SUN FEELS THE HEAT
‘CRAZY’ DEBUT FOR TEEN:
GOLD Coast Suns rookie Jack Scrimshaw has described the pace and skills level of AFL football as “crazy” after making his debut with the Suns.
Scrimshaw, 18, was thrown into football at the top level for the clash against Western Bulldogs in Cairns on Saturday night and emerged as one to watch for the future.
Coach Rodney Eade said as much, although he also stressed the recruit from Sandringham Dragons under-18s had plenty to work on.
“I think he showed a bit, he showed he can be a player,” Eade said after the Suns crashed in the fourth term to lose by 54 points at Cazalys Stadium.
“Now he can set up his next pre-season knowing what he can work on.
“One thing is he has to be fitter to be able to get to enough contests.”
Scrimshaw, watched by his family who were flown to far north Queensland by the Suns for the occasion, was satisfied with his first-up effort but, as Eade pointed out, he is still wet behind the ears.
“I think I went OK,” Scrimshaw said after being thrust up from the ranks of the Suns seconds in the NEAFL to fill a role as a tall defender after Rory Thompson (hamstring) was a late scratching.
“It took me a while to adjust to the tempo of the game. It was a big step up from what I’m used to in the NEAFL.
“The pace and skills level was crazy and the ball movement was so quick.
“It took me a while to get into the game but the further it went the more comfortable I felt.”
Asked to rate his performance out of 10, Scrimshaw gave himself a six.
During the game Scrimshaw played in defence and had a variety of rival, among them Easton Wood, Marcus Bontompelli and Liam Picken.
“We didn’t have much size down back, so I was sort of thrown into the deep end a bit but it was a good experience and all part of my learning curve,” Scrimshaw said.
“Rocket (Eade) spoke to me briefly about how it was a tough game and that he was happy with some of the things I showed.
“He certainly wasn’t critical of a first gamer.
“My target is to play every one of remaining games and hopefully I’ll improve every time I play.”
Eade said the plan for the rest of the year is to continue to play youth, eyeing the future.
“We had a really young side yesterday but that has been the case for most of the year – we’ve used 40 players,” Eade said.
“The disappointing thing was letting them (Bulldogs) get away in the last quarter.
“The boys battled hard and got back into the game but then fatigue kicked in during the last quarter.”
Eade said Steven May could be back next weekend but Thompson is probably sidelined for three more weeks.