Round 15 Coach's Column

Keen to get the win for our captain – Rd 15

07.07.17 17:05

The stuff dreams are made of.

Every young boy or girl dreams of kicking the winning goal after the siren, Francis Kinthari lived that dream last Saturday. His straight shot after the siren against the GWS Giants got the crucial win required to keep our final four aspirations alive.

With under a minute to go, a missed shot from the pocket put GWS a point up on the scoreboard. A sigh of relief in the coach’s box knowing it gave us back possession of the football. Our boys did a fantastic job getting the ball back in play and moved the footy from coast to coast to allow Kinthari the opportunity to get us in front. Neil Vea Vea’s win in a two on one contest at centre wing was pivotal in the final seconds, and then a handball to our skipper Shannon Rioli who used his boot to find Kinthari inside 50.

As a coach you go through a lot of emotions during the game, you ride every bump with the players. Knowing the hard work and dedication they put in every week, you feel their pain in losses and excitement in the wins. The weekend’s game was no different. Throughout the game we showed signs of our best footy, and at other times close to our worst.

As a coach it’s important to keep emotions in check and carefully analyse the positives and negatives through each quarter, clear information to the players needs to be short and concise. The players are emotionally and physically invested in the game, too much information at times can be detrimental to the outcome.

The messages this week will in part be linked to Shannon Rioli’s 100th NT Thunder games. Shannon has given his all for the club and is the consummate professional. He is an inspiring leader on the field and in the community and we are privileged to bear witness to his talent and passion. We will be keen to get the win for our captain.

This week’s round 15 home clash against the Redland Bombers at TIO Stadium kicks off at 3pm, come show your support for Shannon and the boys!