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Naitanui shows greatness

By Mr Dandalooa

What a game. What a comeback. What a player.

The West Coast Eagles mounted an impressive comeback against Essendon during round 1 of the NAB pre-season cup on Friday, snagging an impressive 35-point victory against Essendon.

The Eagles looked almost done for in the first half, outran, outmanned and outplayed.

But an inspirational game from ruckman Nic Naitanui, who had 8 tackles to his name, ensured the Eagles went through to round 2.

West Coast coach John Worsfold had nothing but praise for the 19-year-old, saying he was impressed by Naitanui’s ability to contest and relentless second and third efforts.

It was hard to fathom that the youngster was in fact a ruckman, showing poise and agility to lift his team when the chips were down.

‘’What he did in the first quarter, when a few of the boys were down a bit, for a young player to show that sort of leadership is what excites us,’’ Worsfold was reported as saying.

“Early on, we were concerned with a few aspects of our game.

“Our fumbling of the ball, we weren’t anywhere near as clean as we would like to be, and sitting off our opponents and letting them use the ball pretty easily, that was showing up with the number of marks they were taking.”

Adding to Naitanui’s memorable game was the only 9-pointer kicked that night, following a 50-metre penalty that put the Eagles in front.

His leadership and skill showed that Naitanui is a valuable player that could see him placed up forward this season with Dean Cox returns to the ruck.

The Eagles trailed by five goals midway through the second quarter, but Naitanui was able to keep his side in the game with his hard running and ability to scoop the ball off the ground.

On his cue, the Eagles began gaining momentum and eventually overran the Bombers in the second half, as Naitanui dominated the ruck contests, eventually kicking 4 goals.

Worsfold said while he was impressed by Naitanui, team management ask that he continues to develop his game.

‘’I asked him before they ran out what he was expecting out of the game, and he reeled off two or three key things he wanted to work on,” Worsfold was reported as saying.

‘’Where he works after a ruck contest, his running pattern, the follow up to be involved in the contest.’’

The Eagles, much like Essendon, made many handling errors, but it was in the midfield that Essendon was beaten.

While Essendon had several players who worked hard in midfield, led Watson and McVeigh, they lacked a dominant forward, which led to the Bomber’s eventual demise.

Worsfold said he pleased with the way his players responded from a five-goal deficit early in the game.