Just got back from the game, it was a good contest.
WA were clearly the best side all day. There was only a 5 minute period at the end of the first quarter where VC got on top. My son wanted me to sit down close, so it was hard to see who kicked all the goals. They were still a product of some silly 50m penalties and turnovers, especially a shocking inside kick from Strnadica.
It was all set up from the WA talls, the rucks, forwards were just too strong for the VC. I thought Goddard, English dominated the ruck contest and gave WA first use of the ball all game.
WA Players
2 Liam Baker - Very smart footballer and was on fire in the last term. Provided great lead up work, moved to the correct places and pressured nicely in the forward line. I think he kicked two goals in the last and set up some play and with 1 minute to go Kirby decided to take him out with a late and high hit. A previous poster thought it was fair, I completely disagree, I was sitting straight behind the hit and it looked terrible to me.
3 Stan Wright - You can get him confused sometimes with Guelfi, but his left boot was long, hard and direct. Had some amazing clearance work and the forwards enjoyed his work. Height is going to be a massive issue for the kid along with plenty of other WA players.
8 Shai Bolton - Close to the most skilled player on the ground, his height and work rate may be the issue. He certainly has plenty of tools, highlights was his goal sense, kicking and agility. Just needs to work on his decision making and work rate and he could make it at AFL level.
9 Matt Guelfi - He really enjoyed the first use of the ball and was one of the most dominate midfielders on the ground. Certainly benefited from WA's ruck dominance.
12 Aidan Clark - Very solid game from this kid and I would not mind getting some more vision of his work, it may improve my thoughts on him.
13 Quinton Narkle - Started off slowly and I was questioning the coaches placing him in center square. Then in the second half he really came on and played a great game. Really great inside work and his kicking was first rate, very good game from Narkle.
22 Cameron Zurhaar - In the first quarter I really liked his game and he stood out for two things. He took a really strong mark and then around 5 minutes later laid an amazing shepherd that cleared plenty of space for his team mate to kick into goal. He even seemed to enjoy the big hit. Kicked a nice goal on a tight angle and thought he looked good, just needs to get some more midfield minutes.
24 Sam Powell-Pepper - Bull of a bloke and goes in hard. Now I personally don't think he will go as high as I've been reading online, just throws it onto his boot without a heap of thought. He really needs to work on his decision making. A few goals were the efforts of his teammates and he was just on the receiving end. Still has plenty of AFL qualities, just really needs to work on his kicking around the ground.
36 - Logue - Maybe not AFL level, but this kid has plenty to work with and I would not mind seeing his development over the next few months.
40 Strnadica - Looked at home up forward, so it could actually see him get drafted and his kicking was fine. Made a big mistake that lead to a VC goal, but he certainly did not let that get him down. Nice kick for goal, considering Waterman could not hit the side of a barn.
44 Brad Fullgrabe Watch this space with this kid, he looked really good. Was nice on the lead and worked hard, I would love to see the back end of this season and see how much improvement we get.
(I did not have a team sheet, so it made it hard)
VC
7 Brodie - He was a player that caught my attention and was moving well around the midfield. Liked his first half and then he dropped away in the second half.
10 Jok - Kicking is an issue, but really ran hard all day and provided outside spread. Got plenty of the ball.
17 McCluggage - I did not massively notice him even if he did get a heap of the ball. The mechanics of his kicking action look really good, he still did some averages kicks during the game. I would have to watch a lot more of him to see if he really belongs at the pointy end of the draft, on first viewing if this guy is in the top 5 then it seems like a weakish draft.
21 Atley - I did not massively notice this kid, then again I was mainly watching the WA players.
22 Berry - Loved the size of this kid and his efforts, has plenty of AFL qualities, I really like the look of this kid.
36 Battle - I was at the wrong end of the ground to see his first few goals. Brute of a man but I would like him to grow a few more inches or move up the ground a lot more and show his ability up the wings. Seems to have a very powerful kicking action and loves to show his strength up forward. I still think the WA backs on the whole beat him or controlled him nicely. Still does not scream top 5 pick for me at the moment. Still hard to show your worth when your midfield is getting destroyed.
WA were clearly the best side all day. There was only a 5 minute period at the end of the first quarter where VC got on top. My son wanted me to sit down close, so it was hard to see who kicked all the goals. They were still a product of some silly 50m penalties and turnovers, especially a shocking inside kick from Strnadica.
It was all set up from the WA talls, the rucks, forwards were just too strong for the VC. I thought Goddard, English dominated the ruck contest and gave WA first use of the ball all game.
WA Players
2 Liam Baker - Very smart footballer and was on fire in the last term. Provided great lead up work, moved to the correct places and pressured nicely in the forward line. I think he kicked two goals in the last and set up some play and with 1 minute to go Kirby decided to take him out with a late and high hit. A previous poster thought it was fair, I completely disagree, I was sitting straight behind the hit and it looked terrible to me.
3 Stan Wright - You can get him confused sometimes with Guelfi, but his left boot was long, hard and direct. Had some amazing clearance work and the forwards enjoyed his work. Height is going to be a massive issue for the kid along with plenty of other WA players.
8 Shai Bolton - Close to the most skilled player on the ground, his height and work rate may be the issue. He certainly has plenty of tools, highlights was his goal sense, kicking and agility. Just needs to work on his decision making and work rate and he could make it at AFL level.
9 Matt Guelfi - He really enjoyed the first use of the ball and was one of the most dominate midfielders on the ground. Certainly benefited from WA's ruck dominance.
12 Aidan Clark - Very solid game from this kid and I would not mind getting some more vision of his work, it may improve my thoughts on him.
13 Quinton Narkle - Started off slowly and I was questioning the coaches placing him in center square. Then in the second half he really came on and played a great game. Really great inside work and his kicking was first rate, very good game from Narkle.
22 Cameron Zurhaar - In the first quarter I really liked his game and he stood out for two things. He took a really strong mark and then around 5 minutes later laid an amazing shepherd that cleared plenty of space for his team mate to kick into goal. He even seemed to enjoy the big hit. Kicked a nice goal on a tight angle and thought he looked good, just needs to get some more midfield minutes.
24 Sam Powell-Pepper - Bull of a bloke and goes in hard. Now I personally don't think he will go as high as I've been reading online, just throws it onto his boot without a heap of thought. He really needs to work on his decision making. A few goals were the efforts of his teammates and he was just on the receiving end. Still has plenty of AFL qualities, just really needs to work on his kicking around the ground.
36 - Logue - Maybe not AFL level, but this kid has plenty to work with and I would not mind seeing his development over the next few months.
40 Strnadica - Looked at home up forward, so it could actually see him get drafted and his kicking was fine. Made a big mistake that lead to a VC goal, but he certainly did not let that get him down. Nice kick for goal, considering Waterman could not hit the side of a barn.
44 Brad Fullgrabe Watch this space with this kid, he looked really good. Was nice on the lead and worked hard, I would love to see the back end of this season and see how much improvement we get.
(I did not have a team sheet, so it made it hard)
VC
7 Brodie - He was a player that caught my attention and was moving well around the midfield. Liked his first half and then he dropped away in the second half.
10 Jok - Kicking is an issue, but really ran hard all day and provided outside spread. Got plenty of the ball.
17 McCluggage - I did not massively notice him even if he did get a heap of the ball. The mechanics of his kicking action look really good, he still did some averages kicks during the game. I would have to watch a lot more of him to see if he really belongs at the pointy end of the draft, on first viewing if this guy is in the top 5 then it seems like a weakish draft.
21 Atley - I did not massively notice this kid, then again I was mainly watching the WA players.
22 Berry - Loved the size of this kid and his efforts, has plenty of AFL qualities, I really like the look of this kid.
36 Battle - I was at the wrong end of the ground to see his first few goals. Brute of a man but I would like him to grow a few more inches or move up the ground a lot more and show his ability up the wings. Seems to have a very powerful kicking action and loves to show his strength up forward. I still think the WA backs on the whole beat him or controlled him nicely. Still does not scream top 5 pick for me at the moment. Still hard to show your worth when your midfield is getting destroyed.
Last edited:
