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

2016 Peter Jackson VFL
Sunday, July 3, 2:10pm, Punt Rd Oval
Casey Scorpions 11.12 (78) d Richmond 11.10 (76)

From the coach …
“We went into the game with a really healthy and strong team. We got off to a fantastic start and then for whatever reason we dropped our intensity and work rate and we allowed Richmond to get back into the game. From half-way through the first quarter, after getting off to a good lead, the game was never any more than three goals difference for the rest of the game. We certainly didn’t play to our ability and we played well below at times. But we showed some real patches of brilliance as well. Towards the end of the game, when the game was on the line, we were able to show some really strong resilience and we were able to win the ball in some pretty tight situations and we were able to just get across the line. From a performance point of view, it wasn’t our best, but you’ve certainly got to bank those wins, address it and move on pretty quickly. It puts us in a pretty good position now and we’ve got some things we need to address.” – Justin Plapp

Angus Brayshaw: Angus had 20 possessions and 10 of those were contested. He has six tackles and three clearances. Angus continues to build after having a good break, due to his injury. It was certainly an improvement from his North Ballarat game and he seems to be covering the ground better with more speed. His ability to cover the ground defensively and his transitional running was clearly a lot better again through his increased game time. Angus was one of a talented group of midfielders we went into the game with and he was pretty instrumental in the first half, winning a lot of hard-ball gets. He also used his hands and generated contested ball into our uncontested chains. We were really pleased with Gus’ improvement over the past two weeks and the challenge for him now is to improve again.

Lynden Dunn: Lynden had 20 possessions, six tackles and six rebound 50s. It was his first game back after three weeks off with a hamstring injury. He certainly played fresh, although he needed the run. Without being outstanding, Lynden played the role we needed him to. We’re challenging him in some areas of his game that he clearly needs to improve on to get back into the AFL side. His leadership and ability to play on the bigger forwards is an asset for us in the VFL. I think Dunny would’ve been the first one to acknowledge that he needed the run. We’re hoping to see a bit more improvement and game time in the coming weeks.

Colin Garland: He has 16 possessions, five tackles and five rebound 50s. Colin’s been back at VFL level for three matches now. He’s playing at a level that we know he is capable of doing, but we also know he can give so much more. For Colin, that’s about using his footy ability and backing himself more when the ball is in the air, because he’s such a good reader of the ball. We’ve seen patches of that over the past few weeks, but not at a consistent level. His aerial work and composure, when he has the ball, are strengths, but the challenge for him is to be consistent over the four quarters, instead of coming in and out of the game. He also needs to show more energy in that part of his game. Col’s on the right track, but we just need a four quarter effort out of him moving forward.

Jack Grimes: Jack has 28 possessions, 10 marks, five tackles and four clearances. He continues to impress in the VFL and maintains a good level of consistency, which hopefully, if a position opens up in the AFL, it gives him an opportunity to take one of those positions. His ability to compete and defend in the manner than we want him to defend is really good, and he sets a really good standard in that part of the ground. We really value his leadership as well. Fingers crossed for Grimesy and he gets an opportunity soon, because he’s doing everything to get that opportunity.

Liam Hulett: He had 12 possessions, six marks and kicked 2.2. Liam continues to grow from strength to strength. His game is becoming a lot more rounded, where his ability as a key forward is to get up the ground and lead strongly at the ball, like he did on the weekend. He was also able to get back inside 50 and kick a goal – his effort from a crumbing pack goal was a highlight. He’s becoming more rounded about understanding when we haven’t got the ball and his positioning is improving. His pressure is improving and he’s getting some really good rewards. His past five or six weeks have been pretty solid and he’s improving week by week.

Heritier Lumumba: He has 11 possessions, five tackles and three inside 50s. It’s been publicised that he’s had another knock, which is unfortunate for him. He was on limited game time and we nearly got to the stage where he almost completed it. Heritier played with some energy, but he also played as if it looked like he missed a fair bit of football. He would’ve been the first to acknowledge that, as he made some costly turnovers. But I hope he’s OK and his welfare is our main priority, but we’ll play that out as we go along. Up until the point where he received the knock, he played with energy.

Max King: He had three possessions, three tackles and six hit outs. Max didn’t have one of his better performances. He’s going to have some inconsistencies with his performance, but we’re trying to keep it really simple with him. For Max, it’s about consistency of effort to be able to compete and get the ball to the ground. He’s got good agility and speed for a ruckman/forward, but he’d be the first to acknowledge that his performance wasn’t as good as he’d like. But we’re working hard with him on making the gap decrease a little bit. We’re continuing to develop him – and it’s not just about possessions and goals. It’s about consistency of effort and competing at the level we need him to. I’m sure he’ll continue to keep working hard.

Viv Michie: Viv had 31 disposals, five clearances and nine inside 50s. He was pretty instrumental through the middle of the game. Viv gave us a lot of quality ball use through the middle and some mid/forward 50 link. He started at half-back and then we put him through the middle of the ground through the middle part of the game. He was a pretty important player for us at that stage of the game. We felt his performance was one of our better ones on the day. He’s been in pretty good touch in the VFL.

Alex Neal-Bullen: Alex had 27 possessions and 14 of those were contested. He also had five tackles and six clearances. It was another solid game from Alex – his consistency has been really sound. His ability to play his role has been really consistent. Nibbler’s working really hard and we’re trying to develop him in other parts of the ground that will enable him to play at the next level. He’s taking those opportunities with open arms, which you’d expect. Alex’s work around the ball – his contested work and ability to bring people into the game – has been a highlight. 

Ben Newton: Ben had 16 possessions, including nine contested. He also had five tackles and three inside 50s. Benny played a number of different roles on the weekend – he played wing, as an inside mid and then at half-back. He was thrown around a little bit, but the one thing that he was able to do was generate the contested ball. When he does have the ball in his hand, he generally makes something happen. On the weekend, he played a part in four or five goals, through his ability to link up through the middle of the ground. He was also able to generate some run-and-carry through the ground. Without having high possessions, he had an influence when he had ball in hand, which was quite strong.

Clayton Oliver: Clayton had 26 possessions, including 16 contested possessions. He also had 11 tackles and seven clearances and was a prolific ball-winner on the day, after coming back from senior level. He played with good intensity and speed, which is what we want from Clayton. The challenge for him is to round his game off and see more improvement through the defensive part of his game. That’s just education and more time playing the game style we need him to play. He’s pretty clear on what he needs to be working on, but he certainly gave us some energy around the ball with his clearance power, and his ability to win the ball in tight situations.

Jake Spencer: Jake had 10 possessions, five tackles and 42 hit outs. He showed some real dominance through the middle of the ground on the weekend. Jake was able to provide our midfielders with some really good use of the ball. His craft looked really sound and his follow-up work was really good. Jake continues to show a really good level of consistency at VFL level. He played against a younger opponent and we expected a little bit more dominance over him. Jake let a couple of opportunities go and cost himself some chances. But overall, he’s in very good touch.

Dean Terlich: Dean had 12 possessions, three tackles and five inside 50s. For the past four or five weeks, he’s played mainly as a small forward. He’s generated goals off his pressure, but the challenge with Dean is that because he does have good speed and power – we need him to be doing that more consistently. We need him to be more consistent in games, rather than flashing in and out, but the stuff that he’s been doing has been at a pretty good level. The challenge for Dean is to try and put that all together and make it over four quarters, rather than patches. But he’s taking the new role head-on and he’s really embracing it. We’re looking forward to him trying to generate an opportunity to be rewarded at AFL level.

Jack Trengove: It was interesting for Jack, because he was the carryover player for the AFL. He then came across from the MCG and played the second half of the VFL match at Punt Rd Oval. His numbers were quite impressive for a half. He had 15 possessions, including 10 contested, six tackles and four clearances. For Jack to be able to transition from warming up with the AFL team to playing his role in the VFL team – and having the numbers he did in the second half – was a credit to him. It’s not an easy job to do and we respect that, but we felt that he certainly injected some energy and hardness into our team, when he took part after half-time. I thought it was really good for him to have the impact he did – it was a really good effort and he had a strong game. It was a really good performance by Jack.  

Sam Weideman: He had 11 possessions, seven marks and three of those grabs with contested and he had four inside 50s. He also kicked one goal. Sammy came back after three weeks out with injury, but he looked fresh and worked up and down the ground. His running was really strong and he competed in the air. Sam also created some opportunities for us at ground level on several occasions. As the game went on, he looked like he missed a bit of football, and he was also on limited game time. The challenge for Sam, like a lot of our first-year players, is to make his game a lot more rounded. We’re trying to develop his defensive part of his game. We’re seeing some gradual improvement, but he started really well and tapered off a bit. We’re looking to build him up over the next six to eight weeks and get him playing some strong footy in the backend of the season.

Mitch White: He had 19 disposals, which included 10 contested and had five tackles. Mitch was probably the pick of our defenders on the weekend. He played with speed and I felt he competed really aggressively with the aerial ball, as he did with the ground level ball too. As a defender, he played his role really well and he was able to generate some offensive run with his ball use and kicking ability. He’s another player who has been really consistent for the past nine to 10 weeks. He continues to work hard and maintains a strong focus on what he needs to improve on. He’s a quality young man who I am enjoying coaching. It’s going to be about continuing that level of consistency and keep pushing for a spot in the AFL, whenever that is. I was really happy with his efforts on the weekend.

AFL Victoria Development League
Saturday, July 2, 10pm, Piranha Park (Coburg City Oval)
Casey Scorpions 12.10 (82) d Coburg 7.14 (56)

No Melbourne-listed players featured in the Development League