St Kilda Development Coach and Sandringham Senior Coach Jake Batchelor runs through each AFL-listed player's performance following Sandringham's victory over North Melbourne in the VFL.

On the game: North Melbourne

It was a tough game against North. They challenged us throughout the game, and it was probably only around that last quarter that we started to play how we wanted. That was due to them not allowing us to move the ball and defend how we wanted to. They took it to us, so we only got going in the last, but we managed to get away and finish off the game strongly. It was a good learning curve for us that we can’t wait until the last quarter to get into our stride, we need to get better in that regard.

Dan Butler

Five goals, 23 disposals, five tackles

Buts was impressive. He had a focus on his offensive patterns, to challenge his defender and be clean with the footy in hand. He ticked those off and obviously his stat line was good, but it was his pressure and ability to stay around the contest that was the most pleasing. He spent a bit of time in the midfield too, which adds an extra string to his bow.

Tom Campbell

50 hit-outs, 23 disposals, 11 clearances, one goal 

In an inexperienced midfield, Tommy stood up and took it upon himself to lead that group. He played like a big man, he’s strong and powerful, and he showed that on Sunday. He got hit behind the ball a couple of times, which seemed to fire him up a bit. He led the way with his ability to win the ball, his follow-up work and that allowed us to move the footy forward. Without him, we might have been in a bit of strife, he was huge for us.

Jarryn Geary

23 disposals, four inside-50s, four tackles, one goal 

Gears had a fantastic game. Three quarters, he was down back leading the way and then when we were getting beaten through the middle through the opposition’s handball chain, he went into the midfield and set us up defensively. For a bloke who hasn’t played too much in the midfield, he adapted well, and it isn’t much of a surprise that that switch helped us win the game, he just knows what he is doing. It’s good to pop Gears’ in there, and at his ripe young age, add another string to his bow.

Jack Billings

25 disposals, six tackles, four clearances, one goal 

JB had a strong outing. He played a mixture of wing and up forward and was good for us in both areas. He had a big focus on his transition running, and his reaction time when the ball turned over. You can see he was working hard on that aspect of his game. He impacted well for us and it is a shame that both sides have the bye this week, it would’ve been good to see him string that performance on with the next. Wherever he plays in two weeks’ time, I’m sure he’ll be ready to go.

Jarrod Lienert

21 disposals, seven marks, four inside-50s

Lieno had a bit of an interrupted pre-game. He was the emergency for the AFL and came straight from Marvel. He got to the ground only 20 minutes before the game and started on the bench. He worked his way into it, there’s still a few defensive and offensive decisions for us that he can work on, but he organises and communicates well with the other defenders. We are more stable when he is there for us and if we can just tidy up a few little decisions, he’ll be an improved player.

Tom Highmore

16 disposals, seven marks 

Tommy didn’t have the stats game he usually does, but he defended well. His contest work was impressive, he had a couple of times where he fell over that we can work on but his ability to defend a player out in space versus drop off and get stability for us was an improvement on the last couple of weeks. All-in-all, a good game for Tom where he played his role.

Leo Connolly

19 disposals, five marks, two inside-50s

Leo played his role, but he had a couple of times where he looked unsure of himself in the contest. We need to work on that because he is going to be in a lot of contests. It was similar to last week, so we need to make sure he is starting strongly, rather than having to build into the game and get going later on. He made some good runs for us, and we always look good when he has the footy in hand. We just need to find a way to get him into the game a bit earlier.  

Jack Peris

17 disposals, four marks, four tackles, three inside-50s                 

Jack played on the wing, and he just keeps improving each week. He does a lot of running that can sometimes go unrewarded or unseen, and his stats aren’t massive, but that doesn’t matter. He’s learning a new role and finding ways to use his strengths as a footballer to help us on the wing. Sometimes you might only get one opportunity in a contest to be strong, and he’s making the most of them each time. There are things that he can keep working on, like his decision making with ball in hand, but he always gets back and helps, and turns up to each contest. It is pleasing to see.

Darragh Joyce

16 disposals, four inside-50s

Darragh had a bit of an in-between game. Gave away a couple of free kicks, but in saying that – he was let down bit some poor team defence at times that left him in a one-on-one. He’d still be disappointed by some of the frees he gave away, there are things like body work that he can be a little more proactive with. He was composed with the footy when he had it, he found some marks well and the defensive and offensive principles were good. Just some contest things that we can tidy up.

Matthew Allison

10 disposals, three marks

Matty had an okay game, he competed well in the air but needs to stick some more tackles when he gets that chance. He is starting to consistently run and jump at the footy, which is what we drafted him for. He doesn’t get out-marked when he runs and jumps, so we just need to keep finding ways to get him engaged. He can look to stick with his opposition a little bit better, his opponent dropped off him a couple of times and impacted the contest, so that is the next step for him.

Max Heath

12 hit-outs, five disposals

Max had a bit of a quiet game. Their rucks challenged us physically and he had a knock early on that prevented him from having a big impact. He didn’t get out-marked but didn’t have the same presence or follow-up as normal. It’ll be good for him to have the week off and then get back into the swing of things against Southport in a couple of weeks.

Onto next week: The bye

The lads are currently on a four-day break, they’ll be back on Friday and Saturday and reset into a new week on Monday. It’ll be good for everyone to have not just a mental refresher, but a physical one too. Last year, we only played nine games in the VFL, and we’ve already hit that mark now. It’ll be good to get away for a bit and then be ready to hit the ground running as we prepare for our game against Southport next game.