MATCH REPORT: Sandringham secures finals spot
Tom SimpkinTommy was solid and kicked a goal again. One of the things we’ve been working on with him is his offensive play, and it was great to see him have an impact in this regard on the weekend.
When the ball came out of our forward 50, he often repelled it straight back in and hit up Trent Dennis-Lane a couple of times. There was a bit of play late in the game when there was a 50/50 ball and Tommy came in and forced the ball out. It was really important and was exactly what we needed. We were really pleased with Tom’s performance.
VIDEO: Tom Simpkin VFL highlights
Trent Dennis-LaneTDL was our best forward this weekend. He kicked four goals following his five last week so he’s in really good form at the moment. I mean he could have kicked seven on Saturday and eight last week!
He was just really smart when he found the footy, and when he didn’t have it, his defensive work was also excellent.
Sam Dunell
Sammy started forward and we felt we needed to get him behind the ball just before half-time to give us some stability down there. He had a reasonable game and played a pretty important role for us behind the footy with his marking and leadership.
Darren Minchington
Darren was best on ground. If you look at his stats, they are phenomenal and it was definitely the best game I’ve seen him play since he arrived at St Kilda. He really stepped up in the clinches and was salt and pepper – he was in everything!
RELATED: VFL Round 19 stats
VIDEO: Darren Minchington VFL highlights
Dylan RobertonRobbo was quite solid down back and did his job well. He knows when to zone off his opponent and when to play tight.
Brodie Murdoch
Brodie played reasonably well again. He tackled well, cracked in and got his fair share of the ball as well. But there was one bit of play that was brilliant. The ball was on the forward flank, he worked hard to get out in space and then beat two and then a third opponent one-on-one before kicking a goal. It was a fantastic bit of play that lifted the whole team.
Jason Holmes
Holmesy kicked his first official VFL goal after booting one earlier in the season in a practise match. The boys were pumped for him and Jason was excited too! He practised his routine before the game, which he doesn’t normally do, and then he got an opportunity on a reasonably tight angle and slotted it. Once again, his ruck work was very good on the weekend as well.
Lewis really cracked in when the ball hit the ground and had a good game. He also took some strong marks and it was probably the best game Holmesy and Lewis have played in tandem.
VIDEO: Lewis Pierce VFL highlights
Jarryn GearyGears only made it through half a game and then hurt his calf. He may have been a touch rusty although he did have eight touches in the first quarter, so Jarryn was on track for a pretty good game but then just tweaked his calf.
Spencer White
Spencer had a quiet game. He kicked one goal and that was late in the match. Things just didn’t go his way.
