In an exciting showcase of talent, the AFL-listed Dees demonstrated their expertise on the local stage as Casey secured a hard-fought victory over Port Melbourne in Round 3 of the Smithy's VFL season.
VFL Coach Taylor Whitford reflects on the team's performance. With a keen eye for talent and strategy, Whitford sheds light on the collective effort that propelled Casey to victory and outlines some positives and things to work on from Saturday.
Whitford reviewed each AFL-listed player featured on the day while giving a couple of VFL shout-outs.
Jed Adams (9 disposals, four marks)
"Jed had a mixed day where he had some good defensive moments and some he [wouldn't] like to have again. He is working hard to be as consistent as possible with his performance, especially around his defensive positioning."
Kynan Brown (3 goals, 16 disposals, eight tackles)
"Kynan is developing the foundations of his game along with his role understanding at present. He played between the midfield and up forward on the weekend, demonstrating his work rate, speed, and explosiveness around stoppage. Up forward, he applied great pressure and got rewarded with three nice finishes on goal off the back of this."
Tom Fullarton (2 goals, 21 disposals, seven hit outs, five marks)
"This was arguably Tom's best game for the club so far. He varied his time between key forward and ruck, collecting 21 possessions, 13 of these contested, and four clearances. Tom probably left a few opportunities out there on the weekend, finishing with two goals and four behinds."
Lachie Hunter (23 disposals, three marks, three clearances)
"Following a few months out of the game, it was a great return for Lachie. He was at his creative best around scrimmage, with his hands in tight and stoppage craft solid. Lachie played between the midfield and, at times, up forward; he built as the game went on and had an impactful last quarter."
Matthew Jefferson (4 disposals, two clearances)
"It probably wasn't MJ's strongest performance on the weekend, although as a key forward, you are dictated to by the ball movement up the field. On a small ground, he found it hard to get separation, but in saying this, he brought others into the game by bringing the ball to the ground. Ultimately, we'd love to see him work his opponent over more and bring his strength of launching at the ball to every contest."
Bailey Laurie (24 disposals, 20 tackles, 11 clearances)
"It was a great performance from Bailey on the weekend. Playing predominantly as a midfielder, he was super clean and strong around stoppage and scrimmages, winning a lot of his own ball whilst amassing an unbelievable 20 tackles."
Andy Moniz-Wakefield (18 disposals, seven marks, seven tackles)
"For the last few weeks, Andy has been playing a new role in defence. It wasn't his best game defensively on the weekend, but as we know, learning a new role can take some time to adjust. Offensively, Andy is quite damaging and threatening, and we love to see the ball in his hand."
Josh Schache (3 goals, 15 disposals, seven marks)
"Josh was arguably, along with Bailey, our best performer on the day. He was solid in the air and helped us move the ball on what was a skinny ground via some critical moments and some big contests. He finished with seven marks on the day and was critical in creating opportunities for us to score whilst executing in front of the goal and finishing with three goals himself."
Oliver Sestan (3 goals, 21 disposals, three tackles, five clearances)
"Oli's performance on the weekend was one of his best that we've seen at VFL level. His ability to win his own ball in contested situations and be calm when using the ball by hand or foot was a highlight. Oli finished with 21 possessions, five clearances and three goals and was moved through the midfield in the second half, which is great for his development."
Adam Tomlinson (16 disposals, five marks)
"Tommo is a brilliant influence on our young defenders. He's able to instruct others and set the ground up quickly. His ability to read the state of the game in the last quarter allowed him to be in good positions to win the ball back for us. This and his leadership went a long way toward our ability to execute and win the game from 14 points down at three-quarter time."
Daniel Turner (One goal, 15 disposals, nine marks, three tackles)
"It was great to have Daniel back out there on the weekend. Returning from a longer stint on the sidelines we were to ensure to manage his minutes, yet this didn't affect his output. With nine marks and seven possession gains, Disco slipped straight back into the form we saw throughout the early stages of preseason. We moved him forward in the third quarter to good effect, having four score involvements and kicking one goal himself."
Will Verrall (21 disposals, four marks, four tackles, 32 hitouts, six clearances)
"Will's last month of football has been pleasingly consistent. His ability as a young ruck to give our midfielders first use but then follow up and impact in the next phase of play was significant. From his 21 disposals, Will had nine score involvements and six clearances. He showed his developing aerial game by getting behind the ball and taking several intercept marks."
Kyah Farris-White (1 behind, one disposal, one mark)
"Off the back of a great preseason period, Kyah has been able to play bigger minutes in the VFL so far this season. As a young ruck and tall forward, seeing him have impactful moments in games has been great. Kyah's impact on the weekend was limited although he was able to run good patterns and have a shot on goal as a forward. We look forward to seeing him spend more time in the ruck in future games to develop his ruck craft further."
Some VFL Players to watch:
Paddy Cross (19 disposals, eight marks, two tackles)
"Paddy started as a forward but moved to a wing as the game went on. On a ground not suited for wingers, he played a hard-running, contested style of game. Finishing with 19 disposals and eight marks. Off a season last year riddled with injury, it's great to see him back out there having a big impact on games for us."
Tom Freeman (7 disposals, two marks, three tackles)
"Tom was huge for us in the second half. Billy Gowers, an experienced forward for Port Melbourne, had kicked five goals to halftime. Tom slid across to Gowers in the second half, really taking him out of the match. This went a long way in us getting the result, so full credit to Tom for getting the job done."
Casey has a bye this weekend for Round 4 of the Smithy's VFL but will return the following week, in Round 5, for Wednesday's ANZAC Eve clash against Richmond at the Swinburne Centre.
