NT under-18 side feeling confident going into game against Queensland
TRIUMPHANT coach Andrew Hodges has declared his under-18 side the Territory’s “most promising” since it won the Division Two title at the 2012 AFL Under-18 Championships.
Hodges’ men trounced a youthful Tasmania by 69 points in Darwin on Friday night, but need to back that up on the road against Queensland and NSW/ACT.
That 2012 NT team in- cluded future AFL players Jed Anderson, Jake Neade and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, as well as Ben Rioli and Jarrod Stokes.
“There is no doubt there is some great talent in this team,” Hodges said post-match.
“I’ve been involved in the (AFLNT State Academy) program since 2013, so it’s a bit hard for me to measure them against sides, but it’s definitely the strongest side in my time.
“But, as anyone knows, talent only gets you so far. If you don’t do the hard work, you’re not going to get anywhere.”
Hodges said the best thing about his players was they were “hungry for hard work”.
“We sung the song after the game, then our leadership group got everyone in and said, ‘Righto, that’s game one out of the way; let’s now focus on game two’,” he said.
“They weren’t carried away with it whatsoever.”
Ben Long scored the captaincy, but Hodges said the team contained many leaders, such as Patrick Taban and Daly Shannon, who returned from back stress fractures.
“Daly’s worked really hard with his rehab and it’s been really disappointing for him, but he comes in every day and he’s just the happiest kid and gets it done,” Hodges said.
“He’s blessed with some re- ally good foot skills and he’s very composed when he has the ball in hand.
“I’m really pleased to see him get through tonight’s game and play well, because he’s been through a fair bit the last few months.”
NT players and staff on Thursday head to Hobart, where they are due to face Queensland on Saturday, with an overnight stopover in Melbourne first.
“We’re feeling really good and obviously (Friday night’s win) is a bit of a confidencebooster,” Hodges said.
“It’s difficult, because we have to go to the other end of the country ... (but) I’m excited about it.
“We travelled last week and got a result (against TAC Cup team Oakleigh Chargers) and we’re pretty confident we can go away next week and be competitive.”