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

VFL
Saturday, July 18, IKON Park (Princes Park), 2 pm  
Casey Scorpions 15.15 (105) d Northern Blues 9.4 (58)

“It was a really good win – almost a 50-point win. We felt we played one really, really good quarter. The third quarter was probably some of the best football we’ve played this year. But outside of that, we struggled to get any consistency with our ball movement. We felt our contested work and defensive mindset – in the way we wanted to defend the Northern Blues – was really, really consistent over four quarters. But it was probably just our ball movement where we couldn’t get any fluency with it. When we did do it, we did look dangerous. Maybe the past two weeks had caught up with us a bit, with the heavy conditions and wet weather footy. But overall, it was a good, grinding win and we didn’t have many passengers – it was pretty even across the board.” – Justin Plapp  

Rohan Bail: Rohan had 14 possessions and six tackles. He was a bit of a victim of circumstance. His ran really hard and did a lot of unrewarded running, but he really tackled well and his contest work was really good. He also got to really good spots – and was probably unlucky not to be used – but he certainly got himself inside 50, where we just couldn’t finish off some of our offensive stuff. Even though he had the 14 possessions, we thought he did a lot of unrewarded work and running.  

Jack Fitzpatrick: Fitzy has had better games for the club. He got matched up on a pretty mobile key forward in Liam Jones, who probably had the better of him. Some of his contested marks and work in the contest was solid. I think it wasn’t Fitzy’s best performance of the year, after a really solid six weeks. We’re prepared to forget him a little bit, because of his consistency, but he’s really accountable for that. We move on and look for another good performance from him this week.  

 Jack Grimes: Grimesy was super. He had 30 possessions and ended up having eight tackles. His contested work was strong and he gave us some inside ball. He was also really good with some forward connection. That was one of his best games this year, considering he was coming off a hand operation. It’s not easy coming back from an injury quickly and I thought his performance on the weekend will put him right into consideration this weekend, if there are changes in the AFL side. It was a very solid game.  

Jayden Hunt: Jayden had another really good performance. He kicked four goals, had 11 possessions and he ended up having two effective tackles. His running ability, speed and explosiveness, is something that’s been a real positive and he’s been using it well since he played at senior level. He’s been playing that high half forward role, where it allows him to use his asset. Jayden’s been a real find for us and he’s developed really quickly and he’s played three really solid games in the VFL now. His impact around the footy, particularly when he had some space was very, very exciting.  

Mark Jamar: I thought Russian was our best player on the weekend. His past six to seven weeks have been outstanding really. He ended up having 46 hit outs, 13 possessions and four effective tackles. Mark also kicked two goals and probably should’ve ended up with four. His work around the stoppage – he continually gave us first use – helped the midfielders set-up. We utilised that part and his strength. He was certainly a big reason why we won the game, so he was tremendous.  

Matt Jones: I felt that it was Matty’s best four quarter effort for Casey this year. He ended up having 29 possessions and five effective tackles. Matty also kicked a really good crumbing goal inside 50, where he read the ball off the pack and made a classy snap. A lot of his outside work and speed, plus his link up run were really solid. We were really pleased with Jonesy on the weekend.  

Max King: Kingy had seven possessions and the one thing I really liked about his game was his ability to compete and bring the ball to ground. He was able to compete and create opportunities for our smaller forwards. I thought from a compliant point of view, he was good. He kicked a goal, and gave us two goals running into goal, but he also provided a really strong contest and numerous opportunities for our smaller forwards and our guys at the fall of the ball.  

Oscar McDonald: We had another improving game out of Oscar. He was moved onto Liam Jones in the third quarter and did some really strong defensive work on Liam, where some of his defensive work and intercept marks were excellent. Every week he seems to get better in the areas we need him to focus on. He’s getting a range of roles – he’s playing on some experienced players in the VFL and some smaller types as well, so he’s developing in the right direction.  

Jordie McKenzie: Jordie had 29 possessions and eight effective tackles. His last two weeks have been outstanding. He’s just a player you can trust. He’s a really trustworthy player. He competes and gives you that grunt around the football and he shows intent when he’s tackling. Jordie also got a bit of outside ball this week, where he was able to link up and run. He also provided eight inside 50s. That’s an area of his game that we’ve really challenged Jordie in, but he’s just a super person and really coachable.  

Viv Michie: Viv’s had a good couple of weeks. He ended up with 25 possessions and three effective tackles. Viv provided us with good ball use and linked inside 50. He ended up having nine clearances, which was the highest for the day from our midfield players, so his work around the stoppages was really strong. He played his role really well and also gave us some quality ball use and link-up work. I can’t fault Viv at the moment. His attitude has been tremendous since being dropped back to the VFL.  

 Ben Newton: Benny is building. He missed a bit of footy after a bad concussion a few weeks ago. He had 15 possessions and four effective tackles. We wanted to challenge Ben with his work around the contest and his tackling. His contested ball has been strong, but the next part to challenge Ben is with his outside work. He’s got strengths with his kicking ability and his ability to break the lines. Ben’s playing his role, but we’ve got some things we’re really encouraging Ben to continue to improve on.

Jake Spencer: Spence had 12 possessions, four effective tackles and he kicked two goals and probably should’ve kicked four – he missed a couple of set shots. He was more forward/ruck, so he didn’t have as much time in the ruck this week. He competed really strongly and brought the ball to ground. He made some opportunities for our smaller forwards and he was able to give us a real presence forward of centre. If he finished off his work, he could’ve had a bigger impact on the scoreboard, but he still played his role really well.  

Dean Terlich: Terls had one of his better games. He had 22 possessions, two tackles and he rebounded from the defensive 50 six times. His ability to be able to win some critical one-on-ones and take some critical marks was as well as I’ve seen him do it this year. He was also able to give us some really good offensive ball use on the rebound. He’s put two really good weeks together.  

Jimmy Toumpas: Toump played well and had 18 possessions. It was the second week in a row that he had high tackles. It’s an area of his game that we’re really encouraging Toump to improve in. He had eight effective tackles and went inside 50 seven times. Toump’s link from mid-forward was good and he gave us some good ball use inside 50. He took two really courageous marks running back with the flight of the ball, after working hard to get back inside 50. He kicked two behinds and they were probably gettable goals. Toump’s really worked hard on his game, with that outside role. He played well.  

Mitch White: I was really happy with Mitch’s game. He had 12 possessions, two tackles and defended really well. His defensive part of his game and concentration levels, plus his ability to defend, join in and intercept continues to improve each week. He’s certainly reliable at the moment and he’s playing on the opposition’s second or third small forwards. Like Oscar McDonald, he’s keeps improving each week. Considering he’s a first year player, in regards to his young body and potential burn out, he’s playing really strong football at the moment, so we’re really happy with him at the moment.  

AFL Victoria Development League
Saturday, July 18, IKON Park (Princes Park), 11am  
Casey Scorpions 18.11 (119) d Northern Blues 7.10 (52)  

Dean Kent: Unfortunately, Kenty had a bit of awareness with his hamstring. His played a quarter and a half, which was pretty explosive. He tackled hard and won a lot of footy and he just had a little bit of an issue with his hamstring, so he just felt a bit of tightness. I don’t think it’s anything major, but he’s come off some pretty big surgery with his hamstring, so it was probably right for him to come off and make sure there was no further damage.