The Lions’ Reserves went down 9.7 (61) to 23.12 (150) against the Gold Coast Suns on Saturday at Coorparoo.
See below Coach Shane Woewodin’s appraisal of each of the listed Lions who played against the Suns.
| Mitch Golby | Wing/inside, he played a lot more inside on the weekend and was probably back to some of his best footy after a quiet week the week before. He had 35 possessions, eight clearances which was a strong point for his day. The contested game was really good, but also the fact he contributed really well across the ground. He showed great leadership and poise throughout the day. It was a real well balanced game from Mitch. He’ll be looking to now end the season on a high and finish strong. |
| Tom Cutler | We threw Tommy down back this week to give him a chance to play senior footy again. He did some really good things. He had some big plays where his offensive was his main focus this week, just to stimulate a bit of flow for us and give us some run off half back. There are still some areas to work in defence and the contest but certainly a lot more improvement on the previous week. |
| Josh Clayton | Again played down back, he had 22, probably not a really good game from Josh. Some decisions with the ball cost his game a little bit and his ability to fend his opponent. He probably took his foot off the pedal a little bit compared to his Sydney game, so we’re expecting Josh to bounce back. He did lay five tackles for the weekend, that’s his best haul for the year. So hopefully that’s part of his mindset going forward. |
| Josh Watts | Took a step forward this week. Intercepted the ball really well off half back and generally used it OK. He ran some good offensive patterns for us and got involved. An improvement on the previous week, again hopefully he can perform at the same level for the rest of the year. |
| Brent Staker | Brent started forward, probably used him as a high forward around stoppage early. The loss of Nick Robertson made us push him into the midfield where he looked to enjoy that. He probably fumbled a bit at ground level during times and generally used the ball OK. Laid some good tackles in and around the contest, we’ve probably got to get him out of stoppage a bit more to use his kicking skills and penetrate and push forward to put the opposition under a bit of pressure. |
| Matt Hammelmann | Probably one of Hammo’s best games, he had 17 disposals as a defender. We threw him forward for one quarter but he didn’t have much impact so we threw him down back for the second half. Probably bar one and one decision in the last, it was a much improved performance by Matty. A lot stronger in the contest, made some good decisions and gave us plenty of drive off half back with some offensive movement. A well rounded game. |
| Hugh Beasley | Came back to us after some senior form and rest last week. He had 15 disposals, was composed with the ball and strong in the contest. He probably only got out marked once on the day but played as a key defender for us. He was good at ground level, used it well. Hopefully he can continue that form. |
| Archie Smith | Probably an even contribution from Arch this week. Again compared to last time against Zac Smith where Archie had his pants pulled down. Archie was really good, his follow up work was fantastic, he was more aggressive at centre square bounce. Contributed more around the ground. There are still areas of his game to improve but still a much improved performance on the previous week and against a quality opponent in Zac Smith, he may have taken the points against him. |
| Trent West | Played as a key forward, pinch-hit in the ruck. Still got to work on some offensive patterns as a forward. He probably moved too lateral rather than some strong aggressive leads, but provided a good contest, was strong in the ruck for us and certainly helped Academy player Eric Hipwood as that big forward down there. |
| Nick Robertson | Unfortunately Nick sustained a hamstring injury pretty early in the game. He started as an inside mid, we wanted him to be a little bit more composed at ground level and work on his ground level balls. He started really strong, was really physical in and around the contest. He provided some good energy for us. It was real unfortunate to lose him, he’ll probably miss now three or four weeks with a hamstring. |
