IN the third round of the Under 18 Academy Series, we visited the Top End, where we witnessed the Sydney Swans Academy minus Nick Blakey, defeat the Northern Territory by 29 points. Here are some of the top players from the game in our scouting notes.

NORTHERN TERRITORY       1.4       1.7       5.10     8.13 (61)
SYDNEY SWANS                    6.1       8.4       11.5     14.6 (90)

GOALS
NORTHERN TERRITORY: M.Cumming 3, S.Cumming, Wyatt, Forbes, Mummery, Ferreira
SYDNEY SWANS: Barkley 3, Swaney 2, Reinhard 2, Thorne, Stein, Maguire, Wicks, Van Huisstede, Carroll, Barling 

BEST
NORTHERN TERRITORY: Mummery, M.Cumming, Simon, Green, S.Cumming, Hutt
SYDNEY SWANS: Reinhard, Parkes, Stern, Kilpatrick, Wicks, Brewer

SWANS

#36 Joey Reinhard (played in # 34):

Reinhard was one of the Swans standout performers. Playing centre-half forward, Reinhard used his size and height taking strong contested marks all over the ground and used the ball well by hand and foot. Showing his versatility, Reinhard was strong as back up ruckman, and is a contender for mark of the series with a fantastic specky in the third quarter. Reinhard finished with three goals in a great all-round performance.

#23 Cooper Kilpatrick:

Kilpatrick played through the midfield and on the wing, his strong defensive performance saw him cause many turnovers resulting in forward entries for the Swans. When in possession, Kilpatrick broke the game open with his run and carry through the middle of the ground, taking a bounce or two on several occasions and finishing off with long penetrating kicks to the Swans forwards with Barling, Barkley and Reinhard finishing off with Swans goals.

#16 Josh Stern:

Stern continued his good form from the previous two weeks playing through the midfield and off the back flank. He ensured Swans had first use of the football from the ball ups, quickly getting hands to ball and getting clean possession out to the Swans runners. Swans captain for the game, Stern showed great leadership around the ground directing his team mates and led by example by being first to the footy all night.

#34 Rory Barkley (played in #36):

As in previous weeks, Barkley played at full-forward. Making the most of his size and athleticism, Barkley led up the ground taking good strong marks on the lead resulting in numerous shots on goal. He kicked two goals from set shots about 40 metres out and showed his agility and speed by outrunning the NT defence, picking up a bouncing ball and running into an open goal to finish the day with three. Barkley also showed a defensive side to his game late in the last quarter to run down a NT defender. ?

NT

#37 Matthew Cumming:

Cumming played in the ruck changing to full-forward. His presence around the ground was excellent, his endurance around the ground was good as were his contested marks. When Cumming went forward he caused a few headaches for the Swans defence with his height and speed. He finished with three goals for the game, though with more accuracy could have finished with six.

#23 Michael Mummery:

Mummery played through the midfield and forward, showing he is getting back to his best with each game after missing much of last year through illness. He was very good around the stoppages and got NT going in the third quarter with his individual brilliance when NT needed it most. Mummery’s delivery by foot was a standout on the night.

#22 Matthew Green:

Green played midfield and back flank. Green showed good skills by hand and foot throughout the game linking well with Mummery, O’Connell and Holt-Fitz. Green showed good agility in congested play, took numerous intercept marks stopping many Swans forward entries.

#3 Liam Holt-Fitz:

The Swans kept Holt-Fitz quiet in the first half, though after half-time he started getting his hands on the ball and gave NT some spark and momentum. Playing on the forward flank, Holt-Fitz was lively and creative and provided good service to Matthew Cumming whom finished off. Though the wind pushed both wide, Holt-Fitz showed how dangerous he can be around goal with two snap shots which both narrowly missed.