IT was the second round of the National AFL Under 18 Championships and we watched the Allies go down to Vic Metro and South Australia claim a home win over Vic Country. We noted down some of the players that caught our eye on the day.

Allies vs. Vic Metro

By: Ed Pascoe

Allies:

#10 Chayce Jones

Jones was one of the Allies standout players in the first half showing his trademark skill and toughness around the contest. Jones had one good play in the first quarter where he intercepted a handball, he then gathered although the first handball was poor he showed good tenacity to win the ball back and then made no mistake with the second handball. A lot of Jones’s kicks where damaging with plenty of intelligent kicks to the hotspot. Jones had a quieter second half but still showed his clean hands and tackling pressure around the ground.

#19 Bailey Scott

Scott played a good game winning the ball at the contest and also on transition taking plenty of marks and moving the ball quickly by hand and foot. Scott had a nice play in the third quarter with a clean pickup on the run and quickly turned on his opposite foot showing his dual sidedness. Scott was a consistent four quarter player with his work on the inside and outside important for the Allies.

#20 Fraser Turner

Turner ran all day on the wing often giving a good outlet for defenders and he used his kicking ability well to hit targets. His disposal early in the game was not grea,t but it got much better as the game progressed. He won plenty of the ball in the last quarter showing his impressive running capacity, he was willing to keep running to be an option after winning the ball. A lot of his running late in the game set up plenty of scoring opportunities with some good kicks inside 50.

#37 Jacob Koschitzke

Koschitzke had the tough task on Ben King and he more than held his own with King’s only goal coming very late in the game. Koschitzke tailed King wherever he went and made him earn every possession he could get. One such occasion on the wing in the last quarter he played in front of King getting a hand to the ball although King would take possession Koschitzke would quickly tackle him earning a free kick in the process. Despite to winning a lot of the ball he barely made a mistake when in possession.

#46 Tarryn Thomas

Thomas has been exciting to watch all year and he started the first quarter trying to outdo himself with a big attempted speccy, he didn’t pull down the mark but it was just another reminder of his impressive talent. Thomas had a solid game where he had a consistent four quarter game. Thomas had several kicks inside 50 often causing damage just outside 50, Thomas did some nice one percenters during the game with several smothers and he was willing to tackle and crack in especially late in the game.

#49 Nick Blakey

It was a quiet game for key forwards and it was no different for the highly talented Blakey. He kicked his only goal in the first quarter where he quickly reacted after an advantage play on where he received the ball cleanly on the run and then would snap truly for goal. He would get another chance at goal in the last quarter after an impressive contested mark although he would miss the set shot. Blakey showed great movement for his size and he often played on quickly when getting position. He also used his long accurate left boot to hit targets going inside 50.

Vic Metro:

#4 Rhylee West

West was his usual self, playing the in and under role to perfection while he also worked hard on the outside which lead to him winning the disposals count for his team with 28 disposals (14 contested). West several times was able to win the contested ball and while on his knees or back still fire out a handball. As good as his in and under stuff was, what also impressed was his movement in traffic. West’s disposal was poor at times with one such instance in the second quarter kicking to three Allies players inside forward 50. He would, however, make up for the few kicking errors showing some good vision on several occasions in the second half. Overall a very solid performance from the father-son prospect.

#8 James Rowbottom

Rowbottom hunted the ball all day and was one of Metro’s most consistent midfielders over the four quarters. Rowbottom despite some sloppy handballs early used the ball fairly well especially, by hand with his quick handballs often releasing his teammates. He really impressed with his attack on the ball with one instance late in the first quarter where he attacked the ball on the wing, shrugged off a tackle and kicked long down the line to King in one of the plays of the day. He followed this up early in the second quarter attacking the contest in the forward half picking the ball up at speed with one hand and with the other gave a don’t argue to his opponent. Rowbottom did well to win the ball on the outside a bit more in the second half and his tackling was solid throughout the game. 

#14 Isaac Quaynor

Quaynor worked tirelessly across half-back proving a constant threat for the Allies with his long kick and clean hands. Quaynor was often given kick out duties and he used his long accurate kicking to his advantage, their was rarely a short kick from Quaynor who consistently moved the ball out of defence quickly. Quaynor worked hard to get the ball up the ground as well with one such occasion in the last quarter he kicked out long and then received the ball at half forward running past to kick long inside 50. Quaynor’s movement and composure under pressure also impressed aswell as his defensive efforts laying a massive tackle on Tarryn Thomas in the first quarter.

#15 Bailey Smith

Smith was fantastic for Metro through the midfield playing well on the inside and outside and he was pivotal to Metro’s win with his performance in the last quarter. Plenty will be said about Ben King kicking the winning goal, but it was because of Smith’s classy work on the boundary inside forward 50 that lead to the goal. Smith tucked on the boundary had an opposition player in front of him and another coming from the side, he would run backwards to escape the player in front and then turn the other player around and execute perfect handball to Xavier O’Halloran who would end up kicking the ball to Ben King. Smith showed a good mix of class and grunt winning plenty of his own ball while also working hard on the outside to link up with handballs and also find targets by foot often in dangerous positions.

#23 Buku Khamis

Khamis had an excellent game taking many intercept marks while also using the ball well coming out of defence. Khamis was clean throughout the day rarely fumbling and hardly missing a target by hand or foot. He did not get to use his left foot for the longer kicks he is known for but his short kicking was often flawless. Khamis was still able to do the defensive things well with some smothers and spoils, in the third quarter he laid a good spoil and then followed up his spoil and would then win a free kick for holding. Along with Quaynor, he was pivotal in defence for Metro showing his good mix of defensive efforts and skill with ball in hand.

#36 Ben King

King was well held by Allies defender Jacob Koschitzke all day who was not going to give King an inch. King’s only goal came in the last quarter which would end up being the winning goal, he did have a chance in the first quarter with a set shot straight in front but he missed poorly. King was kept quiet but that wasn’t through lack of effort, often King would offer a good lead and if he did not mark it he would at least bring it to ground, in the last quarter he would crash the pack on one occasion which would have certainly pleased his coaches. King was very clean with his hands at ground level often taking the ball cleanly at speed and giving off a good handball, he was also not afraid to block for his teammates which is something some big players will ignore and despite only kicking the one goal he still contributed well in other areas for his team.

South Australia vs. Vic Country

By: Damon Mattiazzo

South Australia:

#14 Izak Rankine

Rankine was just sublime once more, he doesn’t accumulate fantastic numbers in terms of possessions but when he has the ball he makes magic happen. At any time Rankine is keen to take on his opponents with two goals running into the goal square with the Vic Country defenders right behind him on both occasions. Also kicked a great goal in the final minutes in the second quarter from a very tight angle to give SA the lead heading into the main break.

#27 Jez McLennan

Similarly to Will Gould, McLennan was instrumental to his side’s rebounding game out of defence. McLennan took two superb marks when it mattered most in the final quarter surge by Vic Country. As McLennan finished with 17 touches and five marks, he’s been a stand out for South Australia so far in the carnival.

#29 Kai Pudney

In this first game of the carnival, the Port Adelaide Next Generation Academy member was a hard worker along the ground, working hard in transition with six inside 50s and two rebounds. Another player who is building for something big, and showed some good signs in the match.

#32 Luke Valente

Another top captain’s performance by Valente, as his skill and clean ball use was on display once more. His great leadership was also evident throughout the game, as he finished with 16 disposals and a game-high 14 tackles. He was also crucial in the midfield with six clearances.

#42 Jack Lukosius

Lukosius continued his dominant start to the Championships kicking 3.2 as his partnership with fellow key forward Hugo Munn has been unstoppable so far. Lukosius only took five marks for the day-a poultry figure compared to his 14 against Western Australia in the previous match, but was still too hard to stop for Kyle Reid and Connor Idun. Lukosius’ second efforts and ground level work was also faultless throughout the game as he set up a running Izak Rankine on multiple occasions.

#43 Will Gould

Gould was a rock in defence for South Australia and held off the Vic Country forwards with ease as the match grew on. In the second quarter as Vic Country booted three goals in a row to start the quarter and open up a 16-point lead, Gould did not panic and stopped the bleeding in defence for his side. Gould finished with 16 possessions and six rebounds.

Victoria Country:

#2 Sam Walsh

Walsh produced another great captain’s performance for his side, in a tough contest possession game he had no trouble finding the pill as always. He led the disposal count with 25 and had 10 tackles and three clearances for his side.

#5 Xavier Duursma

The son of former Sydney and Melbourne player Dean Duursma, showed plenty of pace out of defence for Vic Country. Was one of the key positives for a defence that was under siege by SA’s top attacking talents. Duursma provided four rebounds and also accumulated 16 disposals for the day. A performance to build on.

#8 Ned McHenry

McHenry could not replicate his top performance away to the Allies in the previous fixture, and did not stamp his authority as he has in the past. A positive was that his commitment in the middle never wavered as he still posted 10 tackles and applied that pressure around the ball of the South Australian midfield.

#12 Caleb Serong

Caleb Serong caught attention, with his impressive forward line pressure and his ability to make things happen in the Vic Country forward line. He impacted on the scoreboard with two goals and 15 possessions.

#29 Bailey Williams

Williams was influential across the whole ground in this match up accumulating 12 possessions in tandem with Riley Bowman. His physical presence put him at huge advantage against his South Australian ruck opponents, but Vic Country unfortunately could not profit for his dominance. Took a fine mark in the third quarter gained a 50-metre penalty, but missed from less than 10 metres out directly in front.

#38 Riley Bowman

Showed off his terrific athleticism and vertical leap to take control with Bailey Williams in the ruck. He had a massive 38 hitouts – 15 more than the South Australian rucks combined, and just looked in total control around the stoppages. Also won a few clearances as well, backing up with good second efforts.