IN THEIR WORDS – LUKE TEDESCO ROUND 9

SATURDAY’S come from behind victory against East Perth definitely rates as one of the best wins I have been involved with.

The most pleasing aspect from a captain’s point of view was the player’s response to the challenge thrown down by the Royals. We are creating a bubble of genuine confidence within our group that with the right execution and willingness to compete, anything is possible.

That said, we have now faced three significant deficits in as many games and whilst the end results were two incredible wins over Swan Districts and East Perth, and one fairly close loss to Claremont, we need to strive for more consistency over longer periods.

A lot of people have asked me what was the tonic for the comeback last week. Although some structural changes were made with Michael Lourey being swung in through midfield and Strijk, Rodda and Manning being moved forward, it was our ability to make better decisions and execute our skills more effectively that turned the momentum our way. They sound so basic yet they have such a bearing on our performances.

I love the fact that when the crunch moments came, it was our young guys who came out on top. Aidan Lynch won a number of contested possessions and calmly kicked two set shot goals, Sam Rotham was prepared to leave his opponent to win a 50/50 ball and Mitch van Berlo demonstrated the type of close checking defence we should have been executing all game. It’s great to see these guys continue to develop and gain more confidence within their role in the team.

This week we play East Fremantle who are one of the form teams in the competition. Last year they beat us three times and that had a significant bearing on our season. I believe they will play finals this year so it will be a big challenge for our playing group. We are looking forward to the contest and another opportunity to show we are improving with our consistency.