Match write up courtesy of Brett Edmunds who supported coaching on the weekend.

Last Saturday we played host to a combined team of Denver and Oklahoma at Old Shepard Park, Plano. With four Devils players volunteering to make up the numbers for the combined side. Thank you to Ryan, Justin, Pipes and Luke for volunteering. With such a big bench for this game and possibly for other games, sometimes it is better to volunteer to play for the opposition to get more game time to aid in your development.

With some overnight rain, expected cooler temperatures and the ground looking in good condition, there was excitement amongst the Devils players for this match-up and this was evident from the first bounce. The Devils were able to move the ball forward with ease in the first few minutes, constantly putting pressure on the Denver/Oklahoma back line. Some sensational roving from Speersy from a boundary line throw in deep in the forward pocket resulted in a goal to give the Devils the lead. It was a tough encounter for the rest of the quarter, with both teams moving the ball into their respective forward line with no reward. The Denver/Oklahoma team were slightly ahead at quarter time 2.2.14 vs 2.0.12.

The second quarter was like the first quarter with nothing between the two sides as the ball moved from end to end with no team really taking advantage of their opportunities. Tyson started the game in an unfamiliar position at fullback after playing most of the season in the guts and looked like he had played there all season defending well and helping to repel the Denver/Oklahoma attack. Dan was everywhere as usual attacking the ball and helping to clear the defense. Dan continues to have a great season and continues to improve each game. With this quarter being more about defense than offense for both teams, Denver/Oklahoma extended their lead a little to be ahead 3.2.20 vs 2.1.13 at half-time.

The expectation was high at half-time to come out and put some more pressure on the Denver/Oklahoma side in the Premiership quarter, however this was not the case with the Denver/Oklahoma side scoring 3 goals straight to 1 behind to set up a handy lead at 3 quarter time. 6.2.38 vs 2.2.14. It looked like Denver/Oklahoma had extra players on the field at times as they had numbers getting to the ball and were able to run it forward, by handballing backwards to set up their forward momentum. Brian and Craig battled all day in the ruck with Craig showing his tackling ability with two crushing tackles in the quarter.

At the 3rd quarter time huddle, Marcus was moved to the backline to try and get some run with Dmase but the Devils were unable to take advantage of this move, with the Denver/Oklahoma team moving the ball forward with momentum. As a continuation of the 3rd quarter, Denver/Oklahoma were able to move the ball in numbers adding another 3.5 to 1.2 for the quarter to run out easy winners. 9.7.61 vs 3.4.22. The NTX Devils tried hard all day and played to the game plan most of the game but were unable to perform the one percenters. We lacked the shepherding, talk, and run to be able to challenge the Denver/Oklahoma team. It was a tough day for our forwards as we were unable to take a mark in the forward line and to pressure and to build the wall to stop Denver/Oklahoma easily transitioning from defense into attack.

With only 9 training sessions and one game left before Nationals, please ensure that you are attending as many training sessions as possible. We are getting closer to that victory and if we play for 4 quarters, I am sure that it will arrive sooner than later.

Best: Tyson, Dan, John, Joel, Chatman