QLD U18s ready to make early mark

You only have one chance to make a first impression, and the 2014 Queensland U18 team want theirs to be a good one.

Acting state coach, Scott Borlace, said the team would be ready to make its mark in its first TAC Cup match, against the undefeated Oakleigh Chargers, on Sunday.

“It starts with the first contest, the first quarter,” he said.

“I think it’s really important that we start well.”

In the first of six TAC Cup matches, as part of an expanded state calendar, Borlace said the side would be looking to keep the ball in their hands, with a strong emphasis on defensive efforts across the ground.

“I think they’ll definitely be tested in this game but I’m full of confidence that they can go over and get the job done,” he said.

“We want to own the football and keep possession as much as we can and move the ball so that we give our forwards a one on one contest,” he said.

“Then, when we don’t have it, we want to work really hard in terms of team defence to win the ball back as quick as we can, starting with our forwards.”

Borlace said the side was looking forward to testing itself against a high quality side in the Chargers, who saw five players drafted in 2013.

“In Queensland you can get caught up in your own little bubble where you don’t think about the southern states or WA, but this is a good opportunity to test ourselves in the best U18 competition in the country.”

“We know that they’re a team in pretty good form, but we’re focused on how we want to play.”

Both sides will be missing some top liners, with Queenslanders Liam Dawson, Lachie Weller and Matthew Hammelmann, along with Chargers captain Darcy Moore, on the AIS-AFL Academy tour of Europe, while Ryan Agita (shoulder), Brayden Preuss (ankle) and Jackson Dickfos (leg) will all miss the match through injury.

Morningside’s Darcy Cameron-Reeves will lead the side for the first time on Sunday, after being voted the 2014 captain, with Weller and Dawson his deputies.

Borlace said Cameron-Reeves was an obvious choice at captain, with the tough midfielder embodying the Queensland ethos.

“He plays with courage, leads by example and his voice and instruction’s always good,” he said.

“He’s the perfect advocate for the way that we want to play. 

‘It’s a credit to the way he sets the example and the way he goes about it.”

The Queensland U18 team take on the Oakleigh Chargers at Port Melbourne AFL Ground at 1:30pm on Sunday.

Queensland

Oakleigh Chargers