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

VFL

Sunday, July 12, Casey Fields, 2 pm

Casey Scorpions 10.9 (69) d Port Melbourne 2.8 (20)

“IT WAS a fantastic result for our club. It’s been six or seven years since we’ve beaten Port Melbourne in both our senior team and development team on the same day and at home. For a club that has a lot of respect in the VFL as a standalone club – and is a powerhouse – our result against Port Melbourne was one of our best performances of the year, considering the conditions as well. I spoke to the players about the challenges of playing in tough conditions, but all of our players committed themselves to the contest and showed strong resilience for four quarters. They defended and played the brand of football we wanted in those conditions, so it was why I felt it was our best performance of the year. To beat a contested team like Port Melbourne, with some bigger bodies around the footy, made the win a little bit more special. It was a terrific effort in disgraceful, shocking conditions, but we move on from that now and look at the Northern Blues.” – Justin Plapp

Rohan Bail: Rohan played high half-forward and he tackled really well. He had eight tackles and had 12 disposals. His work around the contest and his tackling was an area of the game that it really demanded – he was really good at that, so he ticked all the boxes.

Jack Fitzpatrick: Jack put in another really solid performance and was a really solid contributor in defence. He played his role exactly how we wanted him to and he played on Jordan Lisle, who is probably the premier forward in the competition and right up there on the VFL goalkicking table. Jack had one contest where he was beaten outright, but for the rest of the game, he dominated Lisle. He played a really solid game.

Jack Grimes: It was Grimesy’s first game back after being injured for three weeks with his thumb. He was another really solid contributor, having 12 tackles and 14 possessions for the game. We played Grimesy on Nathan Batsanis, who is a premier midfielder in the competition. Grimesy tagged him for the whole game and kept him to 12 possessions, so he showed really strong resilience and resolve on a dangerous player. It went a long way to us winning the game. So it was a really solid game from Jack.

Jayden Hunt: Hunty has been a great story in the past two weeks. He came into the team last week against Geelong and kicked three goals, as a high half forward. On the weekend, he kicked another two goals and tackled really, really well. He showed really strong commitment at the football and with his tackling, plus he looked really dangerous with his leg speed. Hunty’s building really nicely at the moment and his past two games have been really solid.

Mark Jamar: I reckon outside of Viv Michie and Aidan Riley, he was probably our most influential player and had the most impact on the game. He had 24 possessions and five effective tackles and dominated the ruck work, along with Jake Spencer – they worked tirelessly together. Russian has shown he’s a quality person and has led the way with our younger players. He’s had four or five really strong performances in a row and he’s just waiting for his opportunity back at AFL level when that pops us. But we can’t fault big Russian at the moment.

Matt Jones: Jonesy had 13 possessions and kicked a goal. He also had seven effective tackles. For the opportunities he had, he got real yardage on his possessions and kicked a really classy goal from a forward 50 stoppage. He played his role.

Oscar McDonald: He continues to develop strongly. As a taller player, the conditions were challenging on the weekend, but we felt that Oscar played his role really well. Most of his one-on-one situations were good. He kept his feet and got some quick kicks in. He also got some good yardage from his position, so it was a good learning experience for Oscar. His past two weeks have been very promising as well.

Jordie McKenzie: The day was built for Jordie. He had 10 effective tackles and had 12 disposals. His work in-and-around the football was fantastic. Jordie plays that wing/half-back role and he was a barometer in-and-around the footy. So it was a good game from Jordie.

Viv Michie: Viv was probably our best midfielder for the day, along with Aidan Riley. He had 31 possessions and two effective tackles, but his awareness to compete and win critical contests and get yardage with the football in the conditions was exactly what we wanted. We felt he was probably our best player and adapted to the conditions – and he was built for that type of football on the weekend.

Ben Newton: Newts played an outside role – wing/half-forward. He had 15 possessions and he had 10 effective tackles, so when he got his opportunity to tackle the opposition, he was really strong. He’s put two really solid weeks in as well, after coming back from injury, so he played his role.

Aidan Riley: Aidan was a star on the weekend, when it came to contested footy. He was matched up on one of Port Melbourne’s dangerous, contested players, Toby Pinwell. Aidan dominated the inside ball and he was another one of those players where the day was built for him. He didn’t let us down.

Jake Spencer: Spence played forward/ruck and had 10 tackles. For a big player, his work around the ground and in-and-around the contest, plus his repeat work was really strong. He didn’t get a lot of the football, but it wasn’t a day where he was expected to get a lot of possessions. He played his role and played at the level we needed him to.

Dean Terlich: Dean had a really solid game on the weekend and defended strongly. The one thing he provided – because he is so strong in the body and legs – is that he was able to keep his feet and get the ball out of the defensive end. He got some real yardage on the ball and we felt he was a really good contributor. It was probably one of his better games for the past three or four weeks.

Jimmy Toumpas: Toump played wing/half-forward. When the opportunity presented, he was clean, tackled really well – he had eight effective tackles – and had 12 possessions for the game. He was a role player on the day and did what was needed.

Mitch White: It was Mitch’s first game back after missing a match through injury, so we were really pleased for him, because some of his defensive work to halve contests was a real highlight. Some of his spoiling and press-up work was as good as what I’ve seen and the conditions allowed that. He really stuck to his role and defended well. He ended up having four effective tackles and 10 disposals, but it was his defensive stuff that halved those critical contests for us, and we were able to keep moving the ball forward. Whitey played his role and we were really pleased with his performance.

AFL Victoria Development League

Sunday, July 12, Casey Fields, 11am

Casey Scorpions 14.5 (89) d Port Melbourne 4.9 (33)

No Melbourne-listed players featured in the Development League