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GROVEDALE coach Grant Tanner believes there’s more to come from Adam Donohue after the forward kicked six goals against Newtown & Chilwell in a 13.8 (86) to 12.5 (77) win on Saturday.
The Tigers surrendered a lead held from the opening quarter before the former Geelong rookie capped off a heroic play set up by Heath Brown, only to then kick another goal from 50m in the final seconds.
“He has had a little bit of a back alignment, he did a great pre-season but this then occurred in the later stages so it took him a while to settle it down,” Tanner said post-match.
“Even today he was nowhere near his best but hopefully he’ll come through that one and there’ll be a lot of upside for him in the next few weeks.”
The Eagles were the first to hit the scoreboard thanks to the courageous gathering skills of recruit Tyler George, but the Tigers then took control until the final term.
Though former Tiger Renn Bogan was sent off after a collision with Bradley Surkitt, veterans Luke Forbes and Nathan Braddock showed accuracy late, as did Jay Bett who handed his undermanned side a one-point lead in the dying stages.
Eagles’ midfielders Matt McMahon and Dan Feery would again standout in their side’s best while Jarrod McCorkell was able to convert a crucial captain’s goal under pressure.
“Towards the end of the game their midfield exposed us a bit in the back end because we did work so hard early, we could have been further in front at half-time, but to their credit they were really good,” Tanner said.
“They were a man down in that last quarter and that seemed to inspire them in the end so I thought it was a great effort by Newtown”.
Nevertheless, Tanner was still able to praise his own midfielders as well as his ruckman who dulled his former teammate for a majority of the match.
“Ryan McKenzie and Bradley Surkitt have really impressed us around the middle. Obviously Jarrod Young and Nathan Deans were superb as well, but those two in particular have really upped the ante since they joined the side,” Tanner said.
“Ryan Abbot was just a workhorse, didn’t get much of a rest, and in the next few games we may need to give him a chop out and bring someone else to help him but he’s really an asset for any club.
“We didn’t mention Renn (Bogan) at all during the week. He’s a good lad and always welcome at this club but he went there for work options — we’re all fine and happy for him.”
Tanner also hinted Tasmanian recruit Alex Payne, Jacob Dale, Joey Fama and Tom Hunt may also be in the mix for this week’s match at St Joseph’s after the Tigers climbed to the top of the table in the reserves thanks to a 16-point win.
