Bays find a way to win in Round 5

I think like most of our supporters, our Round 5 clash with South Adelaide will be one that won’t go down as one to remember. That being the case, what was important is to find a way to win when things are not quite as you would like and the opposition make it a battle. We recognise where we are at, that we have things we need to keep working on consistently, and that we are at Round 5 in a long season and winning ugly at times is going to be important as the season continues.

During the game and even after the game there was a level of frustration; having had a good night’s sleep and some reflection, there were still some positive elements of our game. Clearly offensively we are a little clunky and not as clean and efficient as we would like, which was evident with some skill errors and decision making costly – not to mention our conversion in our scoring shots. No doubt we could have made the game look a lot different if we had converted our opportunities. What was really pleasing was how we defended the ground as a team. There were some contests in that we didn’t get right but overall, the defensive set up and ability to play the game in our half for long periods was much improved. We know our game and our offensive opportunities come off the back of what we do defensively. We will take away some strong parts of that and continue to build around how the rest of our game looks from there. Also pleasing out of the game was the performance of our 3 debutants. It’s not too often you have 3 at once, but all 3 in Jake Walker, Hunter Window and Will Stockman were excellent in their roles. All had played at a high level for a long period at Reserves level and deserved the opportunity. There continues to be a bunch of young players knocking on the door and that is exciting for our club.

Our Reserves group were not able to maintain their strong 4 quarter form from the previous round and fell just short. After starting the game playing some exciting football, they were unable to stay at the consistent level over the day. It is great learning for what is a young and inexperienced group in the level of intensity and consistency that is required. From a method and game style point of view there is a lot to like which is pleasing, the ability to stick at it for longer is the key part which has been the case over the first 5 rounds so far.

We head into our preparation for our Round 6 clash with West Adelaide back at Stratarama Stadium this coming Saturday. With our last month or so being all over the place in terms getting good consistent training sessions in, being able to have a good training week is important. From that we are confident in what we are doing, we are confident in that our method is strong and that our game will continue to build. We are clear on our process and continuing to get better every day; we know if we control that part we will be in a good place.

Go The Bays

– Darren Reeves, Senior Coach

Goal kickers: Bell (2), Stagg (2), Allen, Holder, Lyons, McBean, Walker

Best Players: Bell, Allen, Scharenberg, Snook, Curran, Proud