And there were some parallels for Northern Territory when it took on Tasmania on the opening day of the NAB AFL Under 18 Championships at Visy Park two Saturdays ago, as coach Brett Hand explained.
"We'd only been together as a team for two weeks [before our first match]," he told afl.com.au.
"We had 10 guys come in outside of the Northern Territory for this trip. We got together on the Thursday and we had four guys who trained with us for the first time on Thursday – we simply don't get to train together as a team.
"There were two guys I hadn't seen play a live game of footy – Nathan Ah Mat-Watkins and Jerry Wilson. I'd seen a couple of videos of them, but they're both schooled in South Australia. So we've got together on relationship building and believing in each other.
"[As a coach] it's difficult, but they know me and we're fairly clear on what we want with the kids, which is good. It's a clear structure and message."
The unorthodox construction of the team is due to the disparate locations of its players.
Patrick Heenan and Steven May (Melbourne Grammar), Anthony Long (Melbourne University) and Pierce Liddle (Casey Scorpions) live in Melbourne. Kieren Smith and Jerry Wilson (Rostrevor College), Nathan Ah Mat-Hawkins (Sacred Heart College) and Roland Ah Chee (Norwood) are based in South Australia.
And among the NT-based players, Alice Springs duo Tim Kelly and Troy Taylor only trained with the Thunder for the first time three days before its opening match.
Add to that the loss of its half-back line through injury – Long, Michael Gugliotta and Deon Gordon – and it easy to see why Hand didn't know what to expect before the nine-point win over the Apple Isle.
Having trailed at each change, the Thunder staged an outstanding final quarter, booting six goals to three to record a memorable win.
"Our forward line pressure was fantastic in the last quarter. We worked our arses off to get it forward and we also improved our delivery. Our work-rate didn't drop off and we upped the tempo," Hand said.
"We had first use of the footy and we got our running backline working well. When we're undersized we have to play to our strengths and we did [in that match].
"We'd worked pretty hard getting our information and structures out to our boys, so it (the win) was a big relief. They just persisted."
Now, with one win under its belt, Northern Territory will host Western Australia at TIO Stadium in Darwin on Friday June 5.
Brett Hand on some of the Northern Territory players to watch out for:
Roland Ah Chee – He's taken it to another level. I've been really happy with him and I know Norwood is pleased with him as well. He showed leadership [in our first match].
Scott Taylor – His work-rate and toughness around the packs is exceptional.
Mitchell Taylor – He was very good at centre half-back [in our first match]. He spoilt the ball, ran forward and gave us a few options. He's a bit of a different cat – a different character.
Steven May – He's strong and smart and marks the ball well.
Paul Cox and Jerry Wilson – [The opening match] was the first time they've played, so let's give them a chance. But I reckon there is something good to see about those boys in the next few weeks.
