Forwards lead the way
Tigers coach says selflessness the key to side’s success
Torquay coach Dom Gleeson says his high-powered forward line is the key to premiership success in 2023, with a number of stars performing strongly in the first half of the season.
Tigers forward Lucas Anderson is leading the competition in goals kicked, with his bag of 10 majors against Drysdale at the weekend propelling him to 44 from eight games.
Teammate Jesse Dawson, who booted 12 goals against Portarlington in round 7, is currently third on 29 goals, while Tom Grace (nine goals from four games), Nathan Mifsud (eight goals from eight games), Charlie Ham (eight goals from five games) and
Nick O’Farrell (seven goals from four games) are all in the top 50 for the competition.
Gleeson said the selflessness of the forward group was the key to Torquay’s blistering start to the season.
“I think the way it works is just they’re very selfless, so if one of the guys is getting a feed then the other will make space for them and block for them,” he said.
“I like that we are not too one dimensional and that we have different guys who are dangerous against good match-ups.
“To have Lucas leading the league for goals and Jesse coming in the top two or three shows that we’re being really efficient going into our forward line.
“We’re trying to be a team within a team in our forward line, and for the most part I think it’s working pretty well.”
Anderson has two games of 10-goal bags this season as well as eight against Barwon Heads, while Dawson has kicked five or more goals three times.
Gleeson said the two leading forwards did not clash often, with the pair working well within the Tigers’ structure and system.
“They’re both competitive beasts, I know they put in a truckload of work to make themselves better, the beauty is that they’re different sizes and types of forwards so they can work really well together and not get in each other’s way,” he said.
“At Torquay we love goal kickers, don’t get me wrong, but we’re not rewarding them the same way we are for the selfless stuff that happens before the goal is kicked.
“We’ll highlight how it actually happens, if someone is getting a block on and helps their teammate get a goal, we’re probably talking more about the block than the goal.
“It’s great to have some representation on the leading goal kickers’ list, but it’s not what we’re worried about.”
They’re very selfless, so if one of the guys is getting a feed then the other will make space for them and block for them Dom Gleeson Torquay coach