It was a wet, windy Saturday on which the Hawthorn Spartans suffered another defeat, this time against the team that was immediately above them on the log University Blacks with a 81-35.
“We were in the (Round 6) game for two and a half quarters but injuries again to key players and a reduced bench saw us tried badly in the last quarter,” said Spartans’ manager George Demetriou. “Not scoring a goal after half time is a reflection of how we must improve in this space.”
“We still couldn’t fault the energy, spirit on display by the team but fitness and a number of players playing on limited preparation, and the injuries did not help. …We have to keep working harder, achieve KPIs and things will turn full cycle as we have a very good list of players.
There were some good milestones achieved as well with three players, Jaison Simadri, Jules Ware and Clint Barnes, kicking their first goals for the team.
Of special mention are Tom Menzies and Jarryd Gaggin who had a hand in Jaison Simadri’s goal and Tom Menzies and Russell Thomas who go the ball to Adam Karim to score his goal.
READ MORE: Spartans look to shrug off losses to log leaders when they face University Blacks
“The tackling was great all day as was the effort and attitude. We kept trying,” said Mr Demetriou.
Last Saturday’s result unfortunately saw the Spartans drop to seventh on the log just above bottom-placed Caulfield Grammarians who have no points to show for their season so far.
Leading the Premier Thirds’ table are Old Xaverians on 20 points with De La Salle just below also on 20 points.
The Spartans, on 4 points, next face St Bernards, who are also on 4 points but with better percentages to their credit. The Round 7 game with take place on the Spartans’ home ground at Rathmines Reserve in Hawthorn at 11.40am on Saturday (22 May). The canteen will be open.
