CASEY coach Justin Plapp reviews the Melbourne-listed players who played in the VFL

2016 Peter Jackson VFL
Sunday, July 17, 11.40am, Victoria University Whitten Oval
Footscray Bulldogs 12.12 (84) d Casey Scorpions 13.5 (83)

From the coach …
“The game was dictated by conditions and there was a six-goal breeze to one end and we started with the breeze and we were able to put a score on the board, but at the end of the day, we let them score two goals in the first quarter, which ultimately had a fairly big impact on the result of the game. They were the only two goals kicked up the top end. Defensively, we weren’t great early. In the second quarter, we certainly weren’t playing the brand of football that we were expecting from our players. We had to make some adjustments at half-time and to the boys’ credit they came out and had a super third quarter. We kicked eight straight goals and we went into the final quarter having to defend a five or six goal breeze. We defended very astutely and we did everything right up until the 18 or 19-minute mark of the last quarter. Just some basic fundamentals and some small brain fades from some of our players cost us. The momentum then changed really quickly and we ended up spending the last five or six minutes just trying to defend. We lost all focus about trying to continue to score and the last three minutes of the game, we kicked the ball out of bounds three times in a row and there were some stoppage structures where we didn’t get players playing their role. The pressure probably got to us, and we spoke about it after the game – we got what we deserved. It’s happened in our past two matches, where we’ve played half a game at a high intensity and the brand we want to play. The other half has been pretty mediocre, so we’ve got to address that and we’ve got another opportunity this week against the Zebras, which is going to be a tight contest. Every game is really important for us at the moment. ” – Justin Plapp 

Tomas Bugg: Tom had 16 disposals, with 10 of those contested and he had 12 effective tackles. He also had four clearances. Buggy was left out of the senior team and came back to the VFL with a really strong attitude to really work on the areas of his game, which would enable him to get another senior opportunity. I thought that his contest and ability to put pressure on the opposition was pretty good. His work around the ball was the highlight of his game, but from a senior point of view, and an AFL player coming back, he certainly had a strong attitude about what he needed to do, despite not having big numbers. He gives himself an opportunity to get selected at AFL level.

Lynden Dunn: Dunny had 26 possessions, six marks, three tackles and 11 rebounds. He was pretty solid throughout the course of the day. For a lot of the time, our defenders had to defend for their lives. The way the conditions were, we were unable to get the job done around the ball. The defenders found themselves in pressure situations. His positioning across the game was strong. There are things he needs to address to get back into the AFL team, but he’s working hard to address them. He’s got some strong qualities and he’s played a lot of AFL footy, so we’ve got high expectations on Dunny. We’re working hard to get him going again.

Colin Garland: Col had 26 possessions, seven marks, six tackles and five rebounds. He’s in a similar situation to Dunny, where he’s trying to find some consistency and some form to get him back playing senior footy. Col’s had some inconsistency in contests and the areas that we need him to improve on, but he’s certainly a quality player that reads the game well. He sets up a lot of things from half-back and with our ball movement chains. The big challenge for Colin is to be consistent across the board. We know what he’s capable of and like Dunny we have high expectations on him as well.

Liam Hulett: Liam had 12 possessions, three marks, two tackles and kicked a goal. It was a tough day to be a forward in those conditions, but Liam presented really strongly at the ball. His field kicking was the highlight of his game. We’re trying to work really hard with Liam to make his game a little bit more rounded, and particularly from a contest and defensive point of view. He plays with a lot of intensity, but he’s tracking in the right direction.

Viv Michie: He had 23 possessions, including 13 contested, plus three tackles and five clearances. Viv also kicked a goal as well. We’re playing him between half-back and midfield at the moment. He’s a very clever and creative player in the VFL. He started at half-back and then put him around the ball around half-time. Viv had a huge third quarter and he ended up having 10 possessions in the third term. He played a really big part in getting us back into the game, with his smart ball use and decisions to free people into space. I thought his third quarter was a highlight, but he’s another player that needs to keep developing other parts of his game to have other opportunities at AFL level. He seems to be taking them on board really well at the moment. 

Alex Neal-Bullen: Alex had 37 possessions, which included 18 contested. He had five tackles, seven clearances and kicked a goal. It was a big game by Alex – I thought he was our best player by a mile. His consistency across four quarters, to compete and win critical contests, and use his hands to help create inside and outside chains, was fantastic. He’s worked really hard on his game and we’ve tried to develop other parts of his game, like playing high half-forward. That was one of his better games for the year. He certainly flew the flag for us when we needed it and he really cracked in. I thought his performance was really good.

Ben Newton: He had 20 possessions, five marks, seven tackles and kicked two first half goals. I thought Benny was pretty instrumental in the first half, when he had 15 disposals. He was a real catalyst in linking up as a mid-forward. Benny used the ball really well and was able to create and set-up some opportunities for other players through his defensive acts. But when the whips were cracking, he was certainly a player who stood up.

Clayton Oliver: Clayton had 24 disposals, which included 17 uncontested, and two tackles. He gave us a lot of energy around the ball and his ability to win the ball in tight situations was a strength of his game. He’s a first-year player who is continually trying to improve his game and craft. For Clayton, the stuff he does around the football is very good, but we’re trying to round his game off. His defensive aspects of his game and his ability to get away from stoppage and link up in uncontested chains are areas of his game he’s working on. Without starring he was solid, but he’s really clear on what he needs to improve and he’s working on those.

Cameron Pedersen: Cam had 12 possessions, four marks, five tackles and 17 hit outs. He played as a back-up to Jake Spencer. I thought his effort in the ruck was huge. Cam was able to compete and play against a seasoned ruckman in Will Minson. He certainly competed and was able to give us a real contest when he was in the ruck. Cam spent a bit of time on the ball, when Footscray was kicking into the wind and he played that role well. He’s missed a bit of footy through injury, so he’s not at his best at the moment, but we’re looking for him to continue to improve over the next few weeks.

Jake Spencer: He had 20 possessions, seven tackles and 44 hit outs. Jake had a pretty good influence on the game. There were times when he was inconsistent with some contests, but to his credit, he came out after half-time and had a massive third quarter. He certainly had a major impact on us getting back into the game. He took some really strong contested marks and was able to nullify Minson. Jake’s had a really strong month and he’s built consistency in his game and responded to some challenges. He’s another one who is continually pushing hard to play senior footy.

Dean Terlich: Dean had five possessions, five tackles and kicked a goal. It wasn’t a big day numbers wise for Dean, but his ability to play as a small forward and put the opposition under pressure, plus trying to lock the ball inside forward 50, was really good. I don’t think the numbers were a reflection of Dean’s game, but his efforts when the opposition had the footy was very good. He’s working really hard on his game and is still looking to get his opportunity at senior level. We’ll continue to try and help him do that. 

Jack Trengove: Jack had 22 possessions, eight tackles and two clearances. He’s had a funny few weeks, where he played half a game against Richmond at Punt Rd Oval in the VFL, having been at the MCG earlier in the day as an AFL carryover player. He managed to play well in that half and perform a really solid role for us, but over the course of the weekend, I don’t think it was his best game for the year. He’s come off a long term injury and has worked incredibly hard to come back, but he was a bit flat on the weekend, even though his stuff around the ball gave us a hard edge. He didn’t quite have the impact that he’s had in the VFL this year. It’s been a pretty big year for him, so I’m sure he’s going to bounce back and will get back into the senior team.

Sam Weideman: He had 13 possessions, four marks and three tackles. It wasn’t a big day for Sam. With the conditions, it could make it hard at times for the forwards with their leading patterns. Sam is working really hard on his defensive game and he was able to compete really strongly. He also brought the ball to ground or marked really strongly. That part of the game was solid, but we need to keep working with him when the opposition hasn’t got the ball. He’s working really hard on that and showing improvement, which is really good.

AFL Victoria Development League
Friday, July 15, 8pm, Casey Fields
Casey Scorpions 16.14 (110) d Werribee 6.4 (40)

Joel Smith: It was Joel’s first game back after seven weeks off with some groin issues. Being a younger player and a first-year player, the club has been managing him. He played 60 per cent game time at Development League level and he had 16 possessions, four marks and three tackles. He also kicked a goal. His return to football was really promising and he played with a lot of energy and speed. We were really delighted with his return and he’s put his name back into contention to play in the VFL this weekend. It was a really solid return.