St Kilda Development Coach and Sandringham Senior Coach Jake Batchelor runs through each AFL-listed player's performance following this weekend's VFL clash against Richmond.

On the game

It was a good improvement on last week. We had five changes to the team, and all brought in good experience to the side. We faced off against a pretty young team in Richmond, in what was a bit of flip to the previous week, where we were quite young and the opposition had some experienced heads.

We had a good game and I was really proud of how they bounced back, not just with the win itself but the attitude, preparation and the connection between all the boys., it was pleasing to see.

Marcus Windhager

Marcus was extremely impressive, he played inside for us and had about 18 contested possessions out of his 31 touches. He was clean with the footy in wet conditions, especially when there was pressure on and a lot of players were fumbling.

He had 11 clearances and put together a good mix of both inside and outside work in a well-rounded game, so hopefully he can build on that form going forward.

Tom Campbell

TC came back this week after heading out west as a travelling emergency for the seniors. He played about 85% to 90% in the ruck with Max Heath being rested and looked good. He marshalled the troops, led really well and slotted a couple of goals in a solid game.

Speaking of connection before, Tommy embodies that. He was one of the main driving forces of ensuring that the Sandringham-listed players and the AFL-listed players come together and play as one. When we put on that uniform on the weekend, we are playing for Sandringham, and he is a big component of pushing that message.

Leo Connolly

It was the best game for Leo this season, building off last week. He is progressing well, he had 23 touches, 14 contested and six tackles which is a big step forward for him. It was probably his most well-rounded game, so the challenge will be a dry MCG next week to see if he can keep working on his positioning and getting to his spots.

He played well given the situations and the weather, but I’m looking forward to seeing him next week, especially on the ground where he made his AFL debut.

Ryan Byrnes

Ronnie had solid day. He played a mixture of roles for us both on the inside and outside, as well as high half-forward. He has the ability to play according to our set-ups, get in the right spots and do the tasks that are required of him.

He needs to work on his contested possession and he knows that, but he was impressive with getting some clean ground balls and took on the tackles.

Mitch Owens

If you could describe a ground and weather that suits Mitch Owens, Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Sunday was just that.

He’s just a bull, young Mitch. He gets in, wins the ball, gets it forward for us and then runs forward to the next contest and does the same thing. He had six free kicks paid in his favour, which tells you he is getting first to the ball and getting his hands on the footy.

He had six clearances and seven tackles, so it was another impressive game for Mitch, so I’m looking forward to him building on it next week and seeing how he goes on the home of footy.

Tom Highmore

Tommy copped a bit of a knock in the first half and fought it out the whole game. I was super proud of him as he could barely walk but managed to keep his hip warm and stay out there.

Stats aren’t his game, but he won the ball back for us a few times and alongside Darragh, he sets us up well down back. He was awesome behind the ball and there are still some stoppage positioning things that we can work on to get the best out of him and help us going forward, but all in all, it was a good game from Tom.

Jack Bytel

It was Jack’s first game back in a while and jeez he was good. He was awesome around the centre bounce for us, he often let Marcus and Mitch do what they had to do and he just set up defensively off the back of those two.

His attitude was fantastic, as it always is, he was clean with the footy and was the connector both in a literal sense on field as well as off-field amongst the boys.

Darragh Joyce

Darragh was back into the side, and the one word I’d use to describe having him back is settled. We are just settled down back when he’s in the side. Alongside Tommy Highmore, Darragh helped marshal the troops in defence and set us up well.

There are obviously things we can keep working on with his one v one work and specifics around that, but he led well and gave us some depth and stability behind the footy.

Matt Allison

Matty played on the wing for us, and it was pleasing to see him there and understanding the role. He statyed the game well, it was contested throughout and he worked hard for us in that position.

He faded out a little bit at the backend of the game again, but you could tell he was wanting to respond after a disappointing game last week and he impressed. We’ll keep him on the wing for a couple of weeks, he’s got some elite running power so I’m looking forward to seeing how he goes on the ‘G.

Jack Peris

There is a continual improvement with Jack which is awesome. He was similar to Leo in terms of the weather making it a little bit easier for him to defend with a bit more straight-line footy.

He used his speed well on both attack and defence, which I know he wants to do and he’s continuing to work on that. There’s still some work to do based on stoppage stuff but it was his second proper game of VFL footy so it is good to see him progressing. Definitely a step forward.

Josiah Kyle

Josiah started like a house on fire with a brilliant goal in the first few minutes to get us started. He is starting to become consistent with his chasing pressure inside our forward 50. Sometimes he does it from right positions and sometimes he can do it from the wrong positions but if I’m a half-back for the opposition, I’m wary of Josiah which is what you want from a small forward.

He had some good gives and a strong team-first mentality which was good to see, and it is noticeable to see. We’re still trying to work with him on understanding the running patterns as a high half-forward but when he is getting to the ball, he’s generally making good decisions.

Cooper Sharman

Cooper had a knock just before the half so he unfortunately couldn’t play out the game. He’s all good but the knee seized up and we didn’t want to pop him back out there and risk an injury.

He was looking okay, he had a couple of fumbles early on but it wasn’t the day for a high half-forward generally, especially with his style of play. He did have some good moments of helping us out in the contest and creating pressure, annd he should be fine for this week.

Jarryn Geary

Gears was like Cooper, he finished up at half-time after copping a head-knock and a cut between the eyes. It was classic Geary, head-down trying to win a hard ball but he unfortunately came off second-best in this instance.

Again, stats don’t tell Gears’ game – he led well, when the ball was there, he got it and he put up a good contest. It is disappointing to lose him both over the weekend and next week with concussion protocols.

Playing on the MCG

We are incredibly excited to play at the ‘G. Not many of the boys have actually played footy there so we need to embrace it. This isn’t like any other game or just another ground, it’s at the home of footy.

When kids dream of snapping a match-winner, or kicking a goal after the siren, it is at the MCG. We are going to embrace it and pump it up to let the boys know that this is a great opportunity. You don’t know when you’ll get that chance again.