- Bruce: Plenty of room for improvement inside 50
- Key forward domination
- 'We had a big focus on clearance and contest'
- Up close: Before the bounce
Blake Acres (38 disposals, 17 contested possessions, nine marks, seven clearances, six tackles, five inside 50s)
“Blake was our highest possession winner with 38 and he had six tackles too, so defensively he was good. He played in the midfield and on the wing, so we played him inside and outside. He was good; he just needs to be cleaner with his disposal efficiency.”
Eli Templeton (31 disposals, 22 uncontested possessions, seven marks, four inside 50s, four rebound 50s)
“Similar to Acres, Eli played both inside and outside, but predominantly on the wing where he was able to rack up 31 touches and he hit the scoreboard with a nice goal. He was more outside where he won plenty of the balls. Eli looks like an AFL player at VFL level now.”
Jack Lonie (29 disposals, 12 contested possessions, seven inside 50s, six clearances, four goals)
“Jack’s a professional, he’s produced two from two coming back to Sandy. He knows where the goals are, he kicked four, three in the last quarter. He cracked in and tackled. The only thing with Jack is at times he needs to look to be more defensive than offensive in defensive 50 situations. He split his time up forward and on ball half-half.”
Darren Minchington (24 disposals, 13 contested possessions, seven tackles, six inside 50s, 2.3)
“Darren got 24 and had more contested than uncontested and he also bought in with seven tackles. Like Lonie, he could have won more of the ball had he spent more time in the midfield but we wanted to split his time 50-50. He also had five shots on goal so when he went forward he was dangerous. He bounced back after last week.”
Brodie Murdoch (21 disposals, 18 uncontested possessions, seven marks, three rebound 50s)
“We missed his leg off half-back last week. In his eyes his kicking efficiency was down this week, but he is so valuable in trying to link up and break lines for us. He is such a penetrating kick, he can back his leg in and break the game open. He had 21 possessions and was a good contributor for us.”
Tom Lee (19 disposals, 14 kicks at 92.9 per cent, four rebound 50s, three inside 50s)
“Tommy was probably our best defender. He spent plenty of time on McKay and didn’t get beaten in a contest – he defended really well. You look and see that he didn’t have many tackles, but what he’s doing is he’s winning or halving the contest, winning the ball or reading the flight and not having to tackle. That’s why his offensive stats look a lot better because he’s beating his opponent.”
Tom Curren (16 disposals, 10 tackles, three score assists, three clearances)
“He was really frustrated in the first-half and then he came good after half-time. He was getting tagged early in the game and I think that got the better of him. But after half-time he started to crack in, use his body and work both ends of the ground. We like to add tackles to disposals so that’s 10 + 16.”
Bailey Rice (16 disposals at 87.5 per cent, four marks, three clearances)
“Bailey Rice was really impressive. He put his head over the ball, he was clean with the ball and he beat his man and he made good decisions. It was his best game at the level which was really positive for the young man.”
Nathan Wright (16 disposals, nine kicks at 88.9 per cent, seven tackles, three inside 50s)
“‘Wrighty’s’ priding himself on his handball receives and he had about eight. He played the wing predominantly, and had 16 possessions. Defensively he really tightened up this week and didn’t have any goals kicked on him. His use was really good; he was a bit braver with ball in hand.”
Hugh Goddard (13 disposals, seven marks, three tackles)
“Hughie had a slow start to the game but he got better as the game went on to his credit. He made a few mistakes early, had his colours lowered but he competed well on Aaron Black who kicked four a week earlier. We were worried about their height in attack and we stopped them. The defenders did their job.”
Cam Shenton (13 disposals, three tackles, 1.2)
“13 touches and three shots on goal was a pretty handy day for a player that plays between the arcs. He worked up high into the back end and got used on outlets really well, so when the ball was coming out he got used and gave us some real drive and was able to link up. He was a good contributor.”
Lewis Pierce (23 hitouts, 11 disposals, five marks, 1.3)
“Lewy started forward and then moved into the ruck. He split his time 60 per cent forward, 40 per cent back. He had 23 hitouts and his follow up was really good he got used around the ground. He provided contests in the air and his bodywork in the ruck was really good, he used his body really well. He went forward and made an influence, taking three contested marks and having four shots on goal.”
Luke Delaney (eight disposals, four marks)
“Delaney was reasonably solid across the day. He didn’t get a lot of touches but stopped Majak Daw from having an influence. He beat his man so that was a win for us.”
Billy Longer (32 hitouts, seven disposals, five tackles)
“Billy’s tap work was good; he had 32 hitouts which was positive. He laid five tackles and tackled well in close. He just needs to get involved more around the ground and get his hands on the ball a bit more.”
Brandon White (six disposals, four tackles)
“Brandon was a bit loose on his opponent on the weekend and let in a couple of goals on his man. He didn’t defend his opponent with a life and death mentality. He hurt his ankle and missed the last quarter. It looked bad initially but signs aren’t too bad now.”