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

VFL

Sandringham 13.15 (93) d Casey Scorpions 8.10 (58)

Casey Fields

“IT WAS a disappointing outcome and we thought it was our most disappointing performance of the year, from a VFL point of view – definitely. We took a couple of backward steps in our development or progression from where we had come from. I reckon we had two or three blokes who really played their bit, but from a defensive point of view, it was a disappointing result. We’re looking to respond and to make some big improvements on our performance. We were really disappointed with our output on the weekend.” – Justin Plapp

Jack Fitzpatrick: Fitzy played and continued to play that role at centre half-back for us. It wasn’t Fitzy’s best game to date. We’re certainly working on some areas of his game with him. Defensively it wasn’t his best game. We’re looking for him to take some steps forward.

Max Gawn: Gawny was one of those players that could certainly walk away from the game saying he’d played his role really well. He kicked a goal and took 11 marks, including five contested. Gawny did some OK work in the ruck, but overall I thought he was one of our better players. His past two weeks have been really strong, so he’s starting to get back into a bit of form.

Jack Grimes: Jack was probably our best player on the day. I felt it was a really good response by Grimesy, after he missed out at senior level. He played a really important role on Sandringham’s captain Clint Jones and kept him to 15 disposals. Grimesy also had 31 touches, so he clearly won that battle, so I was really happy with him.

James Harmes: It wasn’t Harmesy’s best performance for the year. He had been tracking in a really strong direction, but he made some poor defensive decisions, where his opponent benefitted. He played a little bit more forward, in a different role. Overall, it wasn’t his best game of the year.

Matt Jones: Jonesy was a real ball-winner for us. He’s played a bit of a different role in the past couple of weeks, as we’re just trying to develop his game. We were happy with Matty’s output. He had 31 possessions.

Oscar McDonald: Oscar’s making small steps. Against some bigger bodies at times, he looked vulnerable, but we know where he’s at with his body. He’s certainly clear on the areas he needs to improve. Oscar’s still very much a developing, young player.

Jordie McKenzie: I don’t think it was Jordie’s best game and it certainly wasn’t his worst. He played half-back/wing, but he’ll certainly be looking to improve this week.

Viv Michie: Viv plays really well at VFL level. He had 28 possessions, which is a pretty strong output from one of our onballers. I thought he responded well, after playing the past two matches in the AFL. He was dropped and I thought he was one of our better players for the day. He played his role and did the challenge we put to him.

Alex Neal-Bullen: We felt Alex played well the previous week, when he played his first senior VFL game. But on the weekend, he was another younger, developing player, who was challenged by Sandringham’s bigger bodies. We’re trying to work pretty hard on Alex’s defensive game. I know he’s a really good ball-winner and a very smart player, but he’s a first-year player and we’re going to get some real inconsistencies with their performances. But we’re looking forward to Alex bouncing back this week. He’s playing through that midfield, half-forward/wing role.

Aidan Riley: Aidan would be the first to admit he was disappointed with his performance and his output. His three or four weeks prior to that were really strong. We felt that Aidan took a step back in regards to his impact on the game. I don’t think it was through a lack of effort – I just think it wasn’t a good day for Aidan. He certainly wasn’t our worst player, but he has a mature body and we expect him to be pretty consistent at VFL level. We expect a big improvement from him this week against Port Melbourne.

Dean Terlich: Dean was given a big role on Ahmed Saad. He had 25 disposals and was good offensively, but we just felt that Dean had a couple of lapses in concentration. Offensively, we were really pleased, but he probably lost the battle against Saad on the day. It could’ve been exposed more, if Saad had kicked straighter. I reckon Dean would’ve been disappointed that Saad got some easy shots on goal.

Mitch White: I thought that Mitch was one of our better defenders for the day. He certainly defended in the manner that we wanted him to. Mitch made a couple of errors that cost him, but he was a player who could walk away from the game saying he did his role. He’s another first-year player who needs to be very clear what his expectations are, but I’m really happy with the way he’s going at the moment.

AFL Victoria Development League

Casey Scorpions 12.6 (78) d Sandringham 9.7 (61)

Casey Fields

Jayden Hunt: Hunty played his first game for the year. He looked like he certainly needed the run, as he was a bit fumbly at times. We’re certainly not rating Hunty on that game, because he’s missed almost a year of football. He’s a developing, emerging player and we’re looking forward to him taking another step forward this week. He’ll play Development League again this week.

Max King: Max continues to improve. He kicked three goals and had another strong game from a marking point of view. We rate Kingy and we’re grading him a little bit harder, because he’s playing against more developing bodies in this league. His past two or three weeks have shown really good improvement. I don’t think an opportunity is too far around the corner for senior VFL selection.