Roos shell-shocked
GEELONG Amateur co-coach Jarrod Young concedes his side is in the grip of a points squeeze, with star players forced to sit on the sidelines as the club battles to field its best team.
As Ammos annihilated fellow top-three side Anglesea to the tune of 75 points at Queens Park on Saturday, champion defender Daniel Lovick was rotated to the reserves.
He played alongside brother Andrew in Geelong Amateur’s 80-point drubbing of the Roos in the 12pm game before joining the coaching panel for the seniors later that afternoon.
It’s been a theme of the season for Ammos, who have operated a rolling roster and dropped key players to the reserves to fit under the cap and share the load.
“It just depends what happens,” Young said of the selection scramble each week.
“Blokes are sore, blokes are injured and it is what it is. Each week we pick a team that we think can win the game for us.
“And everyone, to their credit, has bought in and are doing the team thing.
“We’re aware that it’s 40 points, we play to 40 points every week and we have to fit within it. We’re just working within the rules.”
Asked if Lovick was a victim of the points cap, Young replied: “Lovie’s a bit sore as well, so he had a rest”.
“We felt we had a backline that could contain the two big fellas (Jordan Erskine and Dale Carson) and next week, if he’s feeling good, we can get him back in, and work from there.”
With a relatively fit and healthy list, Young knows his side could face further headaches in trying to fit all their stars in the team come September.
“Correct,” Young said of the squeeze.
“We’ll just pick the best team that we think can win the game. Anything can happen.
“It’s Round 9 and we’re not focused on things too far ahead because with a couple of injuries things can change really quick.”
With second spot on the line, Geelong Amateur flexed its muscles, belting Anglesea after quarter-time to record a 12-goal win.
Described as Ammos’ “best performance of the year”, Young doesn’t believe his side has a clearer indication of where it sits in the pecking order.
“I don’t think so,” Young said.
“I don’t think Anglesea will perform like that again. They’re a pretty proud side and they’ll bounce back from that loss.
“For us, we’ve got to continue on. It’s halfway through the year and anything can change … personnel, injuries etc. Those sorts of things can change a season really quickly, so we’ve just got to keep on improving and as a group we’re really starting to jell together.
“The recruits are starting to fit in, the young fellas have stepped up their game and now we’ll focus on getting the four points again next week.”
First-year player Hamish Shepheard was a shining light for Ammos, providing a solid target in attack. Shepheard and fellow talls Hamish Dahl and Matt Walsh gave the Roos’ plenty of headaches in the air, while Josh Westwood wound back the clock with a vintage performance at ground level in his 150th game.
Young was pleased with the functionality of his forward setup, which was missing star forward Mitch Day, who will miss another two weeks after having surgery on his ankle.
“It’s a really exciting prospect that our forward line works so well with Daisy not being there,” Young said.
“Obviously when he comes back he’s a major asset for us, but both big fellas in Hamish Dahl and Hamish Shepheard did well and Joshy Westwood was brilliant as a small forward.
“I thought he wound back the clock today. He was really good and it’s exciting.”