West vs Norwood

WEST
West Adelaide teenager Izak Rankine is set to make his IGA League debut against Norwood at City Mazda Stadium on Sunday.
Aged just 16, Rankine – who measures in at 178cm and 67kg - is a speedy half-forward with high-quality skills and goal sense.
A member of this year’s victorious McDonald’s SA Under-16 team, Rankine is the younger brother of South Adelaide’s Matt Rankine.
‘’His ability to find the ball is excellent,’’ West football manager Andrew Marks said of Rankine, who this week was awarded a Level 1 AFL Academy scholarship.
‘’He’s got a lot of speed and he can play up forward or in the midfield. We’re hoping he can provide a spark and some excitement for the future.’’
Retiring premiership defender Adam Hartlett could make his return from a calf injury after being named on the extended interchange bench.
Key defender Josh Ryan (194cm and 88kg) could also make his IGA League debut after joining the Bloods from South Mildura.
Premiership backman Errin-Wasley-Black has been named at half-forward after 28 possessions and nine clearances in the Reserves last round.
Tyson Slattery and John Noble have been sent back to the seconds to find form.

League
F: Rankine, Tuck, Fielke
HF: Silverlock, Middleton, Wasley-Black
C: Agostino, K. Stevens, Schiller
HB: Green, Favretto, Hill
B: Caire, Hardy, J. Evans

R: Webb, O’Brien, Schmidt
INT: Burgess, J. Ryan, Haysman, Hartlett, Turner
IN: Hartlett, Rankine, J. Ryan, Wasley-Black
OUT: Slattery, J. Noble

Reserves
Slattery, Pillion, Homburg, McPherson, L. Ryan, M. Noble, I. Johnson, Inglis, Heitmann, Majok, Scott, Waite, Fitzpatrick, Male, Westhoff, Cameron, J. Stevens, G. Hampton, Karpany, J. Noble, L. Evans.

Under-18
Goldner, Gutsche, Eichner, Baker, Hocking, Alaeddin, Crump, Smith, Moore, Walton, Beard, Wagner, West, Heitmann, Clarke, Secker, Lampard, Staker, M. Johnson, Binnion, Allen, Cameron

Thoughts on today's game ....
Erin Wasley-Black up forward is an excellent move . He looks dangerous up there .
More inside 50's again but hitting targets and finishing goals continues to be an issue.
Zac O'Brien was huge around the clearances especially without Stevens and Schmidt .
Norwood are horrible , we lost it more than they won it with 2.7 in the last qtr.
Well done to Izak Rankine he is something special glad we'll have him for next year .
It was great having all the young kids coming over to wave the flags in the cheer squad today they were very excited , well done !

I hope Schmidt and Hardy are ok both those injuries didn't look good at all.

2 games to go , let's finish with some pride GO BLOODS !

The good news is that Izak Rankin isn't eligible for the draft for 2 years.

He's a special talent.

What happened to Hardy, he has been ok this year.

An improved performance today, however there needed to be.

Adam Hartlett is a massive loss not only is he a very good player,
but a genuine leader. He has matured so much over the past 2 years

Any word on Schmidt? Can't afford to have him out for our last 2 games. Will Porps play again this year?

Our pre-season strategy for 2017 should include a specialised skills coach.

Hardy looked like he'd hurt his knee in a marking contest in the last qtr. Had to be helped from the ground . His landing looked very awkward , hoping it's not real bad because you're right he's been excellent this year .

Hardy has been far from excellent this year.
We haven't had an excellent player this year.
We have won 2 games and we were lucky to win those two games.
Stevens and Schmidt have been solid.
Hartlett although carrying injuries has been solid when he plays.
The rest have been ordinary.

Well done to Rankine. A fantastic first game and he has a bright future.
I still cannot believe that we won a premiership and now we are an absolute joke of a team with zero football smarts and a skill level that is putrid.

20 mins into the last qtr, we are 2 goals down and players are kicking backwards!!!
Extraordinary

Ok then , my apologies for the bad use of a word. Just trying to be positive.....

4 goals in three quarters of footy against the worst side in the competition apart from us. The inability of the coaching group to get any improvement from the playing group over the season is a major concern.