14a's v's De La Salle at Blaxland Oval

Result: Lost 44 - 0

We played a side that successfully recruited a couple of 'marquee' players from around the district during the off season, producing a formidable opposition. They certainly got the jump on us as there slick combinations showed the advantage of recent training with the Sharks development squad.

After the success of last week it was a great opportunity for our squad to gauge where we stand at this early stage and what development is required to participate in this years semi's.

De La Salle are a good side, they play a disciplined game that revolves around rolling sets of 6 tackles using their size and pace to advantage. There tactics and speed create space as fatigue kicks in and confidence is dented. De La's objective is to control the ruck by rolling their big guys through the advantage line. Once this occurs it is very difficult to stem the flow of points as you are continually back peddling.

18 to nil at half time wasn't a true reflection as twice they were gifted tries when we gave them back to back penalties then failed to move off our try line when defending. There big guys fell over the defence to score easy tries. We were lucky last week when this happened as we had enough points in us to out score the opposition, this week it was a tougher match and De La Salle weren't going to give up any points.

In the second half we competed well early on but faded as our efforts failed to convert into points. A couple of our kickers must have backed their stocky right winger to score a double on 'Footy Tab'. Twice we kicked to him leaving a one on one contest with plenty of room to move, ouch that's a coach killer.

Although the score suggests it was one-sided there were many encouraging signs. A number of players stood out, Liam is warming to his role as a leader, his commitment in defence was exceptional. Luke Hickey continues to invoke inspiration and is developing a well rounded game that is evolving every week. 'Burkey' excels in mixing it, seeking out opponents to bruise, impressive stuff.

There was some impressive individual skills shown at times by Tyler W, Shaun, Phil and Brett. Tim and Jacob's efforts were also duly noted by Coach Bryce.

We have an excellent foundation from which to make a successful side. We will gain a lot out of this game particularly as we now realise what is required to compete at this level. You need a bruising to identify the areas that are to be improved, adopt a winning attitude, apply the effort at training, support your team mates, then watch the results flow through on game day.

I am sure De La Salle were suitably impressed by the courage and effort shown by our team.