The Yass Roos defeated the ADFA Rams by 45 points in a contest that was at a “finals intensity”, according to Coach Jarrad Forlonge.
“I think, for the most part, we were really good.”
“They’re obviously really fit, and we sort of had to stick with them at the start, but we just did the little things right and played how we wanted to play, and in the end, it just took care of itself,” he said.
The Roos best asset so far this year has been their pressure, and when their pressure is high, the other elements of their game appear to fall into place.
“We’re really trying to play high pressure, and as I said, it was finals intensity on the weekend, every ball was really contested, and they [ADFA] were always under so much pressure.”
“A few of the boys said the other team kept fumbling it and had bad skills, but I think it came down to the fact that we always had so much pressure on them,” he said.
ADFA have had two big wins to start their season and have the potential to be there come finals time.
“I think they’ll be thereabouts, we’re one of the first of the big teams that they’ve played, but they certainly didn’t embarrass themselves yesterday,” said Jarrad.
Jarrad said Izaiah Lomax and Joshua Horrobin both played their “best games for the club” in new positions, with the latter scoring two majors.
Elliot Johns kicked three goals, and Ryan Forlonge kicked two.
Darcy Paine was awarded Player’s Player for his midfield dominance and two goals.
The victory was soured, however, as the much-loved Andrew Halden went down with a gruesome compound fracture of his leg in only his second game as a Roo.
The Murrumbateman Eagles went down for their first loss of season 2021, losing by 31 points to the Southern Cats at Murrumbateman over the weekend.
A five-goal-to-nothing opening term was the tale of the day for the Eagles.
“They had a good start, and we played catch up football all day,” said Coach Brent Fraser.
The end of their undefeated start might’ve been more disappointing for other teams, but Brent is thrilled with the start to their year, with all things considered.
“I wasn’t disappointed with our performance, I was proud of the guys for not giving up, and the Southern Cats certainly played well.”
“We haven’t yet played our full side, and I guess with the start we’ve had, I’m actually really pleased,” he said.
Whilst the Cats won by 31 points, they only had one more scoring shot than the Eagles, whose struggles in front of goal are becoming a consistent theme of their season despite this clash being the first game where it cost them a victory.
“We had some chances there and definitely missed some easy ones in the second half, so it definitely hurt,” he said.
With the Southern Cats being their biggest challenge so far, the ANU Griffins on Saturday promise to be an even greater one.
“If the Southern Cats are an example of that level of team, there’s going to be some hard games this year.”
“My message to the guys this week is that we have to be first to the ball and not allow them to run.”
“We are a fitter side than last year, so if we can kind of stick with them, and our game plan will have to change to try and shut down their run,” he said.
Midfielder Brett Humphrey and ruckman Kevin Mangan were two players Brent highlighted as amongst the top performers, whilst Brent Ford kicked two majors.
The Eagles will take on the undefeated ANU Griffins, whilst the Roos will play the winless Ainslie Tricolours.
Max O’Driscoll
