U9
Matches
Sun 25 Mar 2018
Chesterfield Panthers
U9
10:00
Amber Valley
U9s host Amber Valley

U9s host Amber Valley

Ben Perrin27 Mar 2018 - 12:05
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The sun finally made an appearance up at Dunston, and the U9s made the most of the improved conditions.

With half the squad down at Leicester Tigers for the day it was left to some of the less experienced players to make their mark against a powerful Amber Valley team. With a bit of a slow start (maybe we hadn’t quite come to term with the clocks moving forward) we gradually managed to work our way into the games. We started off looking very narrow, maybe missing a few of our link players, and trying to run through a strong tackling team, but as the games progressed we started to move the ball a little more with the result of more gaps then appearing for us to run through.

Given the significantly reduced numbers, and as I don’t have Cookies reporting flair I’ll just have a quick run through all the players performances;

Ben – Took him a game or so to get going but showed just how strong a runner he can be, don’t be afraid to keep those legs pumping Ben.
Connor – After a quick tackling session he was soon up to speed and put in some great tackles and a few powerful runs once he got onto the pitch.
Ella – Plenty of talk as always, letting everyone know where they should be. Put in some great runs, straightening things up, and lead by example throughout.
Felix – Another strong performance with some great cover tackles and the usual mazy running we’ve come to expect, and working on bringing the rest of the team into the game, great work.
George – An inspired choice by Aidan in making him captain in the final game meant we finally heard George’s voice on the pitch. He blossomed under the additional responsibility and put in some amazing cover tackles.
Isaac – Another who needs to make himself heard a little more on the pitch so he can get more involved, made some nice runs with the ball and in support, just needs to let others know he is there.
Josh – As keen as ever, and always a willing support runner, once again a little more talking/shouting whilst on the pitch would mean he’d get the ball more.
Mal – Mal just needs to have a bit more confidence in his own abilities, he was involved in everything on Sunday, just not quite the dominant force we know he can be from previous performances.
Max – We need to convince Max of his capabilities, always involved and ready to make a tackle, but the sooner he realises that he is a big strong lad who could make some serious ground with the ball in hand then we will see a whole new side to him.
Olly – Another display of quick footwork and darting runs from Olly, always a pleasure to watch but nothing too new in that regard, however, the step up in his tackling was considerable, good work sir.
Thomas – Along with several others (and partly because we had quite a few subs) he attention drifted from time to time, but when focussing on the game he played well. Holding his space well he just needed the ball to be passed out a little more to allow him to make the most of his positioning.
Vincent – It took him a little while to get into the swing of things, and is a man of few words but plenty of tackles when he gets going. Would be good to see him get his hands on the ball a bit more as well.

A big thanks to Aidan for helping on Sunday, the kids were very welcoming and I’m sure they appreciated his thoughts on the matches afterwards. He will be a great addition to the coaching team going forward and I’m sure will be welcomed by all…

Enough from me, great effort from all on Sunday, and I’m now looking forward to Ilkeston.
Cheers
Ben

Match details

Match date

Sun 25 Mar 2018

Kickoff

10:00
Team overview
Further reading