The Greater Western Sydney GIANTS had their first hit out tonight in the young side’s intra-club match at Moore Park.
Torrential rain caused the match to be moved from Blacktown so, with NAB Cup just around the corner and selection up for grabs, the GIANTS headed to the CBD.
GIANTS Head Coach Kevin Sheedy was pleased with the commitment and courage displayed by his young side tonight and thanked the Sydney Swans for making their training oval available for the match.
“I’d like to thank the Swans for allowing us to play here tonight and also the staff at the Sydney Cricket Complex. We’ve been really fortunate because we can’t play on our ground at the moment.
“We’ve only had our team together for around six weeks so to get them out there and used to playing a game, not just training drills is good for them.
“I’m looking for players who can step up who we haven’t really seen before,” Sheedy said.
“I thought Curtly Hampton played pretty well early. I thought Coniglio played well and I thought our young ruckman Tom Downie looked okay as well.
“They’ll only get better the more that they play footy together. They’ll get more confidence in the way that they play, how they set up and work as a team together. “
The speed in the GIANTS midfield stood out in tonight’s intra club match with Tom Scully, Callan Ward, Devon Smith and Dom Tyson moving the ball well through the middle of the ground.
Sheedy was impressed with a number of players in tonight’s intra-club clash, particularly in the midfield group.
“Young Dom Tyson looked good in the midfield and Devon Smith is always where the ball is at.
“Jacob Townsend shows incredible courage along with Callan Ward so we have some very tough, strong midfielders.
“You need to have a really good midfield in the AFL because other clubs have eight to ten midfielders that come through in a game and can push up in to the forward line.
“That team within a team is there now more than ever before.”
A number of GIANTS Academy members were given the opportunity to play as top up players in tonight’s intra-club match, as opportunity that Sheedy said is fantastic for their development as young footballers.
“We had a lot of boys come in tonight from Western Sydney, South West Sydney, Canberra and the Sydney Football League.
“We’d like to thank them for coming and helping us out as top up players. It’s a great development opportunity for these players to go out and play on players that are AFL standard,” Sheedy said.
