Coach’s Report: Rampage vs. The Coast – Round 6

I know I say this every week, but this weekend might just be the most important of our season.

A week ago we were preparing to head to Adelaide with the hope of taking some points and keeping the first place Ducks within striking distance.

We were successful in that task splitting the weekend in two very closely contested games. What we hadn’t expected was that The Coast would take five out of six points from the Ducks in Melbourne, leaving us only one point out of first position and putting the rest of the league on notice.

A lot has changed since we first met The Coast in Round 1 of competition. We have improved each week as a team, our locals have found a way to put pucks in the net more consistently and our team defence is starting to take shape. We still need to find a way to play more consistently over the whole weekend but as a whole I feel we are in a very good spot at the half way of the season.

The Coast has also made some improvements. Winning 2 of their last 4 games, they are one of the best teams in the competition statistically over the past month. The young team has found a way to compete each game and the addition of Kale Kosta has made them a true contender. He had six points over two games last weekend and impacted the play every time he touched the ice. He will be one to watch on the opposition this weekend and I’m sure the likes of Dunsford and Adler will be looking to give him a warm welcome.

The Coast are by no means a one man team though, they have a tonne of skill up front which is backed by an experienced defensive core and imports that can score almost at will if the are not contained.

With 10 games left in the season it really is time to make a move and I feel the boys are ready to take it to the streaking Coast team and set ourselves up for a big finish.

Line up for this weekend:

• Derry Adler
• Harley Anderson (C)
• Josh Anderson (A)
• Jon Bale
• Anthony Barnes
• Marco Bertossa
• Jack Connor
• Ethan Cornford
• Luca D’Arsie (G)
• Darryl Dunsford
• Harry Mcelligott
• Nick Novysedlak (G)
• Patrick Popovics
• Jordan Ricketts
• Owen Sobchak
• Stefan Speck (A)
• Jakub Terc