Round 6 Men’s Recap

Subiaco’s final night game at home for the season came to a disappointing loss on the weekend, with the 75-point loss to Swan Districts giving the club plenty to think about over the upcoming break.

“It really was a disappointing loss on Saturday,” Coach Beau Wardman admitted. “We let the jumper down with our lack of desperation and consistency of effort.”

While the result is certainly frustrating, there are still positives to take out of the match, like Subi’s accuracy in front of goals being the equal highest of the league in Round 6.

“We need to get stronger and cleaner around the contest and with winning the ball up forward. We can see with our accuracy and conversion of scores to inside 50s that we have potency in that area of the ground, but we can’t win off of our low 30 entries,” Wardman explained.

“What was concerning for us, and addressed during and post-game, was doing our work early, anticipation of movement which puts you in a position to compete against your opponent, and staying disciplined to how we want to play the game.”

Still, some silver linings made themselves apparent on the night. Captain Greg Clark gave a standout performance with 6 tackles, 7 inside 50s and 32 disposals.

“Clark led from the front and showed the level of competitiveness we expect from the team,” Wardman reflected. “He was strong in the contest and worked hard to link up play throughout the game.”

Also impressive on the night was centreman Travis Shearer, who stayed on the ground the entire duration of the match and, Wardman says, ‘stuck to his role with great discipline’.

Archer May also stood out, kicking 4 goals personally. “May continued his growth and provided a strong target up forward,” Wardman explained. “But more importantly were his pressure acts and repeat efforts, with 6 tackles!”

The game marked the last before the league-wide week-long break, with the weekend of May 17 being reserved for the Kia State Game between representative sides for the WAFL and SANFL. Subiaco’s own Taj Schofield, Ryan Borchet and Archer May were named in the 30 man squad for the match.

“The break is a good opportunity for us to take stock. The players and the coaches are all in together to fight our way out of this,” Wardman said. “We know our system has held strong in patches over the first 6 weeks. We need great continuity and effort for sustained periods.”

The strong patches Wardman mentions were visible to see on Saturday night; while Swan Districts secured the convincing victory in the second and third quarters, it was in the first and fourth terms where slivers of Subiaco’s ferocity were made apparent. Those two quarters were tightly contested and almost dead even on paper.

Rest assured, both players and coaches are eager to course correct and come back stronger after the break.

“There have been some strong reviews and feedback across the group which comes from a place of care and accountability,” Wardman said. “We look forward to a few strong sessions on the track over the next two weeks before we hit South Fremantle after the break.”

That match against South Fremantle is set for 2.30 PM on May 24th at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

While the seniors didn’t see success, the Reserves and Colts squads both walked away victorious earlier in the day against the Swans in closely-fought contests. The Reserves came away with a 4-point victory, while the Colts a 9-point one.

Although the Men’s divisions will all take a break this coming weekend, the Women will return to the field after two weeks off, with the undefeated Lions taking on Claremont on Saturday at 12:10 PM at Sullivan Logistics Stadium.