New coach Riccardi has Magpies soaring early
North Geelong had to wait until round 18 for its first win of 2023.
Now – new year, new coach – it took just two.
The Magpies celebrated their maiden win under Cats legend Peter Riccardi, 10.12 (72) to 9.6 (60) against Anakie on Saturday – a week after falling five points short in their round 1 GDFL season-opener against GW Giants.
It was a noble turnaround considering the club lost to GW Giants by 80 points last year.
Riccardi felt his players had more “polish” against the Roos compared to the Giants, and praised their will and ability to fight their way back into the contest.
“They stuck to their guns and fought out their first win of the year and hopefully there’s more to come,” Riccardi said.
Less clinical in the opening quarter compared to Anakie, the Magpies managed 2.4 to 3.0 at Osborne Park to trail by two before a dominant second outing turned the tide in their favour.
Riccardi understood there would be inconsistency in his young group as the year wore in, whether that’s in-game or reflected in results, but it’ll be their response that proves most telling.
“As I spoke to them after the game, we’re going to be challenged every game and it’s how you react to when you do get challenged,” he said.
“Last week... we didn’t handle it very well, but this week when Anakie kicked the first three goals, we then took control back of the game.
“The learnings from one week to the next week was very pleasing on the coaching behalf of things.
“It shows they’re probably more mature than their age is.”
The home side extended their lead by a goal in the third, before the Roos mounted the pressure by opening the fourth with two goals before the Pies held on – another sign the
“They stuck to their guns and fought out their first win of the year and hopefully there’s more to come.
Peter Riccardi Magpies coach
hard-running group can handle some heat.
New recruits have quickly made their presence felt at Osborne Park, Patrick Cleary and Harry Cornelius (North Shore), Rory Desnoy (Leopold) and Noah Billy (Newtown & Chilwell) all showing their value in Saturday’s win, with Clearly holding Anakie forward Andrew Boseley to a goal before Cornelius took over when the Roo moved up the field.
Riccardi praised Desnoy’s attack on the footy, labelling it “amazing for a 19-year-old”, while Billy presented relentless pressure as a forward.
Two challenges await North Geelong in the next three rounds with Winchelsea, East Geelong and Bannockburn to come, the former 0-2 but with 10-point-or-less losses to two 2023 finalists.
“We’ve got to go there with a mindset of another competitive game,” Riccardi said of their upcoming twilight match against the Blues.