Get the latest insight from Sandringham Senior Coach and St Kilda Development Coach Jake Batchelor following Sandringham's Round 14 match against Brisbane.

VFL MATCH CENTRE: Get all news, stats and videos from Round 14

SANDRINGHAM  3.2  6.4  12.6  12.7 (79)
BRISBANE  1.0  6.6  8.7  11.13 (79)

GOALS
Sandringham: Billings 3, Peris 2, Bytel 2, Zagari, Lowe, Hotton, Harms, Connolly
Brisbane: Buzza 2, Ah Chee 2, Prior, McDowell-White, Joyce, Fullarton, Cockatoo, Brain, Answerth

BEST
Sandringham: Bytel, Billings, Cordy, Milne, Campbell, Adams
Brisbane: Answerth, Ah Chee, Joyce, Lyons, Prior, Dunkley

Jack Billings

24 disposals, seven inside-50s, three goals

Jack was very dangerous for us up forward. His running was elite and he just adds some extra class on the outside to turn some half opportunities into scoring chances. He set up exactly how he wanted, had some good defensive efforts and we’re just really glad that he got through. JB’s come back from his hammy so quick and performed physically and mentally really strong, which was really pleasing in his first game back.

Zak Jones

14 disposals, five tackles, two inside-50s

It was good to have Jonesy back and that bald head on the ground. He got through the game, which is more important than anything. The first half was spent as a forward inside the stoppage because we wanted a bit of grunt in there, and was clean, drove his legs and was strong over the ball. He got through feeling confident and he pulled up really well, so we expect him to go again.

Daniel McKenzie

11 disposals, three marks

D-Mac’s a star. He just goes about his business no-fuss and he plays a big part in our game along the wing. He’s the first one back defensively and equalises his opponent really well in front of the ball, and although he’s never going to stuff the stats sheet, but he played with a hard edge which I reckon he’s been keen to get back over the past 12 months. It was good for him to get the first one out of the way and he’s pulled up really well.

Jack Bytel

26 disposals, 13 tackles, six clearances, two goals

Jack had a solid performance, his stoppage work was strong and he made some smart decisions about going in to impact or going around to find someone. Now the challenge is to keep sharing the load of the midfield with Leo and Jonesy and whoever else is in there and finding the balance between playing different roles at stoppage. He had some moments too where he looked ahead, pressed and we got some good turnovers for it.

Jack Peris

17 disposals, seven tackles, two goals

It was one of Pez’s best games for the year. His running was back to where it was because that’s his weapon against anyone else in the comp, his ability to run at high speed consistency. His setup at stoppages, especially forward-50, was a focus and he did that really well and his outnumber to get back into the contest was there and what we want to see.

Zaine Cordy

19 disposals, 10 marks, nine rebound-50s

Zaine played really well and almost single-handedly kept us on a positive ledger in the last 10 minutes with five intercept marks. Unfortunately the ball kept coming back in, but he was a good leader down back during that time. Same as most, there’s a couple of things we can tighten around our defensive group and Zaine being one of the deepest can control all of that because he can see everything. He won the ball back, was really aggressive on defence and laid some really big tackles and spoils.

Tom Campbell

40 hit-outs, 18 disposals, eight tackles, five clearances

Tom had a really, really strong day. It was hard to judge the flight of the ball in the air, but he showed that when he read it well first we got hands on it. I put it on Tommy as the leader at centre bounces to set our team up correctly at critical times, and he just keeps bringing himself back to what makes him a really good player and ruckman.

Max Heath

14 hit-outs, six disposals, three marks

A quiet game for Moose this week. He struggled to read the flight of the ball in the air consistently, but the times he did he looked really good. That’s his one-wood, so we’ve got to make sure the contest work is there all the time. He had some good moments in the ruck with his follow-up, but when Tom Campbell is in he spends more time up forward. It’ll be a good opportunity for Moose to bounce back next week and play a strong, contested game next week against Werribee.

Leo Connolly

15 disposals, six tackles, two rebound-50s, one goal

Leo had good follow-up around stoppage, it wasn’t huge in clearance numbers, but he played against some good midfielders in Answerth and Lyons and held his own. We just need to remind him to play to his strengths around the stoppages by being active and on the move and not getting locked up by bigger bodies. He’s had a focus on defensive patterns once he can’t impact and they’re starting to improve; as a natural defender he’s got those in his back pocket, but we’re seeing some consistency.

Tom Highmore

22 disposals, six marks, five rebound-50s

Tom didn’t have as big of an impact than he has previously; he’s put in five to six weeks of really solid football, and this one wasn’t his strongest and not by lack of effort. A few decisions around the wind didn’t go his way, so we just need to keep bringing him back to his contest work and what his game his built around. When he’s playing at his best he reads the ball so well and attacks it, so we’ll get him back to that this week.

Oscar Adams

17 disposals, six marks, five rebound-50s

Oscar played as a mid-to-high back and had some really, really strong contests which stood out. There were a couple of ground-ball goals against which we can tighten up a little bit, but it was great to see him get up and keep playing. He’s improving each week, so it’s just about that consistency with young players in keeping the foot on the throat, which they’re doing.

James Van Es

Nine disposals, three marks, two rebound-50s

Jim had a solid game, even with not much defensive structure throughout with the ball being free-flowing all game. He had a focus on contest and was playing as a small, and at times still played as a tall and at times forgot to defend his opponent ruthlessly in the defensive-50. It’s a good opportunity early days to practice different parts of defence and to grow mentally in a game, but he had some good defensive efforts and was strong in the air when it mattered.

Isaac Keeler

Seven disposals, two inside-50s

All in all, a tough day for key forwards with the wind but Isaac made some good inroads in the air. When he runs and jumps at it he’s really hard to beat so we’ve just got to keep imploring him to do that and see if his opponents want to try and fly with him. He had some really strong ground-ball contests where you thought ‘wow’, because that’s not expected from a first-year developing ruck.

Olli Hotton

Seven disposals, three inside-50s, one goal

Olli played the first half a mid and then moved forward. He’s still keeping up with the pace of the game and got a cork as well, but he got to some good spots as a forward and kicked his first goal which was exciting. He set us up well ahead of the ball and he’s really keen on learning and getting better, so we’re getting him to mix up his roles and play different positions for us.