Football
16 April, 2025
Southern Roos hold off Demons
Defending premiers Harrow Balmoral concluded its important home game with a 24-point win against Laharum; however, it wasn’t a cakewalk.
The Southern Roos were pushed from the first whistle and had to dig deep when they lost two players before halftime.
Two-time premiership coach Jai Thompson said his team’s depth was showcased in the 13.9 (87) to 8.15 (63) victory.
“It was a fairly big day for us as a club as well,” he said.
“I put a fair bit of messaging behind Dalton Burns’ 200th game, Simon Close’s 150th, unveiling our premiership flag and our first home game.”
“[Before the Game] we spoke about being efficient and playing our brand of footy.
“We knew they were going to set up well defensively. They play a high zone full press, and we just knew if we could chip through their defence and use our skill level, we'd be able to get over the back and score on them.”
However, the hosts found that even the best-laid plans often go awry, with Simon Close, and later Michael Close, going down with injuries.
Enter Cody Deutscher, who moved from the midfield rotation to become a key forward.
“We needed a bit of height in the forward line and Cody stepped up,” Thompson said.
“He's fairly tall and he's got a good set of hands. He can kick a ball away too.
“Cody played beautifully.”
Deutscher kicked eight goals and was aptly named best on ground
“We had to dig deep, and the boys played well.
“We rotated well through the midfield, and our two rucks battled hard against their ruck.
“Just to see that everything we've done at preseason in terms of fitness and our skill levels showed out in the end was great.”