The Northern Knights have fallen short by 5 points against the Calder Cannons on Saturday afternoon. The Knights hit the front late in the last term before a goal from Bramble for the Cannons sealed the victory.
Saturday was Pink Day for the Calder Cannons to support Breast Cancer Network Australia, Talent Manager Rhy Gieschen says the day was a great success “Congratulations to Calder on the fantastic initiative to support the Breast Cancer Awareness day. The day was a fantastic success and the lengths that Ian Kyte and the Calder Cannons went to, to promote the cause was outstanding.”
Poor kicking for goal in the first half had the Knights trailing by 25 points at half time with the scoreline of 2.7 to 7.2 which Coach Andrew Shakespeare said made things difficult but to hit the front in the last quarter was a really good sign. “We showed some real grit today- started slow - fought to get the momentum back in our favour and eventually got in front on the back of a lot of hard work, but the little things let us down in the end.”
Gieschen says the second half needs to be the norm going forward, “whilst it was disappointing to start the way we did and not get the result, we are really proud of the effort and never say die attitude that the group displayed in the second half. To come back from 25 points down at half time and hit the lead late in the game was a testament to how far they have come in their endeavors.”
The Knights had 11 seventeen year olds playing today and they showed a glimpse of the future for the Knights, “For the u17 players to play in a really intense, fast paced, high standard game such as this one and all stand up and be major contributors shows the future is bright for the Northern Knights,” Gieschen said.
Of the 17 year olds, Patrick Naish (19 disposals), Mitch Andrews (18 disposals), Alex Federico (14 disposals), Christian Farchione (17 disposals) all impressed the coach while Marcus Lentini was a standout with 31 disposals as he played a bit more midfield time.
The midfield group was again strong, which pleased the coach “Luke Bunker (23 disposals) returns from national duties and steps straight back in and puts in a very strong performance, Lachie Murphy (26 disposals and a goal) continues to stamp himself as a standout in the competition and Matt Signorello (27 disposals) is a fierce competitor and Chas Roberts ruck craft is developing strongly as is his around ground involvements.”
Corey McKay was again a presence up forward kicking 2.4 and Jamison Shea also kicked two goals, while down back Mason Blakey’s leadership again shone through and Ethan Penrith had one of his best games.
While it was a disappointing result there was plenty of signs the coach saw.
“There was a lot to like - but we have a lot to learn - that is our challenge going forward learn from our failures and show our trademark of Continual Improvement.”
The Knights now have the week off, for a development weekend before taking on the Eastern Ranges at home after the break.
Last Modified on 09/07/2016 23:20