The ups and downs that are part of football are a constant challenge, and that would be a good way to describe our last month.
A really positive result started the rollercoaster which has since seen a couple of unacceptable efforts either side of a close loss to the defending premiers. It has been a challenge for all involved and will continue to be as we strive to move away from a potentially talented team to a team that can compete under all circumstances.
Rest assured we are doing everything we can to get to this point as soon as possible, and the next step is against Canberra tonight.
Within the frustration there is always some small wins along the way, and we get to see that this week. We will have a couple more debutants make their mark. Cohen Thiele, an experienced and hardworking player, joins another of our committed Alice Springs-based players, Nigel Lockyer.
The uniqueness of our program with players based throughout the Territory is well documented, and it’s exciting when we see some reward for effort. Nigel has done everything asked of him and has then turned that into solid CAFL performances. Cohen is a skilled player who played plenty of SANFL before moving to Darwin three years ago. He has been training solidly with us for the past seven weeks and will be a great addition to our team.
Touching on our program’s uniqueness, this week we also had the opportunity to host a remote player at training. Rick Ashley from Ramingining has spent the week with the squad; going through reviews, doing some work in the gym and just experiencing the semi-professional football environment. He has excited us with his size, athletic prowess and skill set, and we look forward to him coming in again shortly and then hopefully on a more permanent basis.
Lastly, Adam Tipungwuti is well and truly in the mix to be drafted in Monday’s AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft after some outstanding football this season. Our fingers are crossed that he gets the opportunity.
While there is some frustration along the way it’s refreshing to have some small wins, we are well aware though, we are judged on competing to the best of our ability in every moment, and so that is our focus, first and foremost, heading into tonight.
GO THUNDER!