AFL Round 3 post-match
In Round 3 our men took on Burleigh for an epic rematch of last year's Grand Final. The day unfolded in similar fashion to the Grand Final with the reserves securing a dominant win while the seniors bridged the gap with the Bombers, pushing the defending champions to the very end before falling eight points short.
Seniors
Bull Sharks lost 6.7 (43) to Burleigh’s 8.3 (51)
Goals: Tilley 4, Ferguson, Prime
Best Players: Oliver Burrows-Cheng, Matthew Smith, Liam Viney, Jack Tilley, Ryan Dienjes, Josh Lanham
Where it was won:
The Bombers are a very structured and disciplined team, and their defensive set up brought us down. They managed to profit off our mistakes on multiple occasions, gaining points off rebounds. It was hard to see past their monster full forward, he was very dominant in the aerial contests marking everything that came his way which led to multiple goals scored against us.
The highlight:
Our last quarter saw us dragging the margin back into our favour. We started chipping away at the score board with two great goals. These two goals were a massive highlight. Our pressure forced them to turn over the ball, resulting in two very exciting goals. The boys’ played bravely in that last quarter and I’m really proud of that. Ultimately, we just made too many minor mistakes that ended up costing us the game.
What made you happy:
Jack Tilley and his work ethic really caught my eye. It always makes me happy to see the boys play from the heart, and that’s what Tilley did. He was taking on multiple opponents in contests. The contests just kept coming to him, in every one of them he either marked or brought the ball to the ground. He was a showstopper, with outstanding plays all day. His efforts were recognised and rewarded post game.
Bull Sharks Football:
For 90 per cent of the game, we played our in our style. We knew we needed to be super aggressive in getting back to support our defence when playing Burleigh, and for most of the game the boys did this well. We acknowledged this after the game and also commended their bravery to start to drive the game back through the middle of the ground. We had been playing a little too conservatively going into contests and lost possession a fair bit.
The work to do:
Going back to the drawing board, the team will have to work on its response to quick shifts in the game. We need to be able to adjust with more urgency going forward. We went into the game focused on defence rather than our offensive plays. We have the skill and the belief that w can effectively play to win in the closing minutes of each game we play. We need to work on making this determination more consistent across the field from the very first buzzer.
With Andy Lovell
Reserves
Bull Shrks defeated Burleigh 12.12 (84) to 5.9 (39)
Goals: Black 2, Cooper 2, Peeters 2, Ayton, Leeds, Sarah, Spencer, Spiden
Best Players: Fraser Eaton, Ned Spiden, Aaron Boundy, Harrison Black, Joshua Clark, Ryan Cook
Bond’s AFLW teams had the bye.