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

VFL: Collingwood 11.13 (79) d Casey Scorpions 11.7 (73)

Sam Blease: Sam played half-back and had 24 disposals. He lost concentration defensively a few times, letting his man behind him, but he used the ball pretty consistently this week. It certainly wasn’t the worst performance by Sam by any means.  

Dom Barry: Dom played wing and half-forward. He had 12 possessions and it was another positive week for Dom. He was set for Sam Dwyer from Collingwood, but he ended up playing in their senior team, so we let Dom have his own head on the weekend. He used the ball really well and was damaging with the ball in hand, and he kicked two goals. He impacted the day well for us.

Michael Evans: Evo played on ball and half-back. He had 17 possessions and was given a run-with role on Kyle Martin, who has been averaging 30 possessions in the past few weeks. Evo kept him to 15 dispsals. It’s the first time we’ve tried Evo in this role and it was a fairly successful day for him. It probably just opens another avenue for him to gain selection in the senior team.

Jack Fitzpatrick: Jack played in the ruck and had 10 possessions. He played forward as well. Jack, without a doubt, did his best work in the ruck. It was a really tough day for tall forwards, being so wet and slippery. Jack battled away against a well-known counterpart in Ben Hudson. Jack had 48 hit outs for the day, so he was really able to get his hand on the ball against a wily, strong opponent. But we’d like to see Jack direct his hit outs to our advantage, instead of neutral or sometimes to the opposition’s advantage. That’d be the next step for him.

Alex Georgiou: Alex played full-back and had six possessions. Alex was on a quality opponent in Ben Reid and had a good battle with Reid over the day. Reid only kicked one goal for the day, so for an undersized player, Alex did a really good job to compete and get the ball to ground on most occasions. He still needs to work hard on keeping his feet and staying up, rather than going or choosing to go to ground, when the ball is in his area. Otherwise, it was a pretty solid day for Alex.

James Harmes: Harmesy played half-forward and on ball. He had 17 possessions. James can catch the eye at times, but he needs to have more consistency about his role and what he’s doing on the ground. He just looks uncertain at times and doesn’t seem sure what position he’s playing. But he’s still only learning the game and is a first-year rookie, so that’s to be expected from James at this stage.

Dean Kent: Dean had 22 possessions. He played half-forward and wing. It was a really solid performance from Kenty this week. He played with good speed and power. He kicked the ball much better than he has in previous weeks in poor conditions. Dean also finished with three goals, which was a major impact on the game.

Jordie McKenzie: Jordie had 23 possessions. He played on ball and it was a typical McKenzie game. He was hard and tough around the stoppages. Jordie only played half a game, before he was removed to be the carry over emergency for the Queen’s Birthday game. He’s been in good form and continues to put his name up in front of the selection committee.

Daniel Nicholson: Daniel played half-back and had 15 disposals. He kept his opponent under control for most of the day and was a solid contributor. He has been in better form over the past few weeks, but certainly hasn’t dropped away out of senior selection contention.

Viv Michie: Viv had 19 possessions and played on ball and half-forward. He had a really strong first half, winning the ball, and also a good early third quarter. But he petered out in the last quarter, probably due to the heavy conditions that the ground was in during the day. He used the ball OK, but defensively and around the stoppage still needs to be a real solid focus for Viv to force his way into the senior team.

Aidan Riley: Aidan had 21 possessions and played on ball and half-forward. Again, this week, we saw the value of Aidan’s work around the stoppage. He was able to win possession and work his way through traffic and find a target by hand. I thought he worked hard on the defensive side of his game, but he still needs to react quicker and do his work early to save himself running 50 or 60 metres, chasing his opponent.

James Strauss: James played half-back, wing and on ball. He had 14 possessions. It was a good starting point for James to launch the second half of the season on this week. He competed with far more consistency than he has to this point of the season. James won some good contested ball and his decision-making and use of the footy was pretty good on the day as well. We know that he’s capable of this – and probably better – so it’s a good point for him to launch and hopefully he uses this as a benchmark game for him for the rest of the season.

Luke Tapscott: Luke had 14 possessions and played on ball and half-forward. Again, he was really strong in contested situations. We know he can do that. The trick for Luke is to be able to win some easier possessions out in the open spaces, on the spread. He always seems to be under pressure or in a wrestle or battle to win possession of the ball. So that’s what we’d like to see from Luke – some uncontested possession in space and under less pressure, so he can use his skills.

Jimmy Toumpas: Jimmy played wing and half-forward. He had 11 disposals. It was an off-day for Jimmy this week. Conditions were difficult, but he was very fumbly and he certainly needs to play with a lot more strength to hold his ground and his position in contests. We know he’s got ability and he’s still very young in terms of games played. We’re just looking for Jimmy to show that consistency of effort in the contest. I’m sure when he gets that right, he’ll force his way back into the senior side.

AFL Victoria Development League: Box Hill 22.16 (148) d Casey Scorpions 7.4 (46)

Maia Westrupp: Maia played the first half as a defender and then at half-time, we moved him into the forward line. We saw pretty much the same old [things] from Maia, which is what we’ve seen from him as a defender over the season. So we thought we’d see him play as a forward and we got a totally different look from him, which was really good. He led and presented for the ball, and marked well. His decision-making was OK, when he was in possession. It was a real step forward and enlightening to see him play another role, so I think we’ll persist with Maia as a forward for the next few weeks to see if he can improve on that. Hopefully, he can put his name up for Casey senior VFL level.