 games of the year lead by Daniel Minney from Clare in his third game at the level had 20 touches an scored 3 goals, Izzy Blumson from Eudunda mopped up everything at half back and Lachy Hall from Flinders Park has been very good for us all year as a small forward.



Eagles 15.16 (106 defeated South Adelaide 4.8 (32)





Darren Hams – Under 16’s Coach Report



With several key players not being available for our final game of the Season due to College Football beginning, the Under 16 Team ventured down to Noarlunga to play against South Adelaide who were yet to win a game in the competition.



The Coaching staff identified four key areas of our game that had to improve for us to come home with the points. Our spreading once we had the ball was one of those areas identified for improvement in which we did that better than previous games hence we were able to capitalise on our foot skills early and open up a 19 point lead at quarter time. Run and Carry was another area in which required improvement in particular in the windy conditions at Noarlunga. By half time we were playing the style of footy we have been endeavouring to play for a few games and opened up a handy lead of 6 goals 3.



At half time the message was about maintaining our intensity to win the ball as well as continuing on with the style of footy that would help us win the game, 4 goals during the third term to South’s 2 all but sealed the game for us with the last quarter being another 5 goal term. Damien Cardone in the midfield played well and gave our forwards good opportunities with his delivery, Sam Schoder who played the first half at Centre Half Back finished off his good game by providing us options across Half Forward, Scott Weger had a good Second half and finished up with 5 goals, whilst Ruckman Harrison Gameau and on ballers Lachlan Smith and Daniel Polanski contributed to our ball winning ability.



It was pleasing to finish off on a winning note, having many contributors to the win in which 13 players were able to register a goal for the game.



That concludes the U16 Program for 2013 in which we had a good start by winning the first two games, struggled with the middle part of the program and finished of the year with a win to make it 3. Most of the lads involved this year will head back to their local Country or Metropolitan Clubs to hopefully continue to play good footy, whilst there will be around half a dozen players identified to continue to be involved with the Under 18’s this year.



I would like to thank Tony Calio, Paul Sheldon, Dave Mazey, Kym Matthew and Dave Thomas for all their help and support to the Under 16’s this year in which we hope the players continually develop to become League players at the Eagles.



Eagles 18.10 (118) defeated South Adelaide 7.5 (47)

UPDATE FROM THE CEO

RE: State Team Representatives

Dear Members, Partners and Affiliates of the Woodville West Torrens Football Club, this is to advise you of some very exciting news in relation to the Eagles contingency within the South Australian State League teams which will take on the NEAFL this Saturday at City Mazda Stadium.

Congratulations to our own Vice Captain Luke Jarrad for being named Vice Captain of the State Team, clearly Luke’s on field experience and leadership is well recognized. To go with that, we have Craig Parry, Matthew Goldsworthy and Andrew Ainger who have also cemented their spots in the team. Unfortunately our captain Luke Powell did not make the final 22 man team. I know all these boys will wear the jumper with pride and enjoy the experience of representing the SANFL’s greatest team for 2013! Well done fellas!

I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of the junior guys picked for the U/18’s Elite Squad. 5 players have been chosen in the "initial" U18 squad of 51 who will play at 5pm on Saturday after the State League game. They are Luke Dunstan, Malcolm Karpany, Riley Knight, Cameron Giles and Jack Hayes. The squad will be cut back to 40 after the trial game. Well done boys and we wish you well in making the final 40!



Finally to our U20 lads chosen for the State Team who will be playing the NEAFL team @ City Mazda Stadium at 11.25am. Congratulations to Karl Muller and Jack Muirhead for being chosen and whom I have no doubt will do the Eagles and South Australia proud.



It would be remise of me not to re mention the fact that Michael Godden has yet again been given the responsibility of the head coaching role for the Senior State team and that Shane Grimm was chosen to be the Assistant Coach for both the U18’s and U20 State Teams.

Congratulations to all the coaches and players selected and of course to the few that may have just missed the cut – this is an honor that we are certain you will all enjoy and embrace and we wish you all the best of luck! For all the clubs faithful, this also highlights the great job that our coaching group does along with the magnificent caliber of development and talent management that goes into each player here at the Eagles.

From all of us – we hope you have a great time on the field and come away with a win!


As a member of our Club, you’ll be entitled to $10 entry for adults, $5 for concession and discounts within the West Adelaide Football Club’s licensed club on the day. Simply show your membership card / badge.



There’ll be off-street car parking ($5 entry off Milner Road), with a large screen TV in the ‘Mound Bar’ so you can watch the AFL game and State Game at the same time. And for kids, there’ll be a face painter and food specials.


Regards

Uby Faddoul

UPDATE FROM THE CEO

RE: Next Chairman’s Business Lunch – Andrew McLeod and Brett Maher

Dear Michael

It is with great excitement that I write and inform you of the next event to be held on Friday the 24th of May. You would all be aware that the previous 2 Business Lunch Events (Lillee and Blight) have both been sell outs and we know this will be no different!

Two of the best in their fields, Andrew McLeod and Brett Maher will have a candid “on the couch” session with the number one compare and presenter Wayne Phillips – who is guaranteed to have the room in stitches!

Andrew McLeod needs no introduction, his achievements speak for themselves. We will speak to Andrew about football and life after football! We will discuss his trials and tribulations and ask for his views on some SANFL/AFL hot topics!

Brett Maher, 3 time Olympian and One HD and Channel Ten presenter and commentator is truly the gentleman of the Australian Basketball Fraternity. We will speak to Brett about his career, what he is up to now and what next. Again, there will be plenty to discuss in relation to the 36ers!

In traditional fashion we will preview next week’s game against Glenelg with Coach Michael Godden, the ins and outs and strategy to beat the Bays. There will also be a business card draw and unique auction items up for grabs to help the clubs fundraising efforts!

I have personally seen hundreds of you enjoy the last two Business Lunches and in fact seen many of you settle in and watch the boys train under lights. If you are able to make it, host a table, or be hosted – there is simply no better networking afternoon!

I thank you all in advance for your unwavering commitment and support to our club and encourage you to get the word out in order to ensure the success of yet another Friday Business Lunch. We aim to please and to provide an experience that is representative of our clubs inclusive culture and great value for money.

Get in quick to avoid disappointment, contact Laura Harriss on 08 8347 2444, events@wwtfc.com.au or go to www.wwtfc.com.au

Regards

Uby Faddoul

Chief Executive Officer

Michael Godden – League Coach Report



In the wash up of this loss it has shown me I will have to review a few things in order to have a good year in 2013, because North did things better than us in a lot of areas. Even though we started reasonably well on the scoreboard there wasn’t much to like in the first half from a structure and game plan perspective. Talented individual efforts got us the scores not team efforts, and as the game wore on this was shown up with North kicking away to finish winners by 38 points.



We went into the game with a solid plan, but the group struggled to execute with the good pressure North had us under. Since the start of the year the players have done nothing but improve but Saturdays game made us take a small step back. This doesn’t hurt us, in fact it often refocuses an individual, and this is exactly what I have told the players. Review, learn, practice and execute is the plan for the week. For the coaches it’s a similar approach, but we must also move on quickly in preparation for Glenelg in what is a must win game.



One of the biggest challenges I have faced so far this year is the amount of players that have rolled through the League Team. Up until now we have played 35 players including 10 of our 14 AFL listed, compared to the same time last year which was 26. This number seems to be about average around the league. With two new coaches at League level they haven’t exactly had the same people to work with week in week out, so hopefully over the next month we can settle this down and get some continuity in our education. The positive is every one of these players that have played have deserved their spot and there are still a few more in the Reserves that are pushing hard. Instability can be both a negative and a positive. Negative because it doesn’t allow the team to settle and build a good understanding of each other and a positive because it allows the players and coaches to learn to adapt to any situation while also exposing a lot of players to the level.



Like every week this is the most important. The Bays are coming off a bye and we haven’t beaten them since Round 20 2011. In this game we must get back to doing the simple things well and push the upward curve back up again after a dip this week.


Eagles 13.6 (84) were defeated by North Adelaide 18.14 (122)


Jarrad Wright – Reserves Coach Report

Another solid performance from the Reserves on the weekend against North Adelaide, to have consecutive 10 + goal wins is a good effort but something that is sometimes more difficult to coach.

After coming of the State Game bye weekend and having intense training the week prior with freshening up through the week leading up to the game it was always going to be interesting to see how the group started, and well we barely started in the first to be honest. The mindset of the players seemed to be still In “bye” mode with loose checking, a lack of work rate and simple structures set were not being adhered too, this was evident by eye and the quarter time KPI’s (key performance indicators) were down and beaten by the opposition. The quarter time message was pretty blunt and to the point. Yes we were only down by 3 points at the first break but it was the process that was not at the level required and set by the group.

Clearly the message got through and the process was back to the desired output with our KPI’s reversing quite substantially to be in Eagles favour. Work rate lifted, structures being executed and Ball movement patterns were predictable to the forwards resulting to 13 inside 50’s and 11 scoring shots (8 goals 3) to go in with a 41 point lead at half time.

The second half was much the same as the second quarter with us being quite dominant through the midfield and Forward line. With the pressure on the opposition quite intense we were not allowing North Adelaide to get the ball movement past the mid half.

I talked briefly earlier about getting the process correct right from the first bounce, as this can be very costly against better teams and players at the higher level (League). Maintaining disciplines in work rate, starting positions in structures is more important to me than the 15 goal win. This is something that the players are judged on every minute of the game and we can certainly keep improving throughout the year.

All round a very good performance by the group, we are very much looking forward to playing Glenelg this week who are always a tough opposition and travelling very well in the reserves to which we all will have our work cut out for us this Saturday.

Eagles 18.17 (125) defeated North Adelaide 6.3 (39)


Shane Grimm – Under 18’s Coach Report

This week’s game against North Adelaide was likely to be our biggest test of the year with both teams being unbeaten after 6 rounds. After having last weekend off because of the State game, the week on the track has been very positive. I was hoping that we could carry that through to the game.

Again this week we had another 2 players playing in their first game for the Club, taking our 2013 tally to 35 players. We got off to a slow start in the first quarter and found ourselves down by 3 goals very quickly, to the players credit they managed to stem the flow of North goals and managed to peg one back themselves to go into the quarter time break down by 13 points.

The second term was our best of the day managing 4 unanswered goals and playing a lot more accountable football. We let North get too many uncontested possessions in the first quarter due to our lack of work rate when we didn’t have the ball, but we were a lot better in that area in the second term. At the half time break we were in front by 11 points.

After half time North came out and started the term the better side and managed to get back level before we got our act into gear and finished the quarter with a couple of strong contested marks and goals to Alby Dunstan and Dane Pfitzner which had us holding sway at the last break by 12 points.

I felt that we still had enough left to enable us to grind out a hard fought win against a good opponent, but we were going to have to find at least another 3 goals in the last term to ensure the win. Unfortunately for us North kicked a goal early to get them back to a goal down and this seemed to deflate our boys while giving North an extra spring in their step. North were the better side in the final term but we still had a number of opportunities late in the game to tie the game up but on the day we were just not good enough, going down by 6 points in a very entertaining game.

The positives to come out of the game was the continued performances of our Under 19 aged players who all provided leadership as well as being a positive influence on the game with their performances. Another positive was the performances of our Under 17 aged players Izzy Blumson was great for us in defence, Lachy Hall played almost the perfect small forwards game and Daniel Minney and Thomas Elfenbein both had some quality touches on the ball.



I will be interested to see how the players respond from our first loss of the season, with another difficult game coming up this week against Glenelg.



Eagles 8.8 (56) were defeated by North Adelaide 9.8 (62)

Michael Godden – Senior Coach Report

In last week’s report I talked about getting back to doing the simple things well. ‘Simple things’ are basically controllable actions such as sticking tackles, work rate and hitting simple skills. The pleasing thing was the lads performed these actions well which gave them plenty of opportunities to get their hands on the footy and use it. One other thing I wrote about was the amount of players we have already played in 2013, on Saturday we added another 3 to take to the total to 38. This is a great effort by the playing group to be able to adapt so quickly and play a team style.

The game started very well for us kicking 9 straight in the first term followed by a lacklustre and disappointing second, but obviously I was happy to go in to half time 50 points ahead. After some good interactive discussion at half time the lads came out and played a very good second half to finally run out winners by 88 points.

If I had to highlight one thing we did poorly it was in the second quarter when we went away from the structures and played a bit more individual footy. On the other hand the one major positive was the amount of sacrificial team acts done by all; this is the foundation in which we are trying to achieve on a weekly basis.

This week poses a huge challenge for our Football Club. I believe we haven’t won at Elizabeth since 2004 and with the bye only 3 weeks away and the added incentive of Luke Powell’s 200th game and Scott Lewis’s 100th it is a week we must stand up. The Doggies are finding form and there is no harder coach to coach against than Roy, so this week is very much a week we have to do our homework as coaches while the playing group must continue to work hard on improving.

Hopefully we can see you all out at Elizabeth to help celebrate two of our great player’s milestone games. This is a huge effort by both but especially Luke. You will find it hard to find anyone who commits more to a team than Luke, as coaches and players and you as members we must do the right thing by him and make sure we all do our jobs well and come home with a win, because I am sure that is exactly what both of these lads would want more than anything.

Eagles 25.7 (137) defeated Glenelg 9.15 (69)


Jarrad Wright – Reserves Coach Report

Congratulations to Tom Schwarz and Jack Muirhead for playing their League debut on the weekend against Glenelg, both Tom and Jack have been developing very well in the reserves this year after a solid pre-season and handled themselves very well in their first game. It was a good day for the Club all round with all grades getting up.

The reserves team were very mindful of playing the Bays on Saturday in result of a couple of good wins in previous weeks, I believe that this strong mindset was the key to the way we played the game with intent and followed team structures. We reflected and reviewed the game against North Adelaide a solid performance but still areas that we could work and improve on as team and individuals. The areas of focus were Support Voice, Starting Positions in structures and mindset, I felt last week the players picked and choose when they were going to execute these and we needed to be better in concentrating for 4 quarters.

The pre-game meeting I walked out and commented to the assistant coaches how I felt the lads seemed very focused on the process, this was evident in the first quarter with all stoppage set ups being directed by all players on the field, and players moving to positions to cover team mates. Our intensity was up and we won contested ball time and time again we just let ourselves down with composure entering the forward 50 which provided Glenelg defenders being able to rebound, this did not concern me too much as the effort was there and it was only a matter of cleaning up the movement and we would be able to break the game open. The second quarter we did just that scoring 6 goals 3 to no score applying the scoreboard pressure and finishing off the hard work of the Midfield and defenders, all very positive going into the main break.

At Half time the players knew that they had only played a half of footy and had to change nothing from the way the game was played for the second. To the team’s credit the players stepped up a gear in the third quarter and continued the process of all we had focused on and applied pressure on the Glenelg players giving them no chance of freedom of movement. Going into the last we had 70 point lead and as a coach you know that this will be hard to maintain the focus, and we did drop our intensity in the first 10 mins with Glenelg getting on top with contested ball and taking a few contested marks in our backline which in turn kicked the first 3 goals of the quarter. It’s quite amazing that just a slight drop in the intensity and slipping away from the basics, things can fall apart very quickly, in saying this the players knew and rallied to finish off strong kicking 6 goals and winning the quarter and the game by 84 points.

Some very good individual efforts from Scott Blesing who played his best game for the Club and has been slowly building, Lachlan Carey and Caleb Lloyd were excellent for 4 quarters. The rest of the team you could throw a blanket over which is very promising, I believe this was our best performance of the year and with our youngest team played in 2013 a very good look at the future.

Eagles 19.10 (124) defeated Glenelg 6.4 (40)



Shane Grimm – Under 18’s Coach Report

We travelled to Glenelg this week to play the Tigers after our first loss of the year against North Adelaide, so it was going to be interesting to see how the players would respond.

Again this week we had a player make his debut at Under 18 level, Reece Johnston from Woodville South was our 36th player to play in 2013.

On what was a perfect morning for football our players made the most of the conditions and got on top of the Bays early, we had spoken about the importance of a strong start both individually and as a team so it was good to the players responding positively. We had a solid contribution from all players but there was also some standouts, Paul Ventura who had been ill throughout the week and was in doubt for the game started well 7 possessions and 2 goals, Alby Dunstan was again dominating at Half Forward, while Jack Enright who played his best game for the Club last week was continuing his good form this week at Half Back. The team highlight to come from the first quarter was that we laid 20 tackles, which is a great effort and shows that the players wanted to make amends for last week’s loss. At quarter time we held a 16 point lead.

The second term saw Glenelg start to fight back which coupled with a slight drop off in intensity from our players saw the game in a bit of a stalemate for the majority of the quarter. We still managed to outscore Glenelg by 2 goals to 1 but we needed to get back to playing team first football rather than playing for ourselves.

The third term saw us re-establish our control on the game kicking 3 unanswered goals and stretching the lead out to 38 points. Again the highlight was our even contributions from all players and the player’s willingness to follow instructions and play their role.

The final quarter was when we finally broke the game open and started to play some very attractive football with some good ball movement going forward, providing opportunities for our forwards who obliged with 6 goals, 3 of them from Jackson Press who kicked 6 for the day in his best game for the Club. Glenelg managed to kick their one and only goal for the second half right on the final siren which brought the margin back to a comfortable 65 point win to get us back on track.



The response from the players this week was very good especially against an opposition in a similar position to us on the ladder. I was happy to see the continued good form and leadership shown by Alby Dunstan and Paul Ventura as well as the continued improvement from players like Lachy Hall, Izzy Blumson and Daniel Minney. We also had some very good performances from others like Michael Schwarz, Jack Enright, Joe Bottin and Max Neville who all probably played their best games of the year.



Eagles 16.9 (104) defeated Glenelg 4.15 (39)

Michael Godden – Senior Coach Report

Saturday’s poor effort at Elizabeth was disappointing considering what we had to play for. To put it bluntly, Centrals took the initiative and came at us hard and we showed little fight. The only time in the game in which we did look good was the start of the last where we scored 25 points to get back to within 3 goals at the half way mark of that quarter. Like so often when you make a run like that you find the damage was done and we couldn’t maintain that effort. In attack we were in-accurate and in efficient, while in defence we leaked 95 points on a wet and heavy day.

I don’t think I am saying anything revolutionary when I say in-consistency is a major problem. Our good is as good as any team in the competition right now but our bad is ordinary. This is a challenge for us all now to close that gap. The difficult thing is the closeness at the top of the table so any game dropped is going to hurt further down the road, but the positive is we are still in a good position and we have a huge amount of improvement left in us.

The players and I had a really good open discussion Monday night in regards to consistency of effort and we were able to identify a few things we can work on, so hopefully this helps leading into the next two games before the bye.

The extra day’s preparation before the Sunday game will allow us to do some extra work on the track and in the vision room. As I said we are still well placed and we have played some terrific footy at times this year. We just have to be prepared to play anyone, anywhere at any time not just when it suits us. This is the challenge set to the playing group for the next two weeks. After that time and at the bye we can evaluate where we are at and what we need to do to be a real contender this year.

The entire Club had a bit of a downer last week with the Reserves losing and the 18’s just scraping through. So this week against Sturt we all must be on our game and get back to the footy we all know we can play.

Eagles 8.12 (60) were defeated by Central District 14.11 (95)

Jarrad Wright – Reserves Coach Report

Round 9 has come and gone very quickly and I would like it to come back again to have another shot at Centrals out at their home deck. I know the players would also like to have their time again, but this is not possible and we need to move forward and learn from the game and the areas we were not good enough in. Centrals are hard enough to beat let alone at their home ground, and if you do not come prepared to take the game on and play hard aggressive football it makes it even tougher.

First quarters overall this year has been probably our least impressive with opposition teams outworking us, and on the weekend this was a standard case. Centrals were prepared to work to the secondary contest and spread defensively and attackingly better than us. We leaked a few easy goals purely from lazy marking and defenders ball watching and getting caught on transition, we managed to hang in there and get a couple of lucky goals ourselves to go into the first break as it was the start of the game. From the box it was pretty simple what had to be fixed, concentration needed to lift and work rate.

Our second quarters this year have been our best by far with averaging a winning quarter margin is 30 points, and in keeping a law of averages up, the players “switched on” and started working at a level which is required and being honest in the defensive pressure to best help the team. A lift in intensity is amazing how everything seems to work, skills are hitting targets, out numbering at contests, and clean with ground balls and the link up seems to be always there. Going into the main break with a 20 point lead was quite a pleasing turn around and one we were confident of maintaining.

During the break the rain belted down, a huge down pour making the conditions into a slog. Game plans and ball movement are pretty much thrown out the window and it comes down to grunt and who wants it more. Disappointingly Centrals wanted it more beating us at footy, hard work, lower, harder and winning the 50/50 contest. Something that should come natural and be easy to execute as it’s not skill based or talent, but we were left tested on this which is not the way we have been playing this year. Centrals won the 3rd quarter by 27 points and were able to have huge momentum in the last with a 7 point margin, but in these conditions feels like 3+ goals.

Unfortunately the last quarter was not the result we were aiming for and winning the close finish, the lads did start to work harder and win the 50/50 controlling most of the last quarter but were unable to finish of 3 opportunities in front of goal to steal a victory. Going down by 3 points was a tough loss but one we can definitely review and learn for future pressure games and certainly adapting to the wet conditions.

We have to now regroup and bounce back against Sturt this week who were too good for us Round 1 and look to build again going into South then the bye.

Eagles 11.8 (74) were defeated by Central District 12.5 (77)

Shane Grimm – Under 18’s Coach Report

This week’s game against Centrals was one I was expecting our side to win. Considering that we had only lost the one game this year, by 1 goal to the undefeated North Adelaide, and with Centrals yet to win a game it should have been a formality. Think again.

The trouble with this week’s game was that I think our players were also expecting to win, but unfortunately I think they just thought it would happen, or they thought someone would do the hard work for them.

It is sometimes hard to gauge how the team is going to play from week to week based on the players Pre-Game warm up and their body language etc. and this week was no different. The players were quiet and seemed focussed on the task ahead and the Pre-Match went as planned.

The first quarter was played in difficult conditions, but we definitely were the dominant side early in the game, but we didn’t make the most of our opportunities in front of goal. The trend continued in the second term where we controlled the game but left the carrot dangling in front of Centrals with just a 26 point half time lead despite 14 scoring shots to 3, 40 more possessions and 22 more Inside 50 entries.

At half time we warned the players that Centrals were still in the game and that we needed to get on top early and snuff out any challenge. Unfortunately the players must have thought differently and Centrals outscored us 4 goals to Nil in the third term to have both teams level at three quarter time.

The final quarter was played in terrible conditions with driving rain affecting the game as a spectacle but keeping the scores close made for a very interesting and tight battle.

Even though we totally dominated the Final term in both statistics and time played in our forward half, Centrals kicked the first goal of the quarter and for a time looked like it may be enough to get them over the line. For the quarter we went Inside 50 on 13 occasions but could only manage the solitary goal, a great set shot under pressure from Tas Fitzgerald to put us back in front with about 8 minutes to play, while Centrals went Inside 50 once to also kick 1 goal. The last few minutes of the game were very challenging and players from both teams gave everything, but thankfully for the Eagles we managed to finish the game with our nose slightly in front to hang on with a 3 point win.



I think the combination of the weather conditions and the lowly ranked opposition was enough to affect some of our players mental preparation. I hope that this will be a lesson learned by all of our players, that you can never underestimate or disrespect your opponent and that you should always prepare to control the things that you can control, which is their individual performance.


Eagles 5.14 (44) defeated Central District 6.5 (41)

Agree with Grimm there about the u18s

Round 10 - Eagles vs Sturt

Michael Godden – Senior Coach Report

Right at the moment I feel whatever I write isn’t going to give you the full picture of the way I am feeling about Sunday’s performance. It’s unfortunately becoming a bit like Groundhog Day saying "we need to improve", "better preparation", "train harder" etc etc and I am sure you are sick of reading it. So right now the simple message is "we need to harden up". We all need to take responsibility for the last couple of weeks and be ruthless on ourselves and each other and that starts at the top. These are the times Clubs need strong leadership both on and off the field and that is my sole focus for this week.

In the last couple of weeks the entire Club has dropped back in intensity and we need to rectify that in order for all grades to have a good second half of the year. This will start Wednesday when we review the game and have a solid training session to help right some wrongs. I would be lying if I said I am not frustrated at my inability to get these players playing strong, disciplined team football every week. This is the least experienced group I have ever coached at this Club but it doesn’t excuse our inability to give consistent committed efforts. This is the challenge that lies ahead and I look forward to that.

Make no mistake our goals are still very high for the 2013 season. We understand there are some very good sides out there and it’s going to be tough. But we have put ourselves in this position and so we need to fight our way out. At this moment all we can control is what is right in front of our eyes, and that is South. They will be fuming about our last meeting earlier this year and I am sure they learned a lot, so we need to make sure our backyard is in order and go down there with a positive mindset and get our game back.

One football season can throw nearly as many challenges at you than your normal working life and right now our backs are against the wall. The first step is to make sure the playing group know how to react and what to do, the next is for them to go out and execute. I know Noarlunga is a long way away and your team isn’t playing great footy but this is the time we need you the most, when the chips are down we all band together, so hopefully you can make the trip and support the lads as I am sure this week they will be giving all they have.

Eagles 10.7 (67) were defeated by Sturt 16.7 (103)



Jarrad Wright – Reserves Coach Report

Another disappointing result for the Reserves on Sunday at our home ground against Sturt. After coming off a loss the week prior we were really focused on delivering a solid 4 quarter performance. The group seemed very confident and focused prior to the game as they knew they had to raise the bar 20% from previous week and also coming up against the best team in the competition who beat us in Round 1.

We started the game reasonably well with the intensity but still were not able to have the start which I would like, as I have stated in past weeks our first quarters are our worst I feel with never being able to capitalise. Sturt’s pressure and tackling ability was far superior and giving the players real difficulty with executing the skills to move the ball forward and apply some scoreboard pressure. We continuously turned the footy over through midfield and centre half forward which was creating our backline great difficulties getting caught out on transition. This was even the case when we entered our attacking forwarded 50, poor entries missing golden opportunities. At half time being down by 6 points was a real positive with playing so bad on the attacking front, we gave Sturt 4 first half goals with simple skill turnovers or unforced errors in our defensive 50m which crucifies the team simply cleaning up the ball movement and giving our forward a chance we knew that we would be a real shot.

The last half didn’t change to much with Sturt’s pressure really playing on the players minds, well this was what It looked like from the coaches box and if you were there to watch I’m guessing you were all very frustrated in the way the ball was so poorly delivered by hand and foot. We always seemed to panic when we had it, and Sturt were a very well structured hard working team that did not stop applying pressure. Sturt really let us off the hook in the third term with missing easy opportunities in front of goal and we took every opportunity when it did go inside 50, a 3 point difference into the last break, somehow we were still in the game. Our effort for 3 quarters has been pretty solid especially after chasing turnover after turnover and spending more petrol tickets than if the ball was going through our big white sticks. The last quarter Sturt ran all over us and really put the foot down, our skills still were poor and Sturt made sure of it in front of goal kick 8 goal 2 behind and cruised to an easy win by 37 points.

Promising as it was we were able to stay in the contest for as long as we did with the poor skill level as our effort was solid, but we were clearly beaten by the best team in the comp and have a lot of work to do on the training track as the performance was not at a standard that is required to play Reserves let alone developing into League.

Eagles 12.7 (79) were defeated by Sturt 15.20 (116)



Shane Grimm – Under 18’s Coach Report

We travelled to Unley for this week’s game against Sturt after scraping in over the bottom placed Central Districts last week and after a very positive week on the training track. With the long weekend it meant that we would have some of our College players available this week. It is always good to be able to give the College players the opportunity to play for the Eagles and at this time of the year with players in the State programs and other players getting selected to play Reserves football it was good to be able to give 2 more players their first games in the Under 18 team, Nelson Ellis from Kadina and Ethan Haylock, son of former Woodville player Garry the players in question.

Unfortunately we let ourselves down right from the start of the game. Sturt kicked the first 5 goals of the game and were definitely working a lot harder and smarter than our players. They reacted quicker made better position at stoppages and around the ground in general play as well as providing options for their team mates whenever they had possession of the ball. Sturt were also a lot more efficient than we were with the football all day, especially Inside 50. This was mainly due to our lack of defensive pressure we provided when Sturt were in possession of the ball, which meant that Sturt were rarely under any real pressure when they had to execute or make a decision.

At half time we were 27 points behind the Double Blues but we did rest some of the momentum back from Sturt and after making a few slight changes we were hoping to be able to get ourselves close enough at three quarter time to mount a challenge in the final term. We started well and kicked the first goal of the third term to get back within 18 points before Sturt took control and kicked 6 of the next 8 goals to go into the final break with a 42 point lead.

The three quarter time talk was aimed at controlling the things that we can control and giving a better effort and having and showing some pride in your performance. Unfortunately we were well beaten again in the final term being outscored by 5 goals to 1 goal.

Before today’s game we had not had 10 goals kicked against us in any of our matches this season, but unfortunately Sturt managed to put 20 past us which is very disappointing because of the emphasis we put on team defence at all times.

Eagles 9.7 (61) were defeated by Sturt 20.7 (127)

Michael Godden – League Coach Report

Sunday’s win was a good result as it is clear with a few inclusions and some altered structures the Maggies are a lot different side to the one we have played in the past. Obviously they have had some good results over the last month and I can now see why. This makes this win a little bit better because the players had to guts it out. With 17 lead changes and the margin never getting outside 2 goals it could have gone either way, but to the lads credit they kept boring in and created a win.

Over the last month and especially over the break we have worked very hard on our defensive side of the game as we have been leaking too big of scores. This is an area we must continue to work on as we still allowed Port to score 87 points, and if we are going to win consistently this needs to drop. This doesn’t mean we are all out defensive which is evident in us scoring 98 points in a dour contest. It just means we have to get the balance between attack and defend right.

Individual development is a big part of our time at the moment, so it was good to see an even performance from the group and an increase in output from most players compared to the South game. As much as game plan is important it is also important that every player on our list gets better. A lot of this falls on the player themselves but it also is a huge responsibility on all the coaches to put in the work, in which they are all doing well and the players are responding.

This leads me to this week, North at home. Every week is a big week and this is another huge challenge for our group. As we found out last time this is a high quality team with very good players and structures and there is no doubt we will need to lift to another level. These are the sorts of games that I just love, the opportunity to work against the best and try to prepare the players and the staff to be ready and see if we have improved since our last meeting.

Eagles 14.14 (98) defeated Port Adelaide 13.9 (87)



Jarrad Wright – Reserves Coach Report

Footy was back on Sunday at Alberton Oval again the Magpies, after a week off with the bye to fresh the mind up we needed to respond as a team and we did just that. The bye week is hard to read when fronting up the week after with the unknown of what will be produced, match fatigue, skill execution, tempo all these things come into mind which you train hard for in the break but very different to match day but mentally the players are all ready to go and fresh.

Port Adelaide have been getting some very good results in the Reserves and the entire League standard is very good with most teams beating everyone at this stage of the year, this making a challenge every week for both the coach and players to perform at their maximum. Port Adelaide play a very specific style of footy which is different to other clubs and one that is working for them. We had a certain game plan to counter which we were very confident that would get the job done if the players stuck to the structures and just did the simple things well.

The entire game was played in momentum swings with us winning the first quarter in all aspects of the game but just lacked a bit of finish going forward and not capitalising on opportunities to apply scoreboard pressure. The second quarter started the same for the first 10 minutes then we lost our structure and the players were lost for the remainder of the quarter and allowing Port to play the style they wanted. We only managed 4 points in the second quarter and Port kicked 2 majors. Pretty much the game was all square at half time with a 2 point lead to us.

The second half was mainly controlled by us I felt after the first 10 minutes of the 3rd term. The players totally switched off in the centre and backline allowing 4 quick goals through in no more that 6 or 7 minutes and Port getting out to 18 points. The players really provided themselves a task with goals being very hard to achieve. A lift in intensity and concentration for the remainder of the quarter pegging a few goals back provided a tight last quarter to which we over ran the opposition. The pressure lifted anther level with Port not being able to move the ball from defence to attack and our midfield getting on top in contested ball. It took until the last 10 minutes of the game to break Port down but a very tough and grinding victory by 16 points.

Some outstanding individual efforts from the game, Lee Staple I believe played his best game for the Club this year, being yet in the Reserves but his work rate and strength in the aerial contest provided the team a real focal point going forward and his hard work paid off with 5 goals. Giles Ellis an U19 player, showed he has a future with some impressive speed and line breaking runs. Jack Muirhead, Todd Culley, Sam Martyn , Jake Von Bertouch and Scott Blesing were very solid contributors.

A very proud coach after the game as the players had responded from previous performances and backed themselves and the game plan in. We must take great confidence that we can fight back from being down in a match, but still work on the areas that let us down throughout the game. The next 4 weeks are very important to the group and development of the players coming up against top 5 teams.

Congratulations to the U18 and League team for great wins and making it 3 from 3 over the weekend for the Club.

Eagles 10.9 (69) defeated Port Adelaide 8.5 (53)



Darren Hams – Interim U18 Coach Report

With Shane Grimm our Under 18 Coach away in Melbourne helping the State U18 Team prepare for the Under 18 Nationals, the onus was placed upon our U18 lads on how they prepared for this game and to ensure they bring the right mindset for a good performance.

Congratulations to Dane Pfitzner and Giles Ellis in being promoted to the Reserves. Just about every game this year we have had someone play their first U18 game for the Club, this week it was Simon Brozel. The mood in the change rooms seemed quiet but the lads seemed to be focussed on what they had to do.

Port got off to a quick start but by quarter time we had pegged them back to trail by only one point at the break. The second quarter was unfortunately our worst quarter for the game and Port were first to ball, with our players playing reactive football and not setting themselves up in the best position to get hold of the footy first. Port outscored us by kicking 4 goals to 1 during this term.

The stats at half time indicated our thoughts and Port were on top in all areas of the game, we made some structural changes due to our Ruckman going down just before the main break, as well as discussing our work rate and ability to provide pressure when we don’t have the ball. During the third quarter we started to win the ball around clearances and were able to give our forwards some clean space by moving the ball quicker to dangerous spots in our forward line. Our most productive quarter for the day by kicking 5 goals to 1 we were able to open up a four point lead at 3 quarter time.

We knew the last quarter would be tight as Port rely on pressing numbers up into opposition halves and once they cause a turnover they run and spread quickly. But we had the ascendency going into the last quarter, reiterating to get the ball into our forward 50 quickly as well as setting ourselves up in the Attack/Defend mode very quickly. The last quarter was a bit of a shoot-out with 8 goals being scored by between both teams, with a minute to play we hit the front by 7 points and realised that we had the game won, Port kicked a goal with only a few seconds to go bringing the margin back to 1 point.

It was a good effort from our lads in the way they responded after half time by kicking 9 goals to 5, we look forward to tackling North Adelaide this week who are on top of the ladder in the Under 18’s.

Eagles 12.5 (77) defeated Port Adelaide 11.10 (76)

The Woodville West Torrens FC would like to congratulate Brenton Phillips on guiding the SA U18 team to the 2013 National U18 title.

We would also like to congratulate Luke Dunstan (South Clare) Riley Knight (South Clare) Malcolm Karpany (Moonta) and Cameron Giles (Blyth Snowtown) on their performances throughout the Carnival. All 4 players made a valuable contribution to the result, with Luke Dunstan being named joint SA MVP.

Congratulations also goes to Luke Dunstan on being named in the ALL Australian team.



WWTFC

Michael Godden – Senior Coach Report

It makes for a happy place when all three grades get a win. So congratulations to all at the Club for making it a successful weekend. With both the Reserves and the Under 18’s playing good footy, this is certainly creating pressure for spots which is always a healthy thing.

The win this weekend was obviously a big one in the context of the season, but more importantly we were able to meet the majority of our KPI’s for the 1st time this year. So with that it seems we are getting closer to the footy we want to be playing. Football can be such a fickle game and if the siren blew 5 seconds earlier we wouldn’t be that happy at the moment, so it is important to remember this as we prepare for another huge game this weekend vs West. For all that were at the game and witnessed the committed efforts from both sides I think you would be pleased with the belief the players showed to continue to the final siren. Some say its luck to have games like that fall your way, but I say it’s a lot of hard work and consistency of effort that gives you the opportunity to win the tight ones. The players should be proud of themselves over the last couple of weeks, but also understand the huge job we still have in front of us so we must keep our heads down, definitely have good memories of last weekend but understand we need to keep improving.

As I have stated numerous times, a footy season is a marathon and we are about half way. We must make sure we stay focused on short term goals and work on what we are doing right and wrong whilst continuing to work hard.

This week is another opportunity to play a very good side and see if we have improved from our last meeting where West made us look second rate and handed us our worse loss for the year. I believe we have improved and learnt a lot from that game and it’s now time to put that into practice and close the gap on that 72 point loss.

Eagles 10.12 (72) defeated North Adelaide 10.10 (70)



Jarrad Wright – Reserves Coach Report

The Reserves group had regained real confidence in each other after the break and a come from behind win over Port Adelaide to be very focused with belief in the week leading up the North Adelaide. This was very evident in the emotion in the rooms prior to kick off and the warm up was focused and probably the best for the year. This certainly did show with the way we attacked the ball and the body in the first half which set the scene the day. We had a team record of 23 tackles in the first quarter applying immense pressure on the opposition and not allowing them to gain any free movement through the midfield which in turn kept them from scoring.

Our second quarter dropped slightly with some simple skill errors, I knew the amount of effort exerted in the first was going to plateau but some very solid efforts and some excellent goal kicking with 11 goals straight at one stage in the second term. A 40 point lead at the main break was very pleasing, but we were very sure that North Adelaide would come out firing, this and only having 18 ½ fit player in the last half was going to be tough for the players to continue the effort.

As expected, North did come out and give a real contest with lifting pressure and able to get some scoreboard pressure back with converting goals, we had to really grind it out in the conditions and limited rotations. To the player’s credit they really held strong, yes there was definitely a few lapses in concentration and skill execution but we were winning enough of the contested ball to maintain momentum and keep North Adelaide at bay with a 34 point win.

Some very tired boys at the end of the game and very sound team effort. With a 6 day turn around to front up against West Adelaide at Richmond this week we need to make sure the recovery process is correct this week to keep the development of the group moving in the right direction.

Another great weekend of football for the Club, Congratulations to the U18’s for a win and to the League with a nail biting victory. We also had a gutsy win also over North Adelaide on home on Sunday making it a clean sweep for the Club.

Eagles 15.8 (98) defeated North Adelaide 10.4 (64)


Shane Grimm – Under 18’s Coach Report

This week we got to play North Adelaide, an opposition team who defeated us the last time we played them. North are on top of the ladder having only lost the 1 game but we were keen to make amends for the last time we played North where we surrendered a lead late in the game to go down by 6 points.

We asked for a fast start and for everyone to make sure their first attack on the ball set the tone for the rest team for the rest of the day. Unfortunately North started the better side and put the first 2 goals on the board before we finally kicked into gear. We did manage to get ourselves back into the contest with some very good individual performances by Jack Enright, (8 possessions and 2 clearances) and Jack Hayes playing well at half forward with 6 possessions including 3 strong marks and a goal, setting an example for the rest of the team to follow. At quarter time we trailed North by 6 points.

Our defensive pressure and our skill execution improved in the second term and allowed us to get on top of North and were also helped by some more individual efforts. Jack Elsworthy had a big second term in defence mopping up everything that went to ground and Justin Smart got involved on the wing and continually pumped the ball into our forward 50 where Tom Whittlesea started to get on top of his opponents and was providing a target for our midfielders going forward. We went into the half time break with a 7 point lead.

The third term was another tight struggle with North throwing everything at us but it was good to see our players take everything North threw at them but still manage to extend our lead at the three quarter time break to 13 points.

The last term was played in driving rain and against a very good opponent who were again throwing everything they could at us. North did manage to get back to within 5 points and were looking like they may snatch a win, but our players stood tall in the final moments of the game to kick the last 2 goals of the game to end up winning by 17 points in what was a very good game of football.

Again this week we played a debutant with Luke Michalanney from the RSMU Hawks playing his first game at Under 18 level. Luke was solid at half forward providing a target for us and kicking a very important goal in the third term.



Eagles 9.9 (63) defeated North Adelaide 6.10 (46)

Match Reports – Rnd 15 2013 – West v Eagles


Michael Godden – League Coach Report

I am not sure who it was who first said “one week is a long time in football” but how true it is. My frustration this week stems from a complete lack of effort and energy. After three games of highly committed team football the playing group didn’t play to the level that is required. Consistency of effort is what good teams do and we still can’t seem to get that right. We were playing a team at their home ground and are one of the flag favourites. They had only won 1 of their last 5 games and are leading into a bye. You don’t need to be Einstein to work out what this game means to them and it showed. The reality is we needed to be proactive early and make a statement, unfortunately what did happen were players coming off the line, fumbling and making poor decisions. This isn’t a true reflection of our playing group; it comes back to preparation and strength of mind.

Preparation is key to everything you do in life. With good preparation comes confidence and the ability to be the best you can be. In football it extends past the 4 trainings a week plus recovery, it is everything you do in your normal week. This is the main area I have challenged the playing group on, create good habits. Following a very tough game on Sunday vs North we only had a 6 day break vs our opposition’s 7 day break so recovery and preparation early in the week was paramount. We always need good recovery so we can train with purpose on a Wednesday and allow myself and the coaching staff to implement what we need to.

I made the analogy post-match it’s like raising my children. I tell them not to touch the hot BBQ because it will hurt, so what do they do? They touch it and it hurts. The key to this is they have now lived it and they won’t do it again. This is what we constantly do in coaching because we have lived it, and it was the players turn on Saturday. Every situation in football is different and I am sure there were lots of our players out there yesterday that have been through this before, but there are also lots that haven’t, and in footy you need all 21. The exciting thing for me is I know the individuals that represent our club are proud, dedicated people and I have no doubt the response will be fully committed and one with a lot of pride.

I have learned over many years to deal with losing better because in reality know matter who you are you will do it a lot. I do get frustrated though when I know the team is good enough. As their mentor and coach you certainly feel you have failed in your ability to motivate, but in good teams motivation must come from within. Creating and maintaining good habits is a work in progress and will continue to be forever as the group will constantly change.

This week we have Centrals back at home and we face another team who embarrassed us last time so we need to respond. The grounds are getting heavy and the bodies are getting sore so this is when you draw on the preseason and your ability to recover, so we need to do that correctly and make sure the body and mind feel good on Saturday (after a week of learning) so we can get back on track for this fight for the top 3.

Eagles 5.6 (36) were defeated by West Adelaide 13.9 (87)



Jarrad Wright – Reserves Coach Report

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Shane Grimm – Under 18 Coach Report

We headed to Richmond this week for our one and only Triple Header of the year. The Under 18 game was played straight after the League match and was also our annual game against West where we play for the Jake Watson Shield. The game is in recognition of not only Jake, who died during an Under 19 game against the Eagles at Richmond Oval in 2002, but also Glen Knott, Ben Mitchell and Corey Siemers. All 4 were West Adelaide juniors who tragically lost their lives at an early age.

The condition of the ground was poor due to the heavy rain during the week as well as the 2 games played on the ground during the game. Surprisingly the game was played at a very high quality with players from both Clubs adapting very well to the conditions.

We started the game the better and seemed to be in control of the game, but a few mental lapses late in the quarter saw West drag themselves back into the game at quarter time. At quarter time we lead by 10 points.

The second term was not a great quarter and we let ourselves down in a lot of areas but mainly in our effort and our accountability. Some of our players got ahead of themselves and seemed to think that someone else would do the hard work for them. Again we gave up goals to easily, especially late in the quarter. At half time we trailed West by 3 points and the players were about to be told a few home truths.

The third term did not start the way I was hoping with West kicking the first goal and opening their lead up to 8 points. We definitely had a fight on our hands. To the players credit they worked hard to get themselves back into the game and managed to kick the last 4 goals of the quarter to go into the three quarter time break 20 points in front.

We continued in the same vein in the last term kicking the first 2 goals of the term extending our lead to over 5 goals and looking like blowing the opposition away. The heavy conditions started to take its toll on all players and the game played out to a reasonably comfortable win to the Eagles.

We did not play to the level that I believe we are capable of, apart from a 30 minute period between the 3rd and 4th terms when we were really challenged by West. We still managed to get a result from the game and I am sure the players will learn a lesson mainly about mental application and work rate. Our best football will beat any team in the competition but if we are slightly off our best we can be beaten by any team as well.

Eagles 13.13 (91) defeated West Adelaide 10.5 (65)

UPDATE FROM THE CEO

RE: GARRY LYON

Dear Michael

This update is to advise you of some very exciting news in relation to the final Friday Business Networking Lunch for the Football Calendar Year! Firstly, I must say how glad I am to have received ample positive feedback to the way these lunches have been implemented for season 2013.

The final Guest Speaker for the Friday Business Networking Lunch Series on the 9th of August needs no introduction and is none other than Garry Lyon - of course along with our own MC Wayne Phillips. This event will run from 11.30am through to 2.30pm and as per usual consists of a great 3 course menu and 3 hour drinks package. The reason we are bringing it forward ½ hour is due to the scheduling required to have secured Garry.



I am certain that by now you would’ve all noticed and enjoyed the casual yet different way we conduct our Friday Business Networking Lunches; a relaxed atmosphere, on the couch style discussions, and of course high caliber MC’s. We have also tried to maintain the rage in bringing you great auction items and souvenir photograph and signing opportunities on all occasions.



We have no doubt this will be a sellout event so I encourage you all to book your seats/tables as soon as possible by contacting Laura Harriss on (08)8347 2444 or events@wwtfc.com.au.



I would like to finish by thanking you all in advance for your unwavering commitment and support to the Eagles Football Club and in making this new initiative for our club a successful one. I look forward to seeing you all at the next event!

Match Reports – Rnd 16 2013 – Eagles v Central



Michael Godden – League Coach Report

I started last week’s report by saying “one week is a long time in football”. Once again it is proven to be true.

Since the loss to West I have been really proud of the boys in the way they have responded to my criticisms. All the players put their heads down and prepared correctly and made sure their sole focus all week was to be physically and mentally ready for the game on Saturday. This showed throughout the day with a consistent committed effort. As always it wasn’t perfect and there were simple errors made, but the main thing was the way the boys went about their attack on the ball. With this sort of commitment it allows us all to improve.

The conditions were tough with a swirling breeze and heavy going (especially in the middle) but at times the group played some really good footy. With an extra man back and some other structural things going on it was a bit like a chess game for myself and the coaches. These are the games we love to be involved in, having a strong and committed group going hard at the footy and an opposition which was constantly challenging us.

I once again would like to congratulate Shane Grimm and Jarrad Wright on the great performances their respective teams had on the weekend. It is fantastic to be able to make the changes we have had to make on a weekly basis and have the players ready to perform. This is a very important distinction to make. Players that come into the League side are required to perform not just play, this was evident with Sam Martyn in his first game and Nathan Batley in his first game for a long time both performing well and looking every bit league footballers. This week is another challenge for those lads and one I am sure they are ready for (backing it up).

This week we have the Sturt Football Club at home. Last time we played Sturt at home they completely outplayed us, so the challenge ahead is to make sure we prepare the same way we did last week and enter the game with the same tenacity that was shown against Centrals. It is critical now that we learn from our mistakes. It is no good suffering through the mistakes if you don’t learn from them and make the necessary adjustments. This will challenge the maturity of the group, but it is crucial if we are to be successful as a Club they know what to do and then how to execute.

The fight for the top 3 is still alive and one we are chasing with everything we have, so this week’s game takes on the importance of a final, as they all do this time of year. We have the luxury of looking weeks ahead and trying to work out what might happen but the playing group don’t, they just need to focus on one thing, the first quarter on Saturday and make sure they uphold the standards we set.

Eagles 10.8 (68) defeated Central District 8.8 (56)



Jarrad Wright – Reserves Coach Report

Another day of wild weather on Saturday meant that the footy was most likely going to be ugly from a spectating point of view as the windy conditions were tricky. Central got the better of us last game at their home ground and we were determined to make sure we were not physically beaten again.

A strong South Westerly wind was always going to favour the team kicking with the wind in the first and lucky for us we won the toss and elected to kick with it. We had a high focus area on physically stronger at the contest and engaging the opposition as we know that is Centrals strength and has been for many years. Dominating possession in the first quarter gave us plenty of opportunities to kick away but wide forward entries and missing easy goals meant we were going to have a tough time in the second quarter as 2.6 was keeping the door open for Centrals to jump us.

Hitting targets was tough with the wind so into the wind made it almost impossible, and that’s how it played out, Central also kicking poorly in front of goals with 1.7 in the second quarter kept us in front with a handy 3 goal lead at the main break, knowing we could put the game to bed in the third if we used the footy right.

The last half played out almost identically to the first half with the game played in the scoring end although we always had control of the game with 5 goals up with 8 minutes to play, we allowed centrals 2 easy stoppage goals in the final minutes which made things a little tense. A solid 3 goal win over a team that always trouble the opposition.

It was one of those games you are happy to take the 2 points and move on as it was a tough conditions and not the best footy. Next week against Sturt is the real test for the Reserves as we have not beat them yet and with Finals around the corner we need to make sure get a mental edge as most likely come up against them at some stage if we both are in the running.

Eagles 9.12 (66) defeated Central District 6.14 (50)



Shane Grimm – Under 18 Coach Report

This week we journeyed to Elizabeth to play Central District. Central have been gradually getting better as the year has progressed, in fact we were lucky to get over them the last time we played at Woodville in Round 9 winning by just 3 points. The fact of the matter was that the game was second versus ninth and we should have been expecting a good win.

For the third week in a row we were playing on a heavy ground and we have also been training on very heavy grounds over the past month, so we have been trying to give the players some lighter training sessions so that they are not too leg weary on Saturdays.

Pre-game we spoke about getting on top of our opponent early and remaining in control for the majority of the game, by superior work-rate and by following instructions playing a role and working for each other. We probably played this way for 2 quarters, the second term and the final term. The first and third quarters were not our best football.

The game was a frustrating game to watch, we seemed in total control for the most part and had a lot more of the ball than Central but were not efficient going forward.

Statistically we had 97 more possessions, 25 more handball receives, 35 more marks, 12 more clearances and 39 more Inside 50 entries. With these results you would expect to win a game by at least 60 points. We did manage to win comfortably by 42 points but we never at any stage of the game put our dominance in general play on the scoreboard, this is an area we have to get better at. When and if our Under 18 players are playing at a higher level and against better opposition they will need to be better and more efficient for a lot longer periods in a game rather than picking and choosing as they do at times now.

We did have some very good individual performances again this week, with Riley Knight getting 43 possessions 7 clearances and 5 tackles, Alby Dunstan and Tom Whittlesea were again dominant up forward with 31 and 27 possessions respectively. Jack Hayes also performed well in the Ruck with 24 possessions 22 hit-outs and 6 clearances.

At the moment we are getting over the line in most games and have been showing some real fighting spirit and we have put ourselves into a great position on the ladder that should give us the chance to play Finals in 2013.

Eagles 11.15 (81) defeated Central District 6.3 (39)