Assistant coach Scott West runs through the 22 players from Melbourne’s 73-point win over Sydney Swans at MCG on Sunday
Rohan Bail: Rohan’s a running machine. He can play a defensive role, on the wing or down back, but his great advantage - and we saw it against the Swans - was his ability to run and create space. It was hard for the opposition to defend when a player like him runs. He got 18 touches as well.
Clint Bartram: Clint did an outstanding job. He does his job week-in-week-out. He used the footy well and did the job we required.
Jamie Bennell: Jamie did a defensive role on one of their backs, which was difficult. But he does it every week. He leads up and tackles and pushes up on the wing. He also gives us a lot of run, although he didn’t have a lot of the footy against the Swans. Jamie also had opportunities to kick goals and once he finishes, it will add another dimension to his game.
Cameron Bruce: He was outstanding. Ryan O’Keefe was a guy we thought could influence this game, but Brucey kept him to 10 touches. Cam also had 23 disposals and had an impact on the game.
Aaron Davey: Aaron gets tagged every week and just fights through it. He’s a lot better at handling a really tight tag. In the end, we were playing that well that the opposition dropped the tag a bit. He was also able to use the footy for us a bit through the midfield.
Lynden Dunn: Lynden played a defensive role on one of their backs, which is not an easy role. He’s also been pushed from mid to forward in the last couple of weeks. He kicked 3.2, so for a defensive forward to be having five shots at goal is a good effort. When you get dangerous defenders like they did at half-back and we’re kicking goals on them, that’s a big win for us.
James Frawley: James just gets better every week. His chase on the wing on young Lewis Jetta just shows you the heart he’s got - he didn’t let up. It was another terrific game.
Colin Garland: He was outstanding. Col’s a real competitor. Near the end of the game and with the game won, he still made three or four efforts out on the wing and helped turn the ball over. And then we got a goal. That’s Col Garland - a solid game. He really did his job.
Brad Green: Brad got us going. He kicked three goals early on and finished with five. When you’ve got noticeable leaders out of the team, you’ve got to have someone stand up and Brad Green did that. He got us on the scoreboard and got us going. He’s having an outstanding year.
Mark Jamar: Russian is having an outstanding year and he continued that against the Swans. He had an impact on the game by getting first opportunity in the ruck and kicking a couple of goals. Shane Mumford is a very good ruckman and I think Mark got the better of him.
Paul Johnson: PJ gave us continual competitiveness in the ruck. Russian (Jamar) starts in the ruck and then PJ came in and continued. I thought some of his second efforts were terrific. Again, he didn’t have much of the footy, but kicked a goal, which was a real bonus.
Nathan Jones: Jonesy didn’t have as much of the footy as he would’ve liked, but I thought his physicality early in the game was outstanding. It wasn’t a mark, kick or a handball, but I thought he really set the scene early in the game, with his tackling and work around the stoppages. I thought he impacted the game physically.
Liam Jurrah: He still looks a bit rusty, but you can tell it’s coming. He went for a big fly and nearly grabbed it and he kicked a couple. He’s there to kick multiple goals and he’s hard to stop. Something is brewing!
Addam Maric: It was great to have him back in the team. He’s a great ball-user and although he didn’t get as many opportunities as he would’ve liked, he worked his way into the game. He’s going to be one of those small forwards who is going to be really valuable for us.
Joel Macdonald: He played a bit on the wing, but generally down back. His pressure and physicality really stood out, I thought. His attack on the footy and attack on the man, resulted in some turnovers and the ball went back our way, so we were able to score off them.
Jordie McKenzie: With some noticeable absences in our midfield, Jordie was able to step up. His body strength isn’t like some of the others, but he just finds a way to win.
Cale Morton: It was a tough job for Cale. Some games are better than any training or talking you’re going to have and this was one for Cale. It would’ve been a great learning curve for Cale to play on a dual Brownlow Medalllist in Adam Goodes. He competed hard and I don’t know if he won the duel in the end, but he did the job for us. Cale was able to get off Goodes and kick two goals. Although Goodes had a bit of the footy and kicked four goals, it was a good duel.
Jared Rivers: He was good. Jared was the general down back. He organised guys and he did his job on their talls and he played under-sized. He rallied the troops and when he had the opportunity to go off his man he did. He also used the ball well.
Tom Scully: Tommy just ran and ran and ran. Again, there was a lot more asked of him at the stoppages and I thought he did well. He continues to work and get some good match ups. He played on Jarrad McVeigh and he will have learned a lot from playing on him. He played the wing really well and when he got into space, he used it really well. It was also great to see him kick a goal.
Col Sylvia: He was outstanding. With a number of other midfielders out, he really stood up for us with his physicality and his spread at stoppages.
Jack Watts: Jack kicked one goal. The game never broke open for him. He’s always getting physical pressure on him and he’s handling that better and better each week. He was used up the ground a bit and was also used deep. For where he’s been in the last two years, this was a great win for him and for the guys that are new to the club.
Austin Wonaeamirri: Every time he went near the footy, you knew something was going to happen. It was great to have him back in the team. He adds that excitement factor with LJ (Liam Jurrah) and JB (Jamie Bennell) - and anything could happen. What goes unnoticed with Aussie is his defensive work. He chases from behind and it puts perceived pressure on players from the opposition and that’s what we want.
Rohan Bail: Rohan’s a running machine. He can play a defensive role, on the wing or down back, but his great advantage - and we saw it against the Swans - was his ability to run and create space. It was hard for the opposition to defend when a player like him runs. He got 18 touches as well.
Clint Bartram: Clint did an outstanding job. He does his job week-in-week-out. He used the footy well and did the job we required.
Jamie Bennell: Jamie did a defensive role on one of their backs, which was difficult. But he does it every week. He leads up and tackles and pushes up on the wing. He also gives us a lot of run, although he didn’t have a lot of the footy against the Swans. Jamie also had opportunities to kick goals and once he finishes, it will add another dimension to his game.
Cameron Bruce: He was outstanding. Ryan O’Keefe was a guy we thought could influence this game, but Brucey kept him to 10 touches. Cam also had 23 disposals and had an impact on the game.
Aaron Davey: Aaron gets tagged every week and just fights through it. He’s a lot better at handling a really tight tag. In the end, we were playing that well that the opposition dropped the tag a bit. He was also able to use the footy for us a bit through the midfield.
Lynden Dunn: Lynden played a defensive role on one of their backs, which is not an easy role. He’s also been pushed from mid to forward in the last couple of weeks. He kicked 3.2, so for a defensive forward to be having five shots at goal is a good effort. When you get dangerous defenders like they did at half-back and we’re kicking goals on them, that’s a big win for us.
James Frawley: James just gets better every week. His chase on the wing on young Lewis Jetta just shows you the heart he’s got - he didn’t let up. It was another terrific game.
Colin Garland: He was outstanding. Col’s a real competitor. Near the end of the game and with the game won, he still made three or four efforts out on the wing and helped turn the ball over. And then we got a goal. That’s Col Garland - a solid game. He really did his job.
Brad Green: Brad got us going. He kicked three goals early on and finished with five. When you’ve got noticeable leaders out of the team, you’ve got to have someone stand up and Brad Green did that. He got us on the scoreboard and got us going. He’s having an outstanding year.
Mark Jamar: Russian is having an outstanding year and he continued that against the Swans. He had an impact on the game by getting first opportunity in the ruck and kicking a couple of goals. Shane Mumford is a very good ruckman and I think Mark got the better of him.
Paul Johnson: PJ gave us continual competitiveness in the ruck. Russian (Jamar) starts in the ruck and then PJ came in and continued. I thought some of his second efforts were terrific. Again, he didn’t have much of the footy, but kicked a goal, which was a real bonus.
Nathan Jones: Jonesy didn’t have as much of the footy as he would’ve liked, but I thought his physicality early in the game was outstanding. It wasn’t a mark, kick or a handball, but I thought he really set the scene early in the game, with his tackling and work around the stoppages. I thought he impacted the game physically.
Liam Jurrah: He still looks a bit rusty, but you can tell it’s coming. He went for a big fly and nearly grabbed it and he kicked a couple. He’s there to kick multiple goals and he’s hard to stop. Something is brewing!
Addam Maric: It was great to have him back in the team. He’s a great ball-user and although he didn’t get as many opportunities as he would’ve liked, he worked his way into the game. He’s going to be one of those small forwards who is going to be really valuable for us.
Joel Macdonald: He played a bit on the wing, but generally down back. His pressure and physicality really stood out, I thought. His attack on the footy and attack on the man, resulted in some turnovers and the ball went back our way, so we were able to score off them.
Jordie McKenzie: With some noticeable absences in our midfield, Jordie was able to step up. His body strength isn’t like some of the others, but he just finds a way to win.
Cale Morton: It was a tough job for Cale. Some games are better than any training or talking you’re going to have and this was one for Cale. It would’ve been a great learning curve for Cale to play on a dual Brownlow Medalllist in Adam Goodes. He competed hard and I don’t know if he won the duel in the end, but he did the job for us. Cale was able to get off Goodes and kick two goals. Although Goodes had a bit of the footy and kicked four goals, it was a good duel.
Jared Rivers: He was good. Jared was the general down back. He organised guys and he did his job on their talls and he played under-sized. He rallied the troops and when he had the opportunity to go off his man he did. He also used the ball well.
Tom Scully: Tommy just ran and ran and ran. Again, there was a lot more asked of him at the stoppages and I thought he did well. He continues to work and get some good match ups. He played on Jarrad McVeigh and he will have learned a lot from playing on him. He played the wing really well and when he got into space, he used it really well. It was also great to see him kick a goal.
Col Sylvia: He was outstanding. With a number of other midfielders out, he really stood up for us with his physicality and his spread at stoppages.
Jack Watts: Jack kicked one goal. The game never broke open for him. He’s always getting physical pressure on him and he’s handling that better and better each week. He was used up the ground a bit and was also used deep. For where he’s been in the last two years, this was a great win for him and for the guys that are new to the club.
Austin Wonaeamirri: Every time he went near the footy, you knew something was going to happen. It was great to have him back in the team. He adds that excitement factor with LJ (Liam Jurrah) and JB (Jamie Bennell) - and anything could happen. What goes unnoticed with Aussie is his defensive work. He chases from behind and it puts perceived pressure on players from the opposition and that’s what we want.
