GBR Middle School Match Recap

Granite Bay kicked off a day of great rugby against Gridley this weekend. We came out swinging and notched early tries. Credit to J.T. M., Talan F., and Bradley K. for finishing strong team driven scores. We played a thin but tough Gridley side this weekend, who battled us every step of the way. They showed us that we need to continue to work on our team play, settle for less in exchange for maintaining possession, and support each other on our longer individual runs. There’s always more work to be done, but the boys always take it in stride and work on things as they come up. Really impressed with how our boys have battled this year, handling new positions and assignments weekly.

Focus Points this week

1. Continue to build on team play aspects. Work on off-loads and setting up teammates for great support runs.
2. Fitness – continue to work on working for a full 60 minutes. No breaks or plays off.
3. Team defense – Partly due to fitness, we need to make sure everyone is involved. Too many times we saw the same people making plays while others stood by.

Player Spotlight

Back of the week – Talan F. won the back of the week this week. He knows precisely when to insert himself into the offensive scheme to make an impact, was able to step up at fly half and control the pace of play, and defensively is always good for 2-3 momentum changing tackles.

Forward of the week – J.T.M. won forward of the week this week. He continues to show that you don’t need the ball to make an impact in the game. Scrappy plays on defense, great support runs, and overall impressive rucking led him to be chosen this week.