U12 West Coach's Report - Round 10
Published: Wednesday 11th July 2012 1:19 PM by HRAFCHampton Rovers vs Prahran Red
The team this week continued to display a very competitive level of football with a preparedness to work hard for one another no matter what the playing conditions were like. There were some quite heavy but fair clashes which amply demonstrated our team’s determination to win the ball. In the last two weeks we have played against teams that are at the top section of the ladder and as such we can say with confidence that our team is performing very well in this division.
There is a marked improvement in our teamwork and the impact that we have against the better opposition in particular is quite fantastic. At various stages in our game this week the opposition was placing `tags’ on a number of our players, unusual, but very much seen as an acknowledgement of our strength.
Again we had the assistance of three Under 11 players, Felix Flockart, Conor Philpott and Ben Marron. They acquitted themselves very well and the value of providing these opportunities to these boys is certainly helping their early footy development.
In recent games, rather than moving the players around extensively during the course of the game (or even from week to week) we have endeavoured to achieve a level of stability to enable players to have extended periods in particular positions. In coming weeks, particularly after the school holidays and until the end of the season there will be a higher rotation of players into less familiar roles to enhance their development.
Our core backline players have come on quite noticeably with Alex Willems, Max Bull, Tom Tembel (despite copping the full force of a ‘falcon’ during the game), Matt Jolly, Liam Taylor and Nick Bartlett putting in very solid games. Tom Morris had a quieter but still an effective game playing mainly down back rather than in the mid-field while Conor Boyd-Eedle was very consistent whether back or forward and chipped in for a timely goal.
Our mid-field group led by Ethan Gray, Ben Branson, Jack Chadwick, and Hamish Dick (when moved there from centre-half forward) kept us in the game. On a number of occasions it appeared that the opposition was getting on top but it was the midfield that ‘kept them honest’ and gave us opportunities into attack. Jarrod Matino recovered from his injured knee sustained last week and chimed in with some great passages of play.
Tom Willems is leading the way up forward and James Burwood is also playing a bigger part through his increasing understanding of key forward positions and roles. James Watson’s endeavour is a feature and each time he is engaged in the play he makes a contribution. Myles Chamaa gets very excited during the course of the game and he finds himself well out of position due to his desire for the ball. This is all part of the learning process in his first year of footy.
We welcomed a new player this week, Matt Baxter. Despite having never played competition footy before he collected a number of possessions and certainly has a bright future.
Our challenge next week is to field a full side (at least five players unavailable) due to the school holidays. Support from our Under 11’s isn’t available due to our respective game times. Our East side has a similar predicament so we will have to consider our options as the week proceeds.
Congratulations to twins Alex and Tom Willems who celebrated their 50-game milestone this week. Tom had a particularly busy week who, with Tom Morris, ran in the regional cross country event at Yarra Valley Racecourse. As the photo below illustrates they had to put in some hard work in the mud to both achieve a creditable finish against over 100 runners.
Result:
Hampton Rovers 1.0 (6) 2.0 (12) 2.0 (12) 4.2 (26)
Defeated by
Prahran Red 3.1 (19) 5.1 (31) 5.10 (41) 6.10 (46)
Award Winners: Ben Branson, Max Bull and Liam Taylor
Goal Kickers: Conor Boyd-Eedle, Hamish Dick, Ben Marron and Conor Philpott 
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