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

VFL

Sunday, April 17, Holden Centre (Olympic Blvd), 11:45am

Casey 18.13 (121) d Collingwood 10.5 (65)

“It was a really strong win. We’ve had two really good wins to start the season. From that point of view, it’s given our players some real confidence from the brand of football and style of football we want to play. We certainly didn’t play our best footy in the first half against Collingwood, which may have been a reflection of the back end of the week before, when the game became pretty easy – and that’s no disrespect to Frankston. I thought there might’ve been a bit of a carryover of that, as the start of our game and our contest wasn’t as good as what we wanted. At half-time, we adjusted that part of the game and really came out and played some pretty inspiring football, in regards to the way we want to play the game. It’s been pleasing and the good thing about it is that we’ve got some healthy players and some really solid competition about some players, who are really pressuring the guys above them to keep playing well. From a competitive point of view and the players realising they can’t be complacent – it’s been fantastic for our VFL program and club in general. In summary, it was a good win and it’s been a good start to our season.” – Justin Plapp

Colin Garland: It probably wasn’t Colin’s best game. He had a slow first half but then got himself [back into the game] with some of his defensive action. His ability to come forward and intercept and close out was a real highlight. He got back to the sort of football that’s going to hopefully get him another opportunity to play AFL footy really soon. We were disappointed with his first half but the second half was the sort of football that we know Colin can play.

Jack Grimes: We thought that Jack was one of our better players on the day. He had 27 possessions and he went inside-50 seven times and ended up kicking two goals so he had a pretty rounded game. He’s been continuing to play on the wing, a little bit on-ball but Jack’s contest work was really good. He also works really, really hard both ways to get back and help support but then on the way back out he was obviously used on offense as well.

Liam Hulett: Liam played that forward role and was also another one who kicked two goals but was a little bit like Sam Weideman where it was probably a reflection of the way the team was going before half-time. He was able to get into the game – he lead at the ball strongly and took a couple of strong contested marks. His reaction time to defend and become more of an output when the opposition has the ball is certainly an area where he is improving and certainly an area we noticed on the weekend.

Max King: Max played in the ruck; he only had the nine possessions but he ended up having 10 hit-outs. He played only 50 percent game time so we had to manage him but for his time on the ground as ruck against the opponent he had – [Mason] Cox who is 210cm – he played a really solid role and competed well. When you’re coming up against such a bigger opponent, you just want to be halving contests and competing and he [King] did that really well. I was really happy with his output.

Oscar McDonald: Oscar was knocked out in the first two minutes of the game so he didn’t take any part and will be assessed this week to see whether he plays [next week].

Viv Michie: Viv was another really solid contributor. He had 32 possessions, 10 of which were contested and eight clearances. His work in and around the football and his stoppage craft was really solid and his ability to be able to use his hands and bring other players into the game through his strong stoppage work was a highlight. He also went inside 50 eight times so he’s doing some really solid work around the ball and he is also getting on the outside and using the ball as well. Viv has played two really solid games over the last two weeks.

Alex Neal-Bullen: Alex continues to play that inside-mid role. Around the footy, he had 21 possessions, 10 of which were contested and the highlight for me was that he had 11 tackles. When Alex keeps the game really simple and he wins the ball and he goes for the ball and he makes the tackle and he uses his hands and brings other people into the game, that’s when he is generally playing his best football. There are some really encouraging signs for him; he’s still only a second-year player so there’s a lot of areas in his game that he needs to continue to work on but his last three weeks have been really solid.

Ben Newton: Ben played his first game back after a very decent injury lay-off. He ended up having 15 possessions and he kicked a goal. He was probably slow to start but he got himself into the game with some strong tackles and his second half was encouraging but you would expect after his first game back that there was going to be some grey areas in his game. For Ben, it’s about now trying to get through the week and preparing and putting himself up again and continuing to build his game. We were happy with what he did on the weekend.

Christian Petracca: Christian continues to improve and continues to build his game time. He did some really special things on the weekend and he ended up having 29 possessions, 14 of which were contested. He [also] pushed forward and kicked a goal. His second effort and his ability to bring other players into the game and use people around him was a real highlight. He took three or four contested marks and it was probably a sign that he’s starting to get some confidence about his game. We’re really bullish about where he’s going and we’re really happy with him so he’s just going to continue to build his game and his opportunity [to play AFL] will come when it comes.

Joel Smith: Joel has been another one who got his opportunity against Frankston. On the weekend, we felt his game went ahead in leaps and bounds again and his reaction time to really come forward and defend was a real highlight. He got himself involved in a play where he ran from the half-back and got a handball receive and kicked a really strong, composed goal which is probably something we haven’t seen a lot of because he’s a new player and a young player. He’s an exciting talent and we’re really excited by what he brought to the table on the weekend.

Dean Terlich: Dean played possibly the best game he’s played at VFL level which is really pleasing because there have been some areas in his game we’ve been really clear and really strong on with [him] about what we need him to do. We know that he uses the ball really well and becomes quite a damaging offensive player when he has the ball in his hands but getting the balance to his game of defending and then using the ball when we win the ball was a really good balance from him on the weekend. He ended up having 36 disposals and seven rebound-50s so it’s very encouraging for Dean and a better overall output.

Jack Trengove: Jack had 20 possessions, eight tackles, three clearances and kicked a goal. Trenners played a little bit on the wing, inside fifth and sixth. Considering he copped a pretty solid head-knock the week before, the way he bounced back and was able to impose himself on the game and play his role was fantastic. He continues to build too; we understand he’s missed a lot of footy.

Sam Weideman: Sam had a really slow first half where he struggled to get involved in the contest and that may have been a reflection of the way that we were playing and the way that the ball was going into our forward 50. Certainly after halftime, where we fixed some areas of our game and the ball was going in a bit quicker, Sam was able to play his style of game and he really jumped the footy and got his opponent where he could actually craft him up a few times and get his opponent on the lead. He ended up kicking three goals. His first half wasn’t fantastic but he was able to address it at halftime and it was probably a reflection of the way the team was going as well. Sam is a terrific young kid who is improving every week and he’s a really exciting talent as well.

Mitch White: I think his general defensive work has been solid as well so he’s another one who is building his game. He is improving and we’re happy with his output as well.

AFL Victoria Development League

Saturday, April 16, Casey Fields, 12pm

Northern Blues 18.10 (118) d Casey Scorpions 11.17 (83)

No Melbourne-listed players featured in the Development League