CASEY coach Justin Plapp reviews the Melbourne-listed players who played in the VFL
2016 Peter Jackson VFL
Sunday, August 21, 11am, Simonds Stadium
Geelong 13.5 (83) d Casey 10.12 (72)
From the coach …
“It was a disappointing result. It was a game of two halves where we were able to start the first half strongly by playing our way. All of our key indicators in regards to contested ball, stoppages, winning inside 50s, first possessions, dominated possessions – all of those key numbers were good and we were certainly well in front and our game was a real reflection of that. For whatever reason after halftime, our players dropped in intensity and we stopped doing the things that had got us in the position we were in. We gave the opposition a sniff and to their credit, they took that opportunity and were able to win the game purely off playing better football by being harder and stronger around the ball for longer. We were disappointed; we fell away really sharply and we lost a bit of hunger. It’s certainly a reality-check; it’s not a time for us to be really negative around the loss but it’s a wakeup call and our players were very honest after the game around their performance. I’m expecting them to bounce back this week and rectify what they need to.”– Justin Plapp
Lynden Dunn: Lynden had 18 possessions, 10 marks and one inside 50. Dunny was probably a reflection of a lot of our players; he was able to defend well in the first half but like a lot of our players, he dropped off with some defensive parts of his game and probably didn’t help with the way the ball was coming inside our defensive 50 at times. His performance was a reflection of our good first half and our poor second half.
Colin Garland: Colin had 26 possessions, 13 marks and three inside 50s. Colin, even though he won a lot of his own ball, was able to provide us with a lot of offensive ball use in our back half, albeit a lot of those possessions were split kicks out of our defensive 50. We felt that he was very similar to a lot of our defenders where there were some inconsistencies in his game from a contest point-of-view. There was some really good stuff but there was also some stuff that probably wasn’t so good.
Jack Grimes: Jack had 37 possessions, 21 kicks, 16 handballs, six inside 50s and 10 tackles. It was another workmanlike game from Jack. He continues to play at a really good level of VFL football and he continues to provide us with a harder body around the football. In that regard, it was just a typical Jack Grimes game where he led from the front and worked hard from an offensive and defensive point-of-view.
Liam Hulett: Liam had nine disposals, six marks and kicked two goals. Liam was pretty active early in the game in the first-half where he was presenting well and provided a lot of movement. He was another player who fell away in the second half just through his ability to halve some contests. We’re looking for him to improve in that area.
Matt Jones: Matt had 39 possessions, 26 kicks, 13 handballs, eight marks and nine inside 50s. I thought Matt was instrumental in the first half – he was the player who provided a lot of run for us and a lot of quality ball use. He created numerous goals through his ball use but he was probably another player who fell away a little bit after halftime because of our inability to win the contested ball. He worked tirelessly though the whole day.
Ben Kennedy: Ben had 17 disposals, eight kicks, nine handballs, seven marks and five tackles. Benny was probably a bit off on the weekend and came into the game after a few days off from being ill. I think his game was probably a reflection of the way his preparation had been so I think it’s a game that Ben would be looking to respond from.
Jay Kennedy-Harris: Jay had 22 possessions, 13 kicks, nine handballs, five marks, five tackles and kicked a goal. Jay continues to impress after coming back from injury. This was his fifth game back from injury and the one thing that Jay has been able to do is physically work on his body and put some size and strength on. He’s playing with real speed and providing some real energy for us, particularly in the forward half of the ground. His game was positive on the weekend and it continues to build.
Cameron Pedersen: Cam had 13 disposals, seven kicks, six handballs, four marks and kicked 1.3. Cam was similar to the past few weeks where he provided us with a really big body in our forward half and he competed really well. He was able to go into the ruck and give [Jake] Spencer some assistance when he needed to. The downfall of his game again this week was his inability to hit the scoreboard from a goals point-of-view. It’s been two weeks-in-a-row now where he hasn’t been able to finish off his work.
Christian Salem: Christian had 25 possessions, 18 kicks, seven handballs, four inside 50s, five tackles and two behinds. Christian played predominantly in an inside-mid role. I thought he started the game pretty sharply but was probably another one that had an interrupted preparation due to a bit of illness during the week. Christian certainly provides you with some really composed ball use when he has the ball in hand and he continues to work really hard around the stoppages and his craft. He continues to build and he’s certainly on the right track back from having a decent lay-off.
Jake Spencer: Jake had nine disposals, one kick, eight handballs, two marks, two tackles and 35 hit-outs. Spence battled pretty hard in the ruck and we certainly thought that he broke pretty even with his direct opponent on the weekend. He continues to provide us with a lot of work ethic around the ball. The challenge for him is that when he pushes forward, we need him to be able to be a lot more damaging and hit the scoreboard and take some marks. It’s a bit of a work in progress for him but he certainly broke even in his role.
Joel Smith: Joel had 15 possessions, seven kicks, eight handballs and two inside 50s. Joel continues to impress but we felt on the weekend that some of his defensive positioning and his ability to defend were not a highlight of his game. [However] he provided us with some run and some real rebound off our defensive 50.
Dean Terlich: Dean had eight possessions, five kicks, three handballs, five marks, two inside 50s and eight tackles. Dean was a bit quieter this week and wasn’t able to hit the scoreboard but he continues to work hard off the ball and tries to create opportunities for us. He was another player who probably wasn’t at the top of his game.
Jack Trengove: Jack had 31 disposals, 16 kicks, 15 handballs, five marks, three inside 50s and nine tackles. Jack was another player that has continued to play at a really high standard of VFL football over the past month. He worked tirelessly around the stoppages and particularly around the middle of the ground. He won a lot of contested ball and was able to use his hands and bring other players into the game. He was a player that was certainly able to walk off the ground knowing that he’d worked hard.
Josh Wagner: Josh had 20 possessions, seven marks, five tackles and kicked one goal. It was a big improvement from Wags this week after last week. He was certainly able to get his hands on the ball and he was able to defend a lot better. He had a lot more energy about him this week which was pleasing.
Mitch White: Mitch had 26 disposals, six marks, four inside 50s and two tackles. White was similar to a lot of our other defenders in that we thought he started the game really positively but was another one who dropped dramatically after half-time in his aerial contests and a couple of crucial turnovers. However, he showed good effort but he’ll be looking forward to bouncing back next week.
AFL Victoria Development League
Saturday, August 20, 11am, Trevor Barker Beach Oval
Casey Scorpions 12.9 (81) d Sandringham 7.9 (51)
Max King: Max had eight disposals, five kicks, three handballs, four marks, two goals and five tackles. Kingy had some impact on the game; it was a day that really didn’t suit key position players as the conditions had a pretty big impact on the day. From a consistency point-of-view, we’ve been challenging him around his contest and his follow-up. We felt he was able to have an impact on the game and show some positive signs around that area of the game.
