Villi’s U18s & U16s Match Report – Round 17

UNDER 18s

The Under 18s had a thrilling 4-point win against Glenelg on Saturday, winning a low-scoring, high-pressure game by 4 points. Remarkably, it is the 7th game this year that we have played in where the margin has been 6 points or less!

We started well and got out to an early lead in the first quarter, kicking 4 goals, and we continued with some good pressure footy in the second quarter and took a 14-point lead into half-time.

The Tigers bounced out of the blocks in the 3rd quarter with their own brand of pressure footy, and they took control of the game, kicking 4 straight goals to establish their own 2-goal lead, and we were looking a bit shaky before 2 late goals gave us a one-point lead at three-quarter time.

Both teams were playing for a finals spot, so there was a lot on the line, and the last quarter was a fierce contest with a great snap goal from Owen Hartley-Brown ultimately being the only goal for the quarter.

Glenelg did create some scoring chances, kicking 0 goals, 6 points for the quarter, and we kicked 1 goal, 3 points to hold on for the win.

Seb Cavallaro continued his good recent form in our defence, Joel Hill and Max Farrugia continued to provide good run and carry from our midfield, Brock Jamieson worked hard inside at the contests, and Jack Mumford was a strong forward with 3 goals. Rom Clemente was another mid who worked hard, and Jensen Frantz defended well.

This week we debuted Roy Sinclair, who had not played a game since March 2024 when he did his ACL. Roy added to the team with his strong attack on the ball, and it was great to see him smiling in the team song after the game.

This week we finish off our year playing South Adelaide back at home from 1.20pm on Saturday.

Shane Reardon – U18 Coach

UNDER 16s

The Eagles Under 16s took on Glenelg in fine conditions at Stratarama Oval on Saturday.

Glenelg came out firing in the first quarter, slotting four goals in the opening ten minutes to put us on the back foot early. From there, the contest evened up a little, in which we were able to work our way into the game and started to win more of the ball. Pharrell Prokos looked lively in the forward line, presenting strongly and creating scoring opportunities.

The second quarter was dominated by Glenelg, who regularly surged forward creating many scoring opportunities and making it difficult for our players to gain any ascendency. We showed some resilience throughout the quarter, highlighted by some strong tackling efforts.

In the third term, we began to match Glenelg in both contested and uncontested possessions. An early goal to Seth Hadley and another to Hudson Walsh injected some confidence into the side. Pharrell Prokos continued to threaten up forward, adding a goal at the 14-minute mark. However, Glenelg hit back with two late majors to take a commanding 68-point lead into the final break.

The boys refused to give in during the last quarter, kicking three goals to finish the match on a positive note. However, the damage had been done earlier, with Glenelg running out 73-point winners.

Our better players were Pharrell Prokos (3 goals), defenders Bayden Fenech and Will Andrea, and ruckman Tate Sampson, who all battled hard across the four quarters.

Our final game of the season is against South Adelaide this Saturday at home, kicking off at 11:00 am.

Simon Maddern – U16 Coach