VFL coach David Loader breaks down the top performers from Saturday night’s 19-point loss to Footscray at the Whitten Oval.
Tom Campbell | 22 disposals | 4 marks | 52 hit-outs
“Tom was exceptionally good again.
“He’s been so impressive because he brings so much more than his footy ability to the group.
“He was great around the footy and set us up so well, but in those conditions when you’re really looking for a bail out target that will just bring the ball to ground or take a mark, he was exceptional.
“He plays big game time and continues to do whatever the team needs, so he was really good.”
Aaron Hall | 30 disposals | 9 tackles | 7 inside 50s
“Aaron Hall had a good game on the weekend.
“’Hally’ got a lot of clearances and his work around the footy was really good, because he’s such an explosive player.
“He was able to get us meterage, by getting it cleanly and then moving the ball forward.
“He was very team-focused and he gave the hands when he had to.
“Defensively he was good, so it wasn’t one-way traffic for ‘Hally’ on the weekend - both sides of his game were solid.”
Nathan Hrovat | 23 disposals | 2 marks | 2 goals
“Another good game forward for Nathan Hrovat.
“He’s in a rich vein of form at the moment, so I’ve been really pleased with the way he’s going.
“He had another three or four shots at goal again on the weekend.
“He’s helping us defensively as well, by keeping the ball inside our forward half.”
Joel Crocker | 14 disposals | 2 marks | 2 rebound 50s
“Joel was solid on the weekend.
“He simply defended better than he has in the past which was pleasing.
“He’s been working really hard on his defensive positioning and he’s starting to get that right on the weekend.”
Nash Holmes (VFL) | 23 disposals | 3 marks | 9 tackles
“Nash’s ability to influence the contest is huge, because he’s such a tough-nut around the footy, and those conditions on the weekend really suited him a lot.
“He’s going along quite well because he’s had to change his role from a purely inside mid to a pressure forward, and he’s getting better running patterns.
“We put him inside in the second half on the weekend and we saw him go to work, so he would have been a tough opponent to play on.”
Dan Robinson (VFL) | 20 disposals | 3 marks | 2 tackles
Chris Jansen (VFL) | 19 disposals | 4 rebound 50s | 1 tackle
Louis Cunningham (VFL) | 15 disposals | 4 marks | 2 tackles
Declan Watson | 15 disposals | 3 marks | 3 tackles
Curtis Taylor | 14 disposals | 8 tackles | 1 goal
Sam Durdin | 13 disposals | 2 marks | 6 tackles
Kyron Hayden | 12 disposals | 1 inside 50 | 5 tackles
Tyrone Leonardis (VFL) | 12 disposals | 3 tackles | 1 goal
Bailey Scott | 12 disposals | 4 tackles | 1 goal
Brendan Whitecross (VFL) | 12 disposals | 1 mark | 2 tackles
Tristan Xerri | 12 disposals | 25 hit-outs | 1 goal
Paul Ahern | 9 disposals | 2 tackles
Alex Morgan (VFL) | 9 disposals | 3 tackles | 1 goal
Tom Hotchin (VFL) | 8 disposals | 1 mark | 2 tackles
Lachlan McLean (VFL) | 7 disposals | 2 tackles | 1 goal
Ryan Morrison (VFL) | 7 disposals | 2 tackles | 1 goal
Quintin McKay (VFL) | 4 disposals | 1 mark | 2 tackles
Ben McKay | 2 disposals | 1 tackle
