Under 14 minor Premiers Coolaroo are following a similar path to 2011 but won’t want lightning to strike twice. As they did last year, they easily accounted for their fellow qualify finalist and had the week off before facing Dalby and losing in the 2011 Grand-Final.
But Coach Weidman won’t be letting that happen again.
Coolaroo are a much improved unit compared to last year and this year have dominated the competition with all bar one hiccup, way back in Round 13 when they lost to Highfields.
The Under 14 reigning premiers (Dalby) will be looking to stop the Coolaroo juggernaut and to do so they will need to do the following;
- Stop star midfield duo Samuel Copland and Brendan Shelton.
- Make the most of their inside 50’s.
- Play Danielle Wall in the ruck
Samuel Copland and Brendan Shelton have been in devastating form in 2012 and work well together in the midfield. Shelton will start ruck while Copland will follow the ball, Copland’s ball use and leadership is second to none and will be important on the big stage. Shelton is the Roo’s “X” factor with his hard running and uncanny ability to kick long and unbelievable goals from anywhere will also play a pivotal role in Coolaroo’s tilt at the flag.
Dalby wasted opportunities inside 50 in the preliminary final last weekend, they kicked 6.11 for the game with quite a few going out of bounds on the full. The Swannies will need to make every shot count against the formidable Roo’s.
Danielle Wall can lay claims as the Swans u14’s number one player; she will be beaming with confidence after her well deserved 4th place finish in the League Best and Fairest. Danielle plays her best football at centre half-back but the Swans coaching staff will look to play her in the Ruck as she would be number one in the competition for hit outs and contested possessions.
Coolaroo finished the regular home and away season with kicking the most points for this season with a whopping 1957 for the year. Dalby will know though that this means nothing once the first siren goes for the game.
It won’t all be one way traffic though, Dalby have their own star studded line up of Danielle Wall, Riley Easton, Sean Melbin and Brigid Gaur. All four are exciting to watch and can break open a game with their own boot with a blink of the eye and the Roo’s coaching staff will need to stop all four’s influence on the game.
But once you start worrying about the other team, you are already behind aren’t you?
Dalby have come into the Grand-Final the hard way! Finishing the season in third, they easily accounted for Warwick in the Elimination Final and got over the line by 17 points against Highfields in the Preliminary Final last weekend.
Coolaroo on the other hand haven’t lost a game since Round 13 and have only played 2 games in the last 5 weeks. No doubt the Roo’s will be fired up with the Under 14’s the only Coolaroo team in action for Grand-Final day and the Roo’s faithful will be out in force.
The Roo’s will be starting the game as red hot favourites but Dalby will like the tag of the under dogs. Since Round 12, 2011 Coolaroo has a fantastic record against Dalby but the Swannies lay claim to winning the game that counts.....can they do that again?
Previous Results
Round 12, 2011 – Coolaroo 8.7 (55) def. Dalby 5.4 (34)
Qualifying Final, 2011 – Coolaroo 10.17 (77) def. Dalby 2.4 (16)
Grand-Final, 2011 – Dalby 5.5 (35) def. Coolaroo 3.6 (24)
Round 7, 2012 – Coolaroo 8.7 (55) def. Dalby 5.6 (36)
Round 14, 2012 – Coolaroo 12.16 (88) def. Dalby 1.0 (6)
Grand-Final, 2012 - ???
Copland V Easton Shelton V Wall, Roo’s V Swans, will the Roo’s juggernaut continue or will the Swans win the game that counts again?
Last Modified on 12/09/2012 09:10
