Sandringham coach Aaron Hamill spoke exclusively to saints.com.au following the Zebras’ come-from-behind win over the Northern Blues.

David Armitage
29 disposals, 15 kicks, three tackles, one goal

“Armo’s inside work was really strong for us, but he had more uncontested possessions than contested which was pleasing for him.  His work rate and ability to get on the outside was first-rate, so on the whole, it was a really good one from Dave.  What we were able to do with Dave, [Brede] Seccull and [Hunter] Clark was pleasing.  Clearly their inside work speaks for itself, and we were +53 for uncontested possessions all over the ground and +20 through the midfield, so Dave played a critical part in that.  From his inside work, to his outside work and outside spread and shape, it was first-class, and he’s in really good form and it’s pleasing he’s continuing on his way.”

Hunter Clark
29 disposals, 15 kicks, one tackle

“He did well, Hunter, and he’s improving.  It’s important that he gives great effort and improves, and it was really good to see him, particularly around the stoppages and in his transition work.  He was really strong for us game day and he keeps improving weekly, as we’d expect and hope for.  But he’s playing his part well and is another inside mid that was both strong for us and defended well.”

Oscar Clavarino
14 disposals, five marks, one tackle

“Clav’s feeling comfortable at the level now, three games in after an extensive break.  Sometimes from afar, we see that it is difficult game to play – it’s the second-best competition in Victoria – but he’s finding his feet really well for us.  He’s training well and on the back of his training form and his preparation, he’s putting together some good performances.  Down back we’re quite young, hence Jake Batchelor down there, which is good for us from a leadership point of view.  Clav’s improving a bit like Max King every week that he plays, so he was another one who I thought took some steps forward.”

Nick Coffield
21 disposals, 17 kicks, six marks

“He was another really good one from an outside perspective.  We struggled early to find a mark and get ball use going, and early on in games we haven’t been starting particularly well, so Nick’s ability to use the ball, change angles and give us a lot of drive off half-back was allowed us to use [Nick] Hind in a different position.  He gives us really good flexibility Coff; he can play on the wing, half-back and at times inside, so I think he’s developing really nicely for us as a half-back and getting his three phases of the game in offence, defence and contest about right.”

Nick Hind
20 disposals, 12 kicks, one goal

“We tried Nick up forward for a half which worked well.  He hadn’t played there for a while, so we certainly weren’t after perfection with him, but we’d expect to use his strength which is his speed and general decision-making.  Nick was really good for us around stoppage, but he played his part well in terms of getting to the fall of the ball in the front half.  First-up in that role was pleasing for him, so we just need to keep adding strings to his bow.”

Darragh Joyce
16 disposals, 13 kicks, six marks

“Darragh got stronger as the game wore on and I thought his third quarter in particular was strong for us.  He’s in really good form for us like a lot of our backs.  We kept the Blues to 47 entries, but 15 of them came in the first quarter which wasn’t ideal, so I think once we were able to put pressure up the field more, we gave those guys like Darragh behind the ball a better chance.”

Max King
Seven disposals, three marks, two goals

“He didn’t hit the scoreboard as much as last week, but from a physical point of view, a bit like Clav, he’s three games in now.  He’s pulling up well, he’s able to train during the week strongly and prepare well, so that’s half the battle with young, developing key forwards.  We had 51 entries but when you actually break it down and think ‘how did we move the ball’, it wasn’t overly well in the first half. It’s quite difficult when they had numbers back in their defence and were able to generate one-on-ones and then maintain it, so Max was a little bit of a victim of circumstance in the way we used the ball.  He still had his three shots at goal, some of his forward craft was good but we weren’t able to capitalise on it.”

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Doulton Langlands
19 disposals, three marks, three tackles

“We like the way Doulton’s going in the way his strengths are.  I thought he put another really good game together on the wing and as an inside mid.  He’s breaking the lines well for us and he’s got a really good understanding of how we want to play.  He’s a worker for us and we like the improvement that we’re seeing from Doults.  Was interrupted in his first couple of games in terms of not being available, but since then he’s strung some really good games together for us and we like where he’s going.”

Billy Longer
Six disposals, one tackle, 23 hitouts

“For Billy, we’ll wait and see how it unfolds during the week.  We’ll let the symptoms settle down and he’ll have a SCAT test as per the usual concussion protocol.  We weren’t able to utilise him in the second half and I guess having five hitouts to 34 in the second half wasn’t ideal, but we were able to maintain clearance and integrity around the stoppage and get some good use in there.  We liked his first half though with his 23 hit outs and he gave our mids first use of it.”

Bailey Rice
Nine disposals, three marks, one goal

“Being a key forward there, it was always going to be difficult considering we didn’t move the ball well and the way they defended.  While he didn’t have huge numbers, we thought he contributed solidly.  I always like his contest – he’s certainly trusted in there – and his positioning.  If we can get the ball moving so it’s a bit more fluid it’ll help Ricey out, but as far as contest and his position as a hybrid forward, I liked some of his stuff.”