In Round 5 of the 2025 VFL season, the Casey Demons defeated Richmond in a 118 point win, bouncing back from the disappointing result of the previous week. The match, held at Casey Fields, was particularly significant as ruckman Tom Campbell celebrated his 150th VFL game—a milestone that underscores his enduring presence in the league .
The game offered AFL-listed players an opportunity to demonstrate their development and overall performance, which VFL Senior Coach Taylor Whitford assessed and dissected to highlight their current level of play and pinpoint areas for improvement
Jed Adams
“I was really pleased with Jed and his performance on the weekend. I thought he drove really good standards for our back six on the day and really led that group down there. I loved his position up on the ball, he was able to impact in the air by either marking the ball or spoiling. I think he ended up with eight marks and three marks from oppo and he was actually our most impactful player in winning the ball back for us on the weekend in terms of interceptions.”
Blake Howes
“Played the first half on the weekend, put up a really good performance. I thought his speed and his contest was back to a really good level, and that sets Blake’s game up from our point of view. I really loved that he was able to win the ball back for us. He took seven marks and had 14 possessions in half a game of footy, so it was a really well-rounded performance.”
Oliver Sestan
“Ollie coming into this year and moving down back, worked really hard on his ability to learn our defensive system and learnt some balance in his game. We love what Ollie gives us in terms of his offensive drive and his kicking but the balance in his game over the last fortnight, three weeks has been really impressive. He was able to win the ball back for us and use the ball really calmly and well, but this is coming from his positioning around defence and contest.”
Luker Kentfield
“This is Luker’s second game down back, he sort of got thrown in the fire last week and had to learn on the run around what life as a defender is like. He had a really good performance last week and took some really good learnings around where to position himself, both when the ball has speed on it but also when it’s held ball. I love the way he was defending deep 50, he was desperate to win the ball back, he was looking to launch for the ball and try and mark or spoil. We need to continue to work with him to get him involved in our offensive game but a really solid performance from Luker.”
Jack Billings
“Jack put in a really professional performance on the wing on the weekend, he’s getting back and supporting our defence. His ability to pressure the ball carrier was really strong and he’s getting involved in offensive chains. He’s using the ball really well for us, I think he had 11 marks and 25 disposals, so a really well-rounded game from a wing.”
Tom Campbell
“Was great to get TC back out there on the weekend, he’s had a really interrupted month and has only played eight quarters of football, but he’s really influential in our clearance game and our work around stoppage on the weekend which is one of his real strengths. It was great to get him back out there and around the group, to get him through a full game.”
Bailey Laurie
“Really well-balanced game from Bailey as a midfielder on the weekend. His stoppage and clearance work is becoming one of his real strengths now and his ability to pressure the ball carrier around those areas is really strong. What we’re loving at the moment is his ability to be clean and execute when he has the ball, so he’s finished with two goals, one and 12 score involvements which is a great balance to his game.”
Taj Woewodin
“Taj had a little role change this week playing more as an inside mid which he relaly relished that opportunity. His work around clearance and stoppage was excellent and he was able to give us first use, and he tackled and pressured the ball carrier really well. What we love about Taj is that he’s a great user of the ball but also a really great team mate on the weekend. His communication with his teammates was outstanding so a really good performance by Taj.”
Kynan Brown
“A really good response from Kynan on the weekend. He’s doing a great job and what he was able to do on the weekend with the ball was a real feature. His hands and drive around clearance and contest was brilliant and something he can build his game on for the rest of the year. He finished with 24 disposals and was able to impact the scoreboard on the outside as well.”
Jai Cully
“A role change for Jai on the weekend, we played him on a wing, and we really saw some of the traits we love about Jai. His run and drive on the outside of the contest was exceptional and for someone who has never played on a wing, it’s a really great start for his life as a winger. He wants to get involved in offence, but he values that the right stuff in getting back and helping out our defenders.”
Will Verrall
“Will played a little bit more forward this week as well as his ruck time. I really like Will’s movement at the moment both whether he’s in front of the ball or around the ball. He still finished with really solid impact on the game and hit the scoreboard. We’ll continue to work with him around his forward patterning to be a presence up there for us but what we’re loving at the moment around his ruck work and his follow up is being influential around our ability to win clearances and get the ball in our front half.”
Jack Henderson
“Jack joined the club from Werribee and it was his first VFL game for Casey, which was really exciting for everyone. We saw everything that we love from Hendo, pressure and tackle around the ball but also inside forward 50. He was able to hit the scoreboard, and we’ll continue to work with him around his patterning and his ability to be involved in offence and support our defence so he’s ready for his AFL opportunity when that arrives.”
Matt Jefferson
“Jeffo wouldn’t of had the scoreboard impact that he would’ve wanted coming out of the game but what I was really happy with was his patterning, how his reactions and his speed as a forward looked in a better spot than the week before. We’ll continue to work with Jeffo around how he can get separation from his defender but a part of that is continuing to execute his aerial game and take his marks. Coming back from a hand injury, two weeks in, he’s looking to look back to the form we saw in the pre-season.”
Ricky Mentha
“Ricky’s doing a lot right within his role at the moment within the team, without getting the reward that everyone’s wanting to see. He’s becoming a really trustworthy teammate in executing the running patterns we want to see from him in terms of his role, we just need to work with Ricky on taking his opportunity whether that’s in front of goal or with the ball up the field. What we do come to expect from Ricky is tackle pressure, whether it’s up the ground or inside forward 50 and we’ll continue to look at applying this to his game.”
Aidan Johnson
“Aidan’s aerial game was really back on show on the weekend, his ability to mark the ball and bring it to ground with pressure was unreal. His timing in his leading has improved so much over the last month that I’ve worked with him and comes back from him doing the work during the week so he’s now starting to get the rewards which is really nice to see. He’s kicked three goals, five and if he took his opportunities he could’ve kicked five or six of those, so we’ll just continue to work with AJ around his goal kicking routine and look to finish his work but a really good performance from him at VFL level.”
Jacob Van Rooyen
“Some of Jacob’s aerial work was back to its best and it really starts from where he’s positioning himself as a forward and how he’s moving into the ball. As the game went on, we saw what we really come to know around Jacob and his aerial power. He finished with the five goals, two and had a real impact on the scoreboard but what we’re really looking to continue to see from Jacob is his ability to mark the ball or bring it to ground and then staying in the contest and pressure, to get the ball back for us. This is really looking good for Roo over the last two weeks since we’ve had him back at VFL level and we look to continue to build this as so when he gets his opportunity in the AFL it’s second nature.”
