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

VFL
Sunday, August 15, Casey Fields, 2pm
Casey Scorpions 12.7 (79) d Williamstown 14.12 (96)

“WE had a really bad performance the week before against Box Hill and we wanted to come out and start well against Williamstown. We wanted to show the intensity that we’ve showed in a lot of our games this year. We certainly did that in the first quarter, but we struggled to maintain that intensity and we ended up being rolled by 18 points. The players competed at a level we needed them to be at, but structurally, we fell down in a few areas and Williamstown was a lot cleaner from stoppages. Through the middle part of the game, Williamstown scored some easy goals from our fundamental mistakes. We felt the result could’ve been a lot different had we been cleaner in a few areas. It was a respectable loss, but we’re not where we need to be at, going into the backend of the year. It was disappointing, but a lot better effort and a better response from Box Hill the week before.” – Justin Plapp

Jack Fitzpatrick: We threw him around this week and started him up forward. He kicked three first quarter goals and he kicked another goal in the second quarter and then went off before half-time, with slight concussion, which was really disappointing. He certainly gave us some excitement and intensity in the forward line. He took some really good contested marks and kicked some goals off the ground, from opportunistic moments. He was fantastic until he went off the ground, which was disappointing. He had six touches, kicked four goals and had one tackle from a quarter and a half, which was pretty special.

Jayden Hunt: Jayden had three effective tackles, seven possessions and kicked a goal. Hunty’s learning and developing, but we’re challenging him to be involved in the game for longer. The stuff that he does is exciting and he certainly shows some really good attributes in his game, but his ability to stay in the game was a challenge on the weekend. Moving forward, that’s one of the key things for his development, so we can get more out of him.

Mark Jamar: Russian had seven possessions, four tackles and 41 hit outs. He went into the game with a bit of illness during the week, which a lot of our players had. He was definitely dominant in the ruck again, which we expect him to be, but he just struggled to get around the ground, due to his illness. He took a really good contested mark when he pushed forward and he kicked a goal from that. From his ruck work, we were definitely happy with that part of his game, but we just needed a bit more out of him, when the ball was in motion from a defensive and offensive point of view on the weekend.

Jay Kennedy-Harris: Jay had six tackles and 17 possessions. The thing about Jay is that he had two possessions in the first half, where we played him in that half-forward role. He really struggled to get into the game and he’s finding that half-forward role difficult at times. We threw him in the middle of the ground after half-time and he had 15 possessions in the second half. He gave us some intensity around the footy and some agility and spark. He certainly looked really comfortable in there and for him it’s about getting consistency in his game as well. It’s been very similar over the last three or four weeks. He’s played one or two quarters of good footy, but then has gone missing. But on the weekend, his ability to get involved, when we put him in a different position, was pleasing.

Oscar McDonald: Oscar came off a two-week layoff and had 15 possessions and two effective tackles. Defensively, Oscar continues to get better in that area. On the weekend, he gave up a couple of opportunities and wasted some ball, when he had it ball in hand. He put the ball into positions, where we didn’t want him to put them. From a defensive point of view, we were happy with him, but offensively, he just needs to clean up a bit of his game. But we were certainly happy with some of his defensive stuff.

Jordie McKenzie: Jordie had 25 possessions and seven tackles. As he does every week, he gives us some hardness around the footy and he gives four quarters of really, really strong effort. That part of Jordie’s game is a real bonus for us. He played around the footy and wing, but we need to continue to challenge Jordie with his offensive game. He needs to be a bit cleaner when he’s got the ball in his hand. He missed a couple of opportunities, when he had the ball, to use it to our advantage. But he won some 50/50 balls in the middle of the ground and his strong tackling was a highlight for him on the weekend.

Ben Newton: Ben had 24 possessions and three tackles. He provided us with some mid-forward connection. He won plenty of the ball and gave us some offensive stuff. With Newts at the moment, we’re just trying to get the balance right. Defensively, we’re really challenging him to work harder on his game. But we’re slowly getting there with him and his last two or three weeks have been better.

Jake Spencer: Jake had 15 possessions, three tackles and 31 hit outs as well. He shared the ruck duties with Russian. They’ve worked in tandem the last six weeks. Spencer took several contested marks in our defensive 50, when he got in behind the ball and helped out our defenders, which was pleasing. We’re looking for more of an output from him, when he goes forward, but Spence is going OK and we’d expect more from him in the coming weeks.

Billy Stretch: Billy had 19 possessions and two tackles. He started as a small defender on one of their small forwards on the weekend. Billy did a fantastic job on him. He limited one of the opposition’s most dangerous small forwards and played a strong defensive role. We put him in the midfield during the third quarter and he gave us a bit of speed and intensity around the footy. He certainly provided what we needed during the game. Billy played a couple of different roles to what he has been at senior level, so it was good education for him. He was nearly our best player on the weekend I felt.

Dean Terlich: Dean had 18 possessions and four tackles. He played as a small defender. Offensively, he was really strong again and defensively, he was good for most of the game. He had a couple of goals kicked on him, when he didn’t impact the ball in the air and Dean let his man get in behind him. For three quarters of the game, we were really happy with Dean’s performance – defensively and offensively. There were just a couple of lapses in concentration that hurt him. He was one of our better performers.

Jimmy Toumpas: Jimmy had 16 possessions and three effective tackles. He had a really strong first half, where he had 16 possessions, played in the midfield and gave us plenty of drive. His work around the ball was strong and he also copped a head knock after half-time. He didn’t take any further part in the game, so we had two less players after half-time, which was always going to be challenging for our group. But up until half-time, Jimmy showed some good signs.

Mitch White: Mitch had 18 possessions and two effective tackles. We felt that Whitey was our best defender, outside of Billy Stretch. Whitey played in the back six for the whole game. He was really combative in the air and marked opposition kicks two or three times, when he read the ball well. His kicking let him down two or three times and it cost us a couple of times. But from a defensive point of view and play his role, we thought him and Billy were our best two players on the day.

AFL Victoria Development League
Sunday, August 15, Casey Fields, 11am
Casey Scorpions 14.13 (97) d Williamstown 5.9 (39)

No Melbourne-listed players featured in the Development League