HEAD of development Brett Allison reviews the Melbourne-listed players who played in the VFL and AFL Victoria Development League at Casey Fields on Sunday

VFL: Geelong 14.18 (102) d Casey Scorpions 12.14 (86)

Dom Barry: Dom worked hard and ran up and down the ground all day. But unfortunately he only had eight possessions, so Dom needs to keep getting himself involved more, because his work rate is AFL level by GPS figures.

Sam Blease: Unfortunately, Bleasey went to tackle a bloke early in the first quarter and he tackled him with his chin and knocked himself out. He didn’t take any further part in the game. It was by the 10-minute mark, so that was his day.

Shannon Byrnes: Shannon played wing/forward and had 21 disposals and kicked three goals in the third quarter. He was one of the leading lights in the comeback after half-time. He had a big third quarter, where he kicked his three goals. His direction around the ground was invaluable for the group.

Mitch Clisby: Mitch played half-back/back-pocket all day. He had 22 disposals and had a good battle and worked hard with his direct opponent. Mitch has been focusing on the defensive side of his game in the last couple of weeks. He made some improvements this week. His ball use and decision-making was good over the course of the game.

Jack Fitzpatrick: Jack played full-forward and had a couple of stints in the ruck. He had 12 possessions and kicked three goals. He led and presented pretty well during the day. Although he kicked three goals, he missed two other kickable goals. Jack contested well, but I’d like to see him contest more in the air and get the ball to ground level, so that the smalls can get to work, if he doesn’t mark it.

Jayden Hunt: Jayden played wing and half-back. He only had seven possessions and for him, his education continued, playing at senior level against men. He needs to develop consistency week in, week out. He’s either really good or not having enough impact, so we look forward to him finding a baseline in his performance. But that’s not unusual for a first-year player.

Mark Jamar: Mark had 53 hit outs and 11 disposals in the ruck. He also played deep forward and was by far the most influential ruckman. He gave some good service to the midfield and is still working back towards full fitness. He’s probably another one or two weeks away from getting back to AFL game fitness. But he’s certainly controlling the ruck contests at VFL level at the moment.

Neville Jetta: Neville continued his strong form for the year. He had 21 disposals and played onball, half-forward and half-back. It was another solid game from Jetts. He competed really strongly and won plenty of hard ball and was a really solid contributor for the third or fourth week in a row.

Max King: Max played ruck and key forward. He only had seven possessions for the day and he’s in a similar position to Hunt. He’s in his first year playing against grown men and has a lot of development left in his body. Max is learning how much work he needs to do to compete at AFL level, let alone VFL level.

Daniel Nicholson: Dan played half-back and on the ball. He did his best work across half-back. He ran well and took the game on with his legs. He broke the lines on a number of occasions, but his ball use let him down at times. If he can tidy that up, he could be in line for senior selection.

Aidan Riley: Aidan played mainly as an inside midfielder. He had 17 disposals and his inside ball gathering was first class in the second half and he was a main reason for the comeback after half-time. He’s still working his way back to full fitness after breaking his leg. Again, he got through the game injury free and he showed signs that he’ll put himself in line for senior selection, when he gets his fitness right.

Christian Salem: Christian played wing and half-forward. He had 20 disposals and had a good direct battle with his opponent on the wing. He managed to slip his opponent on a couple of occasions, but he was moved in the forward in the second half and became a really good contributor. He kicked two goals and led-up really well, using his smarts. He has to try not to rush when in possession of the ball. We want him to move it quick and not be rushed. A couple of times, he tried to move it quickly, when it wasn’t on. But he had a really good second half for us as a forward.

James Strauss: James’ first game back from a foot injury produced 19 disposals across half-back. He defended well most of the day. His ball work was pretty good. We saw some pace that we hadn’t seen so far this year, so hopefully he’s getting back to full fitness.

Jack Trengove: Jack had 15 disposals and was closely watched by the opposition. He battled hard all day, but didn’t have a huge influence on the game unfortunately. But we expect Jack to bounce back quickly, given he’s a quality player.

Jimmy Toumpas: Jimmy played wing and half-back. He had 29 disposals, after an inconsistent start with his ball use. He cleaned that right up after quarter-time and gave some good drive and run from half-back. He became a pretty handy weapon for us in trying to get the ball forward.

AFL Victoria Development League: Port Melbourne 11.17 (83) d Casey Scorpions 8.5 (53) 

Colin Garland: Col played about 80 minutes, which was his first hit out for the year. He looked a bit rusty early, but the longer the game went on, you could see the class of Colin come to the fore. His judgement and reading of the play came back to him as the day went on. It was a good return for him to be honest.

James Harmes: He played inside mid and had a really strong game. He went hard and showed his strength of winning contested football. It was a really strong performance from him and it will put him in contention for Casey seniors next week.

Maia Westrupp: Maia played half-back and as a defender all day. He battled strongly on his opponent. He’s still continuing to learn and compete. He didn’t look out of place at reserves level.