Academy games 2026.

[dejavoodoo44]

Up 21-7 at quarter time. Generally outpressuring the Suns and allowing them very little space with ball in hand. Goals to Hardy, Price and Griffiths. All from being hit on the lead in the forward 50.

[dejavoodoo44]

Increased our lead to 43-14, in another quarter where our pressure was better than theirs. Goals to Guy Jenkin, Hardy and probably Pignatelli.

[dejavoodoo44]

Running away with it now 70-17. Our taller defenders have been impressive so far: Norris, Beavis and, I think, Morahan (playing in 35 instead of the listed 25). They're generally beating their opponents in the air, and then winning the contested possessions if the ball goes to ground.

I didn't see who kicked the first goal, but the others went to Epis, Pignatelli and Delaney-Fielding.

[dejavoodoo44]

Ended up a convincing 109-29 win. We had strong contributors right across the field.

To continue on from the previously mentioned taller defenders. One tall who may attract the interest of recruiters is Medved. He played mainly as a half back flanker today, and possibly didn't have a huge amount of possessions, but he is 193cm, very quick and is a pretty good kick. I don't recall seeing him before this season, so he could be a recent convert who will improve as the season progresses.

One person who did get plenty of it was Will Jenkin. Instead of playing on opposite wings, it now seems that Will largely roams around half back, while Guy largely roams around half forward. It seems that we do want it in Will's hands when rebounding and he often uses it well. He's also pretty good at harassing opposing forwards. Guy had a pretty good game up forward with a couple of goals and plenty of useful possessions, but I think he had more behinds than goals and possibly missed more targets than he hit. So, in this round of Jenkin v Jenkin, Will was probably the winner.

Plenty of others played well in the forward line. Taller players Delaney-Fielding, Griffiths and Hardy all had solid contributions, but with 4 goals, Pignatelli was probably our best. At 191cm, he possibly hasn't quite got the height to get recruiters looking for a KPF excited, but he takes a strong contested mark and is a good set shot. Possibly the best prospect is underager, Hardy. Already 194cm and athletic, he could be very hard to stop, if he fills out a bit and adds a few more centimetres. I'm still liking Luke as a small forward, although his best moments were some classy involvements on the wing. Almost every one his possessions seems to work to our advantage.

Mok also showed plenty of class on the wing. Still an underager, he could develop into a very effective ball user in his draft year. We also had some strong contributions around the midfield contests. Blackwell-Smith, Meyrick, Meaney and Price all played well, without really producing the sort of game that says, "draft me!" Perhaps the captain, Price, was the best of that bunch? His game was certainly topped off, when he broke from a centre contest and tried to kick long to the advantage of the forwards. Instead, the ball evaded them, took a sharp left hand turn on the behind line and went through for a goal.

As well as individual performances, our harassment of the opposition was good all day, while I suspect that we were also better at running into space and providing options. So, a pretty enjoyable game all round.