FORWARD line development coach Paul Satterley reviews the Melbourne listed players who played in Casey’s 60-point loss against Box Hill at Casey Fields on Saturday

VFL

Box Hill 19.12 (126) d Casey Scorpions 9.12 (66)

Dom Barry - Dom returned to the senior side after a week in the Development team.  He played on the wing and won 15 disposals and kicked a goal. He did provide some run, and will take some key learnings from the game to improve his defensive efforts. Overall, it was a reasonable performance and showed enough to demonstrate that he is improving.

Sam Blease - Sam made some significant inroads on his defensive output this week, registering an improved tackle, smother and chase count - this is what we want to continually get from him. Offensively, Sam had 20 disposals and six inside 50s, making him an overall solid contributor.

Tom Couch - Tom led the team with 29 disposals, six tackles and seven hard ball gets and also kicked a goal - he worked hard to fill the void left by Jimmy Magner. Tom is working on improving his speed and spread from a contest, as well as his disposal efficiency.

Jack Fitzpatrick - Jack's recent form had been very good leading into this game, and for periods against Box Hill he appeared likely to get Casey back into the game.  Unfortunately his finish for goal (1.4) let him down. Jack continues to focus on improving the defensive side of his game, which is ultimately what will put him into AFL consideration.

Tom Gillies - Tom had a reasonable game - he was involved in some of the team’s more positive ball movement.  Defensively, he had his hands full with the amount of inside 50s Box Hill had. This was Tom's first full game for some time given that he played limited game time two weeks ago against Port Melbourne. We will be looking for a sharp improvement from Tom to return to the form that saw him play two AFL games early in the season.

Jesse Hogan - Jesse returned to footy after a three week break since his previous game, and his performance reflected this, as he was not as clean with his hands as he has been in his previous games this year. He finished with 10 disposals, five marks and a goal.  On a positive note, he was not outmarked, and improved his defensive effort count.

Joel MacDonald - Joel played with some real speed and spark.  He was sound defensively, and took the game on when he had the ball. His 18 possessions were a positive, as he showed composure when needed and played on when the opportunity presented. Overall, it was a good return to footy for him after a few weeks’ break.

Cameron Pedersen - Cam played in defence for 95% of the game and was extremely effective.  He had 27 disposals and 11 marks, including six intercept marks, and led the team with six aggressive spoils. This is exactly what we require from him in terms of his combative approach, and he will gain significant confidence from this performance.

David Rodan - When David has the ball, he inevitably creates something positive for the team.  His 16 disposals were hard earned, and we have come to expect him to dominate at this level as he has done in his previous VFL games. Overall, he was a solid contributor – however, he was part of a midfield group soundly beaten on the day.

Jake Spencer - Jake had 36 hitouts and 13 disposals, and he provided the defensive highlight of the day with a 40 m sprint to chase down one of Box Hill's smalls running towards goal. Jake has shown improvement in his aerial contests, and is working to get more involvements around the ground.

Rory Taggert - Rory had limited impact on the game, as his defensive efforts were not at the level we require. While he had 13 touches, we do expect more from him as he has the fitness and body strength to compete hard at this level when he sets his mind to it.

AFL Victoria Development League

Box Hill 12.12 (84) d Casey Scorpions 8.8 (56)

Josh Tynan - Josh played mostly on the wing and did use the ball better by hand and foot when he played on instinct. We do expect him to have a greater impact at this level to push for senior VFL selection.

Maia Westrupp - Maia played his first VFL game as our International Rookie.  He is learning the game, and this will be best achieved by him simply playing and getting used to the rules and work rate required to compete. He is doing a significant amount of extra skills work during the week, and working with Leigh Brown and I to improve his basic skill level. He is a quick learner, and has settled in well since moving from New Zealand.