Nice to have the VFL play 5min from home and be able to attend! It was a good win overall, the difference in level between our team made mostly out of AFL listed players and theirs was obvious. We were stronger, and cleaner with the ball. We dropped the intensity in the last quarter which made the score closer than it could have been.
Broomhead best on ground, with our other top performers being Kennedy, Marsh, Still and Reid. Some notes on players below:
Broomhead - Great game as a goal kicking mid. Ended up with 3 goals, some of them against a strong wind, and showed his class being involved in most of our best plays. I think that's exactly what the club would have been looking for by making him play a full game in the 2s. Interestingly Bucks who was there had a long word in his ear at 3/4 time.
Kennedy - Probably our equal best mid at half time with Broomy. He looked well above VFL level, breaking lines and disposing of the ball cleanly. He was a bit in and out of it in the second half so makes me wonder if he still has endurance issues. Still, he's definitely got a role to play for us in the AFL this year.
Marsh - He was really good. Impressive defensive positioning and instinct when you think he grew up a forward. Used his speed well, and even his kicking was decent, which I think is the main thing holding him from a call to the seniors. Also showed good leadership, shouting instructions and giving some good advice to others when coming on or off the interchange bench.
Reid - Didn't look like a player coming back from an injury, he was fast, strong and involved. Good marking, good kicking. If you except the fact that we made him sit out the last quarter, I don't see how he wouldn't come straight back in the seniors. We are probably being very conservative with his return.
Abbott - Kicked the two goals today and showed good intensity. He's got great upper body strength so he manages to get the handball out even when tackled. Personally not sure he will make it as a best 22 AFL player, but showed some good signs.
Karnezis - he played mostly on the wing, and some time in the backline. While I can see how that's beneficial to the VFL team, I don't see it as good for the seniors, because he's simply too slow to be an AFL midfielder. Also had some dangerous and costly turnovers. Good to see him kick 3 goals though, I would love to see him re-developed as a full time forward.
Scharenberg - he looked more like a player coming back from an injury than Reid. He was pretty good, showed his good read of the ball in the way he positions himself and gets the spoil or the mark in defence. He tried to take on some players on the rebound but I think he's missing some acceleration (hopefully just a temporary thing) and being close to the interchange bench I could see him out of breath by the end of the game so still needs to build his tank.
Armstrong - Armstrong was Armstrong, and I don't mean it in a bad way. I think he's a known quantity in what he offers. Great kicking, gets a bit of it, but lack the physicality when faced with a contest or going to the middle. Think he can play a role when called for us, but others would get priority.
Cox - Good in the hit outs, but not great around the ground or in play. He struggled with defensive marking.
Gault - disappointing performance, as he was not involved enough forward and looked at his best in the ruck. He got sent to the backline for some parts of the second half.
Young - came on in the 2nd quarter, played mostly on the wing at first then in the back. On the wing he used his speed to do some good things, but was a bit of a liability in the back, cost us a goal by getting caught HTB close to the goals. Would want to show a bit more to get a senior call I would think, but only his first game back.
Maynard was decent, some fumbles but some good defensive efforts and good on the rebound. Still was very good as a forward, for those calling him to the be rookied, why not since our tall forward stock is so thin, but he's quite a one-dimensional forward, which works very well in the seconds but probably not in the AFL. Didn't see much of Manteit or Goodyear but it might have been because I wasn't following them as closely as others.
Broomhead best on ground, with our other top performers being Kennedy, Marsh, Still and Reid. Some notes on players below:
Broomhead - Great game as a goal kicking mid. Ended up with 3 goals, some of them against a strong wind, and showed his class being involved in most of our best plays. I think that's exactly what the club would have been looking for by making him play a full game in the 2s. Interestingly Bucks who was there had a long word in his ear at 3/4 time.
Kennedy - Probably our equal best mid at half time with Broomy. He looked well above VFL level, breaking lines and disposing of the ball cleanly. He was a bit in and out of it in the second half so makes me wonder if he still has endurance issues. Still, he's definitely got a role to play for us in the AFL this year.
Marsh - He was really good. Impressive defensive positioning and instinct when you think he grew up a forward. Used his speed well, and even his kicking was decent, which I think is the main thing holding him from a call to the seniors. Also showed good leadership, shouting instructions and giving some good advice to others when coming on or off the interchange bench.
Reid - Didn't look like a player coming back from an injury, he was fast, strong and involved. Good marking, good kicking. If you except the fact that we made him sit out the last quarter, I don't see how he wouldn't come straight back in the seniors. We are probably being very conservative with his return.
Abbott - Kicked the two goals today and showed good intensity. He's got great upper body strength so he manages to get the handball out even when tackled. Personally not sure he will make it as a best 22 AFL player, but showed some good signs.
Karnezis - he played mostly on the wing, and some time in the backline. While I can see how that's beneficial to the VFL team, I don't see it as good for the seniors, because he's simply too slow to be an AFL midfielder. Also had some dangerous and costly turnovers. Good to see him kick 3 goals though, I would love to see him re-developed as a full time forward.
Scharenberg - he looked more like a player coming back from an injury than Reid. He was pretty good, showed his good read of the ball in the way he positions himself and gets the spoil or the mark in defence. He tried to take on some players on the rebound but I think he's missing some acceleration (hopefully just a temporary thing) and being close to the interchange bench I could see him out of breath by the end of the game so still needs to build his tank.
Armstrong - Armstrong was Armstrong, and I don't mean it in a bad way. I think he's a known quantity in what he offers. Great kicking, gets a bit of it, but lack the physicality when faced with a contest or going to the middle. Think he can play a role when called for us, but others would get priority.
Cox - Good in the hit outs, but not great around the ground or in play. He struggled with defensive marking.
Gault - disappointing performance, as he was not involved enough forward and looked at his best in the ruck. He got sent to the backline for some parts of the second half.
Young - came on in the 2nd quarter, played mostly on the wing at first then in the back. On the wing he used his speed to do some good things, but was a bit of a liability in the back, cost us a goal by getting caught HTB close to the goals. Would want to show a bit more to get a senior call I would think, but only his first game back.
Maynard was decent, some fumbles but some good defensive efforts and good on the rebound. Still was very good as a forward, for those calling him to the be rookied, why not since our tall forward stock is so thin, but he's quite a one-dimensional forward, which works very well in the seconds but probably not in the AFL. Didn't see much of Manteit or Goodyear but it might have been because I wasn't following them as closely as others.
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