After a disappointing loss, how do you turn things around quickly and get the win the following week? The message to the playing group this week has been simple, we need an improved effort and attitude.

To put it bluntly, our effort last week was well below the required level. Simply just nowhere near good enough. So a change is imperative if we are to take the four points in our Round 14 NEAFL clash against the Giants.

As frustrating as the loss was, we achieved some of our off-field targets in Alice Springs.

Local NT Thunder players Matt Rosier and Abraham Ankers spent the week visiting and running footy clinics, seeing around 800 school children. Myself, Shannon Rioli, Sam Smith and Michael Hagan travelled down the day before our game and ventured out to the remote indigenous community of Hermannsburg, where we conducted a footy clinic for 55 local school children on the red dust field and then took them on in a lighthearted game.  It was an amazing experience not just for the kids, but our boys as well. Some exciting future NT Thunder stars were definitely running around out there.

Our attention now turns to this week; the mood amongst the group is one of determination in turning our last result around. We must get some consistency to maintain our spot in the finals race.

We get the opportunity to take on a side containing AFL talent in the GWS Giants. It doesn’t get much bigger for our players, getting the chance to play on a first-class field at Spotless Stadium on a Saturday afternoon, in a curtain raiser to a big AFL game. It gives us a chance to mix it with some of the best young AFL talent. These are full-time athletes who are pushing to make it onto a senior list that sit on top of the AFL ladder.

We must bounce back.

Don’t miss this week’s action when we take on the Giants, get on ThunderVision from 2.45pm NT time to support us.