Round 11 Coach’s Review

Norwood Senior Coach Jade Sheedy says he is pleased with how his team performed in a commanding 66-point victory over Adelaide at Coopers Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Booting the first four goals in quick succession to start the game, the Redlegs had all the answers against a strong Crows outfit featuring plenty of AFL-listed talent.

Speaking to The Redlegs Review podcast, Sheedy noted the strong start from the midfield brigade as key to gaining the early momentum.

“We started well obviously. Massive effort from Finn (Heard) in ruck and our mids at the centre bounce. They (Adelaide) are a good centre bounce team, and on a small oval that was pretty crucial,” Sheedy said.

“Finn was excellent and not only gave us an even chance in the tap but also at ground level, won a lot of his own footy and got us going forward early, which we were able to maximise inside our forward half.”

Adelaide soon recovered and fought their way back into the contest, but some wayward kicking for goal, paired with Norwood’s efficiency at the other end, stifled their charge.

“We lost a couple of key contests through the middle of the first quarter and the Crows got back on top and the game was a bit of an arm wrestle up to half time where they had some opportunities to kick goals and make the margin a bit closer.”

“We have done a lot of work on how we want to enter the ball inside forward 50 and where we want to kick it and we feel like we’re maximising our opportunities through that, so our game is slightly changing.”

Leading by 27 points at the main break, Norwood surged clear in the second half, kicking 10 goals to three in a period that delighted the coach.

“In the second half we really got to work and were better defensively, and off the back of some strong defensive behaviours got going forward and were able to keep using our hands and asking the opposition to keep coming forward to defend us.”

“Over the journey we had a lot more of the footy than them and we wore them out through different modes of our game and hit the scoreboard.”

Pitted against a midfield unit including AFL players Billy Dowling, Chayce Jones, Sid Draper and Charlie Edwards, the Redlegs worked tirelessly to eventually break even in clearances and earn 12 more inside 50s for the day.

“Our clearances have been reasonably consistent throughout the year and probably looked better the last three weeks, which gives us territory and helps our backs set up and play the game in our front half.”

Sheedy reserved particular praise for midfield gun Nik Rokahr, who fought through a strong tag to collect 34 disposals and seven clearances.

“Nik just consistently outworked his opponent. He’s an absolute pro and prepares strongly. His ability to outwork his opponent helped him win the footy over the day.”

Emerging midfielder Ben Simpson was another strong performer on the day, finishing with 24 disposals, six clearances and five tackles to play a key role in the engine room.

“Ben has had a great year and keeps improving. Last week was a different challenge for Ben in tagging (Will) Snelling, and this week he played as a mid in his own right and won a heap of the footy and some clearances as well.”

“He ran really strongly in transition and he is building his game nicely off the back of how hard he works.”

Another player to win the plaudits of the coach was wingman Declan Hamilton, who worked hard to find 30 disposals, eight marks and four inside 50s in a stellar display.

“Declan’s first quarter and the role he played was as good as you’ll see. He was excellent and has had an excellent year and running really strongly this time of year at the age of 30. He keeps himself in really good condition and every time he gets the ball we look a better side.”

Dashing half-back Cooper Murley was another standout in the backline, using his run and pace to pick up an incredible 41 disposals, 10 marks, seven rebound 50s and five inside 50s.

“I though Cooper really worked into the game and was running as strongly at the end of the day as he was at the start. He helped us outnumber a lot of times across half back, used the ball well and put some speed on the ball through hands.

“It was pretty staggering to see he had 41 touches but that was all through workrate which is how we want to play.”

Facing a side with 13 AFL-listed players on the field, Sheedy provided an insight into the challenges of coming up against an AFL-aligned team.

“There is a bit of a different strategy going in against the AFL sides. If the ball gets into their AFL players’ hands they can go forward very quickly on you, so you have to be on your game and be able to close out and get to the next player and contest pretty quickly.”

“It was a different challeng on the weekend, but most of the key stats we show the players going into each game are around 20-30% on opposition and the rest on what we value and maximising how we play to take the game away from the opposition.”

Entering the back half of the season atop the SANFL ladder with an 8-2 record, Sheedy admitted it is a ‘nice’ position to be in, but stressed it is not a major talking point within the club.

“It is not something we talk about internally, but it is a good reward for the playing group first and foremost because they are the ones that do a power of work. They are a very committed group and doing a tremendous job with how hard we ask them to train and what we value.”

“It can be pretty combative at times, so for them to keep fronting up after how we train week in and week out and keep performing shows some good growth in the footy club.”

With Norwood’s reserves side chalking up an eighth consecutive win on the weekend with a 69-point win over Sturt at Unley, Sheedy is embracing the strong competition for spots at senior level as numerous players continue to push their case.

“It is testing but it’s good. We give the players a lot of feedback throughout the week, so we feel that all we can do is keep improving as a whole footy club.”

“We have got some outstanding juniors coming through and it’s important to keep them engaged and they are playing really strong footy together and that development game on the weekend was as good as I’ve seen for a long time around how they’re playing and what we’re valuing.”

“I think if you watch our development side play there is a clear understanding of how both grades are trying to play and we train hard together and value the same things as a club and that is coming out in both grades.”

Sheedy also provided an update on injured duo Baynen Lowe and Harry Boyd, who are both eyeing a return to action in the near future.

“Both are looking at around the Round 15 mark at this stage. We have a bye coming up in July so we might have to readjust due to that, but they’re both looking to be back around Round 15.”

The Redlegs now turn their attention to a big clash against South Adelaide at Noarlunga on Sunday afternoon, with Sheedy expecting a strong challenge from the Panthers on their home deck.

“We are looking forward to it. They are a very dangerous side who move the ball well, spread the ground really well and have some fast legs in their side.”

“They have got some good marking players behind the ball and some quick players in the front half who are quite elusive and can kick goals. Every week is a different challenge and this one is another we will embrace.”

Watch Jade Sheedy’s full interview here: