played 16 ...won 16 how easy is this Coaching stuff Thomo?
A closer look at recent results suggests South's Rookie Reserves Coach Craig Thomas still has plenty to ponder as North's and maybe Centrals look to cause a boilover.
On Saturday North's sent a clear message to South's that they are right in the race with a 15 point loss in a wild and windy day. For much of the game North's were right in the match before South kicked clear in the final term.
The round 10 game also at the Jube was a similar contest with South prevailing by 22 points. Most of the other 4 matches were big wins for the Roos at home, whilst the early round 1 and 4 games are irrelevant this late in the year.
With both league sides expecting to get 3 or 4 players back into their teams the mix will change but if last years Reserves Final is anything to go by this year will be a tough, last man standing affair again.
South won last years final running away with young legs but a look at their goal scoring list looks more like a Shingleback team with Craig Thomas (27), Brad Pressler (18), Nathan Hocking (16) and Steven Groves (16). Only Tyson Boland (17) is in the mix, but has been playing seniors in recent weeks. Throw in Jarrod Hinton, Nathan McIntyre & Hayden Langdon and South's have an overdose of experience, but will also need some runners. How Thomas balances the need for experience and youthful legs will be the headache all Coaches deal with in early September.
For North's they have been playing a nice mix of Seniors and plenty of their U/18's for most of the year. These young legs when or if the September heat comes can be very decisive. The late season return of Chase Johnson has given Coach John Schorn a great target, and with Luke Reynolds & Chris Mitchell he has some big tall options. The return of Matt Fenton, Steven Lihou, and Quinton Beavan has given the Bulldogs added class whilst players like Judd Harris, Jason Harwood (pictured) and Josh Savage always play great footy in September. Chris Jones and Nathan Hiscock are also in fine form, whilst the X factor may well be Brendon Price who knows how to find the footy. Add the Juniors in Jordan Vella, Chad Spangler, Ethan Thomas, Sam Sutcliffe & Brendon Martin and North are a genuine chance.
The other factor may well rest with Centrals. Should they fail to finish 3rd in the Seniors they will have a few quality players able to drop back to bolster their ranks. With the late season return of Ben Camilleri, Anthony Berg and Jamie Berg the Pies have some genuine class in the midfield. Cohen Turner is a quality forward and Damien Thomas has been in fine form lately. The Pies will have a very competitive team for the knock out final on Sept 1st.
The Pies will take it up to North's and whichever Club makes the grand final they will be primed to give Thomo a headache in Grand Final week.... welcome to Coaching!
Last Modified on 15/08/2012 09:45