Bays take down reigning premiers

Tough slippery conditions, together with a desperate football club in Norwood, was our challenge in round 4. While they hadn’t started the season as they would have liked, we understood they would come to play, and to their credit they made us earn everything for the entire four quarters. It is really pleasing to get away with a solid five goal win – our third win in a row.

The first half was a good arm wrestle, with both teams having good moments. Other times, we just needed to hold on and not let the momentum turn into scoreboard pressure. This from a coaching perspective is pleasing, in that we were able to match them in some of their key areas in the contest and contested ball. We felt if we could continue to do that well, the game and the opportunities would eventually come our way.

The second half was much better from how we want the game to look, in that we were able to spend long periods in our forward half through strong defensive pressure and repeat forward half stoppages. We know if we do that and then stay brave with the ball the scoreboard will take care of itself, and that was the case in the last quarter. A lot of credit to all the players and all our coaching staff for continuing to put a lot of work into these areas and seeing some of that reward for effort come out in the games over the last few weeks. Lots to like and lots to continue to work on moving forward.

Our Reserves group continue their winning ways with another nail-biting win. The first quarter was as good of football as they had played all season so far, with some excellent defensive work and clean and fast ball movement. While they were not able to maintain that, it is still pleasing that the endeavour to play in this manner remained. Full credit to the group for hanging in and finding a way to win again. Several players continue to impress and push for selection.

We move on quickly now and get ready for South Adelaide at Noarlunga in round 5 this Saturday. We look forward to seeing all our supporters there, in what is shaping up to be an important game in the context of the season.

– Darren Reeves, Senior Coach

Goal kickers: Matt Allen (2), James Bell (2), Lachie Hosie (2), Corey Lyons (2), Luke Reynolds (2), Riley Holder, Liam McBean

Best players: Corey Lyons, Matthew Snook, Toby Pink, Liam McBean, James Bell