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

VFL

Sunday, May 8, Casey Fields, 2pm

Casey Scorpions 19.11 (125) d Northern Blues 2.6 (18)

From the coach …

“It was another week where we played in pretty trying conditions that weren’t conducive for great football. But we were able to play a style of football in pretty ordinary conditions, which was pretty pleasing from our club’s point of view. We went in with a taller line-up and that was something that wasn’t ideal for our preparation, but that’s what it was. From that point of view, we were really pleased with the players’ effort. We thought that they executed what we needed to do against a team that plays a different brand of football. We controlled their ball movement and we were able to control the contest. We were able to hit the scoreboard and make the most of our scoring opportunities. I think it was our most complete four quarter effort for the year, so far. There were a lot of positive signs and the next two weeks become massive games for us from a club point of view, and where we stand. We’ve certainly had a good start to the season, but we’re coming up against some teams we really respect and teams we want to compare ourselves to.” – Justin Plapp 

Chris Dawes: Dawesy’s return from injury was really sound. He played around 60 per cent game time and had 10 possessions, two marks and kicked two goals. He certainly competed really well. Dawesy’s had his ups and downs, and it’s been a pretty frustrating time for him with his calf injury, so I really happy for him to be able to get through the game and continue his road back to hopefully playing senior football.

Lynden Dunn: Dunny was fantastic on the weekend. He played a defensive role for us after being dropped from the senior team. Dunny came back and worked on a few areas of his game, which he was able to do. He had 26 possessions, five marks and five inside 50s, which was a pretty solid performance. Dunny showed great leadership and great organisation with our back six.

Sam Frost: Frosty played a different position this week. He was another one who came back from the AFL. Sam was one of our key defenders and part of our back six. It’s not new to him that position, but in the past two years, he’s played ruck/forward. It took him a while to adjust, but he showed some positive signs and used his speed a few times to come forward and really impact contests. His ball movement also linked up well several times. Sam’s a work in progress, but I thought his attitude was great. 

Jack Grimes: It was another really solid performance from Jack. He played around the ball. Grimesy’s been really consistent with his performance. He played a number of different roles – midfield and high half-forward. He had 24 possessions and eight effective tackles, so his work around the ball was really solid. Jack also did some grunt work around the middle of the ground, which has been consistent from him over the past three or four weeks.

Max King: He started the game really well. Kingy took the first contested mark of the game within 30 seconds. He went back and kicked the goal. Max played key forward and ruck, switching between those two positions. Kingy’s going to take some time and there are some inconsistencies in his game that we’re trying to even out and get a bit more consistent. We understand where he’s at and he’s really clear on where he needs to get better. But he’s certainly got some real upside in his game.

Oscar McDonald: Oscar was one of our back six. It was his second game back after missing with concussion. He played as one of our key defenders and played well. Some of his aerial, contested work was really positive. He could’ve taken the game on at times with his leaps and ball use, but there were certainly some good signs and he played the type of football we know he can play.

Alex Neal-Bullen: Alex continues to improve every week. He had five inside 50s and a game high 14 tackles. It was a pretty solid game from Alex, who played predominantly midfield. I love his intensity around the ball and his ability to win his own ball. He wins critical contests and uses his hands really well.

Ben Newton: It was Ben’s third game back and I thought he was one of our best players and one of the best on ground. He had 38 possessions, five inside 50s and kicked two goals. He also had 11 tackles. Ben had a solid performance in all areas of his game. He was able to win critical contests and he finished his work off, which was a real highlight.

Joel Smith: Joel came back from two weeks off. He was a little bit fumbly early and I think for a kid playing his first year of senior football, there were some signs that he’d missed a couple of weeks. As the game went on, he was able to put some pretty defensive efforts on. He was able to win his own footy across half-back. 

Jake Spencer: With Spence’s second game back, he looked a lot more comfortable this week from the word go. He competed really strongly and had 38 hit outs. Jake topped off his game with a goal. He was pretty important to our win on the weekend.

Dean Terlich: Dean played that high defender role. He had 21 possessions, five inside 50s and kicked a goal. Dean’s a player who knows what his best looks like and we’re really working hard with Dean to get that consistency in his game – in all areas. With his ball use, when he does it well, he backs himself in – and he’s AFL standard, but we’re working really hard with him at the moment to get that consistency in his game.

Jack Trengove: It was another solid performance from Jack. He had 23 disposals, five inside 50s and 11 tackles. Jack played predominantly as a midfielder. He won critical contests and used his hands well around stoppages. Jack continued to show leadership and direction for our young players.

Sam Weideman: He kicked four goals from his seven possessions. It wasn’t conducive for key forwards, but the one thing that holds Sam in good stead in those conditions is that he’s unconditional in his ability to compete in the air and on the ground. He took two or three really strong contested marks and was really intent around that area of the game. In the conditions, I thought it was a pretty good performance.

Mitch White: I felt it was one of Mitch’s better performances. He continues to really improve in the key areas we need him to. Defensively, he was very good. He impacted the contest in the air and also at ground level. Mitch finished with 20 possessions and four inside 50s from that high defensive role. He had five effective tackles as well.

AFL Victoria Development League

Sunday, May 8, Casey Fields, 11am

Casey Scorpions 17.14 (116) d Northern Blues 3.6 (24)

No Melbourne-listed players featured in the Development League