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

2017 Peter Jackson VFL
Saturday, August 19, 2.10pm
Casey Demons 11.12 (78) d Williamstown 7.12 (54)
Casey Fields  

From the coach …

“Coming up against the top team was always going to be a challenge for us, and for a number of different reasons, we rank Williamstown highly. We were able to out tackle them, win contested possession and clearances – even though they had a dominant ruckman in Nick Meese. Our onballers, particularly Mitch King in the ruck, did a fantastic job against him. It wasn’t a high-scoring game, but it was tough and grinding. It was a match we needed to win, because it keeps us in the hunt for a top-four spot. I was really proud of the players. They had a bit of a lapse in the last quarter – Williamstown really came at us, but our experienced players weathered the storm and were composed when they needed to be. It was a terrific team win, against a very good opposition.” – Justin Plapp 

Tom Bugg: He had 24 disposals, including 18 contested possessions, six clearances and 13 tackles. After having six weeks off, he started slowly as expected, but when the game heated up through the middle patches, Buggy stepped up and was able to have an influence with his bigger body, and win critical contests. I thought his second half was significant in the outcome of the game. He showed strong leadership and the 13 tackles showed us he was really invested in the game from a defensive and contest point of view. Buggy’s really going to benefit out of that and we should see him get some big improvements over the coming weeks.

Sam Frost: Sam had 13 disposals, five marks, three rebound 50s and one tackle. He played his role. It wasn’t a great day for defenders – you weren’t looking for anything too reckless or outrageous in their game. I thought he defended strongly and he used the ball really well. He went at 100 per cent with the ball and was able to make some good decisions, which helped us. For a day where it was tough, he certainly played his role as a key defender.

Liam Hulett: He had six disposals, four tackles and kicked 2.1. Although we know Liam as a marking forward, he was able to have more impact in the defensive side of the game. He certainly put pressure in our forward 50 and he was able to do that well. Liam’s been able to play his role well in the past two or three weeks. He kicked an important goal late in the game and just before half-time, so it was good to see him hit the scoreboard.

Declan Keilty: He had seven disposals, three marks and had seven tackles. Even though Declan didn’t have the numbers he did last week, I thought defensively he was really strong. He set up like we needed to with good decision-making. Aerially, he was strong, where his ability to be able close his direct opponent was strong. He continues to be consistent and grow as a player, which is pleasing.

Jay Kennedy-Harris: Jay had 23 disposals, including 13 contested possessions, four inside 50s, one goal and 19 tackles. He copped a lot of attention on the weekend, which is Williamstown’s style, as they like to put time into a number of players. I think Jay worked through that relatively well, but I thought his second half, he had a big impact in the game. He was able to win some critical contests and able to outnumber with speed. With 19 tackles, he was able to put some pressure around the football and around the opposition. On a tough day, his impact on the game was really serviceable.

Mitch King: Mitch had six disposals, 22 hit outs, four clearances and six tackles. I was impressed with Mitch on the weekend. We knew what was coming – he was up against a dominant ruckman in Nick Meese, who has been averaging 70 hit outs. He’s a quality VFL player and has been for a long period of time. Mitch put a lot of work into the way he was going to play against Meese and he applied that well. Although Meese had a pretty big impact on the game, we won clearances by four or five, but lost hit outs by 60. It’s a big discrepancy, so it probably goes to show that he had some impact in there, but our midfielders were strong with their positioning and the way they worked together, which was great. With Jake Spencer being out injured, Mitch has had to step-up in the ruck and to his credit, he’s been able to grow and he’s been able to develop. It was a good game from Mitch.  

Corey Maynard: He had 20 disposals, five clearances, 13 tackles and kicked a goal. After being the carryover player for the AFL team last week, Corey left off where he’d been in the past month to six weeks. His form at VFL level has been outstanding. On a day where it probably suited those players, where he is a contest player, he was quite significant, in and around the contest. Corey continues to take his game to another level, which is pleasing.

Jack Trengove: Jack had 18 disposals, three clearances, four inside 50s and four tackles. He had some concerns going into the game, due to some gastro, but to his credit, he didn’t let it hinder him. It certainly impacted him, but he didn’t outwardly show that. He continues to play at a high level in the VFL, and a number of different roles, where we needed around the ball and particularly across half-back. His ability to win contested ball or critical contest – and use the ball and create opportunities for us – and be fearless for us was a real highlight. He was significant on the weekend.

Jack Watts: Jack had 20 possessions, including nine contested possessions, 11 marks, three clearances and kicked one goal. I thought he played a significant role on the weekend, particularly in the middle part of the game, where we needed to change some things up in the middle of the ground. He was able to play as a midfielder and give us some composure, plus some fierce ball movement, which opened up and gave us some scoring opportunities. That was a significant move in the day, which added real value in that part of the game. I was happy with his team-first attitude and engagement of VFL footy. He had a big influence on the game for us.

Sam Weideman: He had 12 disposals, five marks, including three contested, six hit outs, one goal and four tackles. I thought Sam competed manfully in testing conditions. He was able to impact the ball, when it was in his area, particularly in the air. Sam went into the ruck and was able to give Mitch a chop out as well. We thought that when he was in there, he really helped us in that part of the game as well. He’s had a few issues with his goalkicking in the past few weeks, but it was great to see him hit the scoreboard and kick a goal at a really important stage in the game.

2017 AFL Victoria Development League
Saturday, August 19, 11am
Casey Demons 23.21 (159) d Williamstown 5.6 (36)
Casey Fields  

No Melbourne-listed players played in the Development League