With heavy rain falling, the conditions at Friday’s intra-club weren’t conducive to perfect football but SUNS players were all happy for the hit-out.
Veteran Matt Rosa, who will once again form part of the club’s leadership group, understands more than most the importance of these sessions at this stage of the season.
“The conditions were quite wet but it was great to have a hit-out,” Rosa told ABC Grandstand Radio.
“We shortened the game time a little bit but yeah, it was good to get
The game was another opportunity to press for selection ahead of Sunday’s clash with Geelong at Riverway Stadium in Townsville.
Rosa highlighted the efforts of the club’s younger players not only during the intra-club but across the course of the whole season, as they continue their development as AFL players.
Jack Bowes is one such player, and after spending most of his first year at half-back looks set to spend more time rotating through the midfield.
“That’s probably the most exciting thing is a few of those second and third-year boys really look like they’ve made some big gains and yeah Bowesy [Jack Bowes], definitely one of those guys.
“He’s had a really good pre-season and you know, looking a lot bigger and stronger, which I think will help him move into the midfield, he’s spent a bit of time through there over the last couple of weeks.
“Looking really good along with Brayden Fiorini and Will Brodie, they look like they’ve really physically developed and it’s exciting for the footy club.”
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The growth of the younger players is something that will hold the club in good stead throughout the season.
As they adjust to the new game plan being implemented by senior coach Stuart Dew, Rosa believes the load will start to spread across the team rather than an over-reliance on individuals.
“I think we showed at our best if we score quite heavily and quite quickly, but to shore up our
“Also getting more guys who can rotate through the midfield and share the load with the contested footy.”
“I think those second and third-year guys, they’re the guys that really make big gains once they start growing into their bodies, so I think that’ll help as a whole and hopefully that’ll give us a lot of improvement.”
