CASEY coach Justin Plapp reviews the Melbourne-listed players who played in the VFL and the AFL Victoria Development League

VFL

Footscray 15.7 (97) d Casey Scorpions 10.13 (73)

Victoria University Whitten Oval

“We were beaten by 20 points and we really squandered opportunities by inaccurate kicking. I don’t think the score line was a true reflection of how close the game was. There were periods during the game where they outworked us and hit the scoreboard and were a lot more efficient. Footscray made the most of their opportunities and we just need to take stock on some of the things that we need to keep working on. It was an opportunity to come up against one of the best teams in the competition and there were areas we were happy with and other areas we need to tighten up on and improve on. It was a good game without getting the points.” – Justin Plapp

Rohan Bail: Rohan played half of the game, but was concussed, so he went off the ground a bit after half-time. For the time that he was on the ground, he was serviceable and played his role.

Jack Fitzpatrick: Fitzy has been playing in a new position and was very good in one-on-one situations. He marked the ball strongly and he’s got some areas in his game that we’re still working with him on, because it’s a new position for him. We’re really happy with where Fitzy’s at.

Max Gawn: For the past two weeks, Gawny hasn’t had the impact that he’d probably want. He’s had plenty of opportunities, but he’s lacking a little bit of touch at the moment and a little bit of confidence. But Gawny’s working really hard on his game and we’re looking forward to him getting better and improving over the next few weeks.

Jack Grimes: Grimesy was clearly our best player on the weekend. He attacked the contest really strongly and made some really good decisions when he had the ball. He played half-back/midfield and was voted the best player by the players as well. He’s had a really strong month.

James Harmes: Harmesy does things that really catch the eye at times, but there are things in his game that we keep working on with him. He’s just got to keep working on his craft and keep building his overall game and flexibility of positions.

Matt Jones: Jonesy was busy without being dominant. He gave us plenty of ball use and some good mid-forward connection with his ball use. He played his role on the day, without being really dominant.

Jordie McKenzie: Macca was pretty good on the weekend. We had a few issues with Brett Goodes, who was one of their good onballers, and Jordie went onto him after half-time. He really nullified his impact on the game. We were really happy with the way Macca embraced the role that he was given and I thought his game was really serviceable.

Cameron Pedersen: Pedo was an emergency in the AFL, but he played for us and kicked three goals. He presented and competed really strongly, and he’s another one who has had a really strong month of VFL footy. He’ll be pushing for selection if an opportunity arises I would’ve thought.

Aidan Riley: Aidan was good again this week. He’s had two or three really strong weeks at VFL level, playing on ball. He did some really good stoppage work and in close work, so he was one of our better performers on the weekend.

Jake Spencer: Spence has had a really strong month at VFL level and he’s just now waiting for an opportunity to present itself at AFL level. He’s been really professional and he had a season-high 18 disposals on the weekend and took several strong marks around the ground. We were really happy with his output.

Billy Stretch: Billy continues to impress – he’s just an impressive young man. He’s a really coachable young man who continues to get better every week. We’re really happy with where he’s at.

Dean Terlich: He’s now had three games back from injury. His game defensively continues to get better and he really played his role on the weekend. Dean’s a more experienced player in our team, so we’re looking for him to keep building on his game over the next month.

Jimmy Toumpas: Toump’s still a developing young player, but he won a lot of the ball and provided some strong run for us and ball use. He’s another one really working hard on his game to try and get his next opportunity at AFL footy.

AFL Victoria Development League

Casey Scorpions 21.10 (136) d Werribee Tigers 7.11 (53)

Avalon Airport Oval (Chirnside Park)

Max King: Maxy’s last two weeks have been impressive. He’s really building his body and getting some confidence in it, but the past two weeks we’ve seen some really good signs – particularly with his contested marking and playing the role that we want him to as a key forward/ruckman. Kingy is improving and he’s going OK.

Oscar McDonald: Oscar played forward and back. He’s still adjusting to the bigger bodies of VFL footy. It’s going to be a progression for Oscar and we’re happy with the way he’s going. He needs to keep building his body, so he can play on those bigger key position players. But his efforts have been really good to date.

Alex Neal-Bullen: Alex is coming back from injury – it was his second game back – so he increased his game time at development level. He did some smart things in his game and was really good with his ball use. But he’s still very much in that phase of coming back from injury. We’ll look to increase his game time over the next two or three weeks and hopefully he’ll be pushing VFL senior selection in the coming weeks.