Labrador tall defender Jayden Young is the round one Syd Guildford nominee, after a strong performance first up against Surfers Paradise. Young impressed with his versatility and ability to create deep in defence.
“They really took it up to us Surfers, they were really good around the ball,” said Young.
“I don’t think the score showed how well they went.”
After half-time the Tigers lost their key forward and captain Bryce Retzlaff to a hamstring injury, alongside their other tall target Jake Goldsmith, so the team needed to adjust.
“We sort of had to make a few changes with, I suppose, not having those two big targets there, but the boys adapted well, I thought we finished off pretty strong and everyone’s geared up and ready to go for another big one,” said Young.
The 23-year-old Tigers young gun credits a full pre-season, as part of the reason for his success so far.
“I’ve had the opportunity to sort of do a full pre-season this year, just work commitments and that the other years, I haven’t really done a pre-season in a long time,” said Young.
“The body is feeling good.”
The 195cm key back, started taking the number one opposition forward early in the season last year, after getting the opportunity through injury and hasn’t looked back. Young has now settled into a back six that are reaping the rewards of having played together long enough to gel.
“We basically have the same backline we had from year’s premiership, so we’ve been working together for a while now and we can sort of adapt,” said Young.
“I could probably end up on a flank, or vice versa. It just sort of depends, mostly I start at full back.”
Young has also relished playing under new coach Aaron Shattock, who’s kept things running smoothly at Cooke Murphy Oval.
“Because we’ve dealt with him the last couple of years you sort of know what to expect. The way he’s stepped up into the lead role has been unreal,” said Young.
Round two brings with it a significant challenge in Palm Beach Currumbin, but Young is looking forward to the opportunity to play against the best possible opposition.
“I’ve been really looking forward to playing Palmy, I can’t wait for this week,” said Young.
The Labrador defenders will need to be at their best this week against a Palm Beach outfit that ran over the top of Morningside and looked threatening.
By Sean Melrose
Follow @seanmelrose
