Brent Moloney

Played inside mid mostly and the ground suited him. He finished with only 19 touches – another half a dozen would have been nice. He still had 10 contested possessions, six clearances, and sent the ball inside 50m, but would’ve been a better all round game if he’d gotten a bit more of the ball.

Jack Crisp

Played across half-back and a bit on the ball. It was a much improved game from the previous week. He spent some time on Daniel Dzufer, which is a good learning for him. It basically teaches him how his actions can affect whether the opposition scores or doesn’t score.

Ash McGrath

Four goals was a good return for Ash. He obviously lacked a bit of match fitness, but that will come over next few weeks. He made a real impact player whenever he got the ball in his hands – he doesn’t waste a possession. His leadership was also good to have out on the field.

Nick Robertson

Robbo and Crispy played similar roles and switched between half-back and on-ball. Robbo had low 20 possessions and 3-4 clearances. Like Crisp, he spent some time on Dzufer, which would have helped him learn how to play on an opponent and make him accountable for a man at stoppages. Those sorts of teachings should only help make him a better player in the future.

Jordan Lisle

Started on a wing, and did really well. He had 17 touches till half time. But it became obvious we were a bit too small in attack, so we sent Sam Michael forward and put Jordy down back after quarter time. We would have liked to keep him on the wing, but he was needed more in defence.

Daniel McStay

It was probably Dan’s best game for the year. Played on Rhys Estall, who’s one of the best small forwards in the competition. Not only did he hold Estall goalless, but Dan had 20 touches himself and had five rebound 50s. It was a really good game and shows that he can play on those smaller types as well as talls.

Tom Cutler

Cutts gets plenty of the ball – he finished with 28 touches, which was the most of any Lions player. Played predominantly on the wing, but we used him on the ball at times because we want him in and around bodies a bit more to improve his contested ball. He is very good offensively, but there are still a few areas defensively that he needs to develop. Once he gets that defensive side right, I expect he’ll be back in the senior team soon.

Andrew Raines

Played on the wing all day, and a bit inside. He knows how to get the ball, cover the ground and play his role. Provided great leadership with 24 possessions.

Michael Close

Closey kicked 1.4 and probably should have had more shots on goal, but we weren’t that clean with our entries inside 50m. He kicked the first goal of the game, and finished with 15 touches and a few marks. But unlike last week, none of his marks were contested. He needs to make the most of his chances. Had he finished with 4.1 instead of 1.4, it would have been a much better game.

Jonathan Freeman

Jonno was a late withdrawal. It was nothing major; we just didn’t want to risk him. He’ll be right for next week.

Ryan Lester

Ryan played forward a bit and on the ball. We feel that playing as a leading forward will help add an extra string to his bow. He probably didn’t impact as much up forward as we would have liked, but our ball forward wasn’t great for him. He still kicked two goals, and probably got us back into the game with his work in the midfield. His work at stoppages and winning contested balls created scores.

Jackson Paine

We played Jackson down back on Cleve Hughes, who is the NEAFL’s leading goal-kicker, averaging around 5.5 goals per week. He kept Hughes goalless in the first half, and played all over him. Hughes went on to kick four in the second half, but didn’t have any real impact. Along with Dan McStay, I thought he was our best player on the day. It was the first time we’ve looked at him as a defender, and from what we saw, we might trial it for a little bit longer.

Isaac Conway

Similar to last week, Izzy played majority forward and a bit on ball. Had a slow start to the game, but his second half was a lot better. Didn’t kick any goals this week, but was involved in some scoring shots. Won good contested ball at times, but didn’t have the same impact as the week before. He just has to improve getting front and centre, and crumbing at the feet of the big guys.

Nick Hayes

Again played across half-back, and had 15-odd touches. Was really good in the first haf, but fell away a bit in the second. Didn’t impact as much as he did the week before, but it still wasn’t one of his worst games.

Archie Smith

This week proved a big challenge for Archie, because he played on guys that were as tall as him and just as mobile. Finished with 26 hitouts and his ruck work was pretty good, but he didn’t get enough ball around the ground – he only had five touches. Because his opponents were more mobile, they were able to run off him. It’s a good learning for Archie, and something that we help his development.

Jordon Bourke

Bourkey played up forward and had one of his quieter games. He didn’t have any shots at goal, and didn’t really impact the game. Hopefully he’ll bounce back next week. He’s been up forward for a couple of weeks now, so should be getting a good understanding of the role.

Sam Michael

Played in defence, and gave some ruck relief for Archie, before we moved him forward where he continued to help with the ruck rotation. He competed well and took some good marks around the ground. Kicked a nice goal. We like him more down back, but he adapts quite well when we need to use him as a swingman. That quality is a strength of Sam’s.