First game back, played 60% game time. He played wing for the majority of time he was on ground. The main thing was to get Josh some time on ground, get some run in his legs. He had a really good training session last week so again we’ll increase his game time this week but it’s good to see him back from another foot injury. He’s worked really hard in the off-season and pre-season to get himself back on track. Now we’ll ramp up his game.

He played inside mid and at times throughout the game outside on the wing. He lost his perimeter a couple of times, and I didn’t think his GPS was at a level that it would be playing senior footy. He’s still working on his ground level stuff, there was some good stuff but it was also a bit inconsistent – there is room for improvement. Also he’ll work on his ability to have a bit more composure in and around congestion. We’re still working on those little fundamentals in Nick’s game. He’ll put himself into selection for round 1, with Zorko out there’s an opportunity for him on the wing in the seniors. It was a big weekend for him having to play NEAFL and then back it up in the seniors against the Suns the following day.

Played inside mid, he continued to improve and we saw some really good signs from Billy. A big focus for Billy this week was his GPS and his ability to get his high speed stuff up when running and his ability to get out of congestion. His clearance work with 9 (possessions) was fantastic. He played with a little more authority on game day which is what you want to see Billy get out of himself. I think he had about 25 possessions which is two weeks in a row now Billy’s put two really good games of footy together. There is still room for improvement in his running and how he runs his patterns but he’s getting ball in hands. He’s 30-40% up on what he was doing last year so some good signs for Billy coming into the season.

Played inside as a midfielder for us. He got tackled a bit on the weekend and probably didn’t show us enough composure with ball in hand. A lot of ground ball / handball pick up work to be done through the week for Benny – just now consistently playing at a higher level. But his GPS and his ability to run was again promising. We’re still seeing some good signs, it’s probably now just the polish stuff he needs to work on with his skills going into the next game.

Westy had his game time ramped up again – he played about 80% game time in a ruck/forward role. He gave us first use in and around the ground as a ruckman. We want our rucks when they push forward to be able to impact more, take a couple more marks and hit the scoreboard when they’re resting there. The combination between Smith and West around the ground certainly looks to be improving. They’re building a great relationship those two. Westy will continue to build his game time and put pressure on Westy in the ones.

Played key forward – he probably didn’t impact as much as he had been the previous week but certainly showed a presence down there as a key forward. We want him working on his structural stuff and his ability to defend when the ball is in his area particularly around his closing gaps and tackling in those areas. He’s certainly flying for his marks, creating a contest for us, structurally probably is where the key forwards let us down on the weekend. We let the opposition take too many marks and Eric’s one of those who contributed to that.

Again more game time – second game back. He hurt himself but hopefully he’s available for the next practice match game. He came off about 10 minutes into the third. He probably lost his presence up forward. He’d taken a couple of catches, kicked two or three goals from his marks in contested situations that was a really promising sign. He was a big loss and certainly not getting many minutes into him was a bit of a dampener. Hopefully he’ll be alright.

Clayton played as a high forward. He missed some opportunities to convert in front of goal. He could’ve kicked three or four for the day. He’ll continue to work with his patterning and his ability to find uncontested marks inside forward 50 and not being the key forward. We want him crumbing goals. Hopefully next week he’ll hit the scoreboard more.

Probably could have come off the ground with four or five goals. He dropped 5-6 marks and had some ample opportunities. I think he missed one or two set shots. He may have converted one. Again like last year, Hammer’s getting opportunities, using his strength with his speed and his ability to get out the back and find space for himself. He just needs to finish off his work with his goal kicking. I think that will come in the next few weeks, and he’ll be a real headache for opposition defenders.

Reub’s smash in and tackle pressure was his big focus and area of strength which he wants to really build on his game. He kicked two opportunists goals which is his role. He’s been working on his patterns when in general play as a high forward. That’s his area of improvement going into next week’s game. What he’s doing as a high forward when he’s up the ground and his ability to get back has him certainly putting pressure on the high forwards in the 1’s. He’s an exciting talent.

Pretty solid from Jacko in the contest. There were a couple of times when he was beaten one on one, probably more so in fast play with the opposition. He was solid in his spoiling and his ability to defend the area. He’ll continue to build some consistency in his game now. It’s good to see him back out on the park, moving well. What was really noticeable from the game was his instructional voice out on the paddock and his ability to instruct his teammates further up the field was good. It was fantastic leadership from him.

Beamsy played as a high defender. He didn’t get any time on the wing which we probably should have done a little bit more. We used him more as a running back. He used the footy pretty well and was spare for us at times over half back. Probably didn’t have his impact in there because opposition didn’t quick kick as much as probably shaped and used their hands more. His area of strength was his ball use that was really good and his ability to run off half back and create opportunities. That’s two solid games from Beamsy now and he’ll put himself into consideration for round 1 for the seniors over in Perth. Hopefully an opportunity for him arises.

Not a great game from Liam. Still some work in areas of his game in his ability to defend and have urgency and concentration. He did a couple of good things, but probably one we’ll put in the backpack and focus on Gold Coast going forward.

Solid, probably not as good as last week. Certainly looking to work a lot more offensively which is good. He was strong in the contest, but he gave away a 50. The offensive game from our defenders wasn’t as solid in this game as it was in the previous. There were a couple of positional things from Dizzy around stoppage. With his performance it puts him in contention for round 1 against West Coast as a defender. Another option for Mitch Hahn and the senior group.

Probably more patterns from Hugh. He was at times a bit too skinny and didn’t really get enough width. That was the same with our other defenders as well with how we flowed the footy. I think Hugh’s focus is again his offence with ball in hand and not hatching it as much. He was OK in the contest, probably got beaten a couple of times on the hit-up and use. He probably got too high as a defender at times too. We’ll focus on our backs this week with our ball movement because it’s probably an area of the game where we probably didn’t get bang for buck and create opportunities to score. The backs are starting to build a good relationship down there at the moment.