SHARKS BRUSH ASIDE THUNDER
NT THUNDER travelled to Alice Springs full of enthusiasm and confidence but left frustrated after a disappointing 53-point loss to Southport at Traeger Park last night.
In their only home game in the Red Centre for 2017, Thunder were outclassed by a ninthplaced Southport line-up from the opening siren losing 19.9 (123) to 10.10 (70).
Thunder’s trademark quick ball movement was a non-factor throughout the match with Southport’s defence shutting Thunder down in attack.
The Sharks kicked five goals to one in an opening quarter blitz and never looked back, cruising to the comfortable win in a physical encounter.
The strong pro-Thunder crowd in Alice Springs left the ground feeling disappointing and Thunder coach Andrew Hodges said he too was frustrated with the game.
“Absolutely, it was a bit frustrating; we didn’t play our best footy and Southport played really well,” he said.
“To come down (to Alice Springs) and put in that result in front of our fans, we came down and have been out in the community a fair bit and wanted to put on a good show but t we didn’t do that.
“Southport were really good, they did their homework on us and executed it really well.
“They set up really well defensively and didn’t allow us to play our brand of footy.
“They definitely played better footy; there were a lot of areas where we broke down.
“Our decision making was poor again. That’s been an issue we’ve had on and off all year and tonight our decision making wasn’t great when we had the ball.
“We need to go back … and fix that up and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Cam Ilett was again among Thunder’s best players throughout the game, kicking two goals and trying to lift the side with his outstanding work rate.
Alice Springs local Abe Ankers was also a standout throughout the match, despite receiving close attention from Southport players, consistently finding the ball both contested and uncontested.
Despite the loss, Thunder maintain their position in the NEAFL top four.