VFL Report: Round 17

VFL and development coach, Craig McRae provides a summary of how the Tigers’ players performed in last Saturday’s Round 17 win over Werribee at Swinburne Centre, Punt Road Oval.

Anthony Miles

27 disposals, 14 handball receives, five clearances and five inside-50s

“Continues to be a really good player at this level. Was heavily tagged by the opposition, which we expected going into the game. I was really pleased with our connection and ability to support ‘Milesy’ in that role. It helped him be one of the best players on the ground - 27 disposals, five clearances - it was a really good game from ‘Milesy’ again.”

Patrick Naish

26 disposals, 13 handball receives, seven inside-50s and five rebound-50s

“Continues his really good form. He’s played four games now where he’s been one of our major possession winners, he had another 26 disposals last Saturday, with his ability to rebound with seven inside-50s and five rebound-50s, which included two score assists. He’s playing on the wing and half-back, but it was his ability to transition which was pleasing.”

Shai Bolton

24 disposals, four tackles, six clearances and 14 contested possessions

“Played off half-back and then through the midfield. We continue to try and develop him in different roles. It was really pleasing to see him get involved in the offensive part of the game. I think he had about 13 disposals in the last quarter, as a midfielder, including six clearances.”

Corey Ellis

23 disposals, one goal, seven marks, five tackles and seven clearances

“Played a slightly different role, a bit as a forward/mid(field) role. Again, another who we’re trying to develop and expose in different situations. His ability to win clearances from a forward role was really pleasing. He had seven clearances and kicked a nice goal from outside 50. It was a good game from Corey.”

Callum Moore

19 disposals, five goals, 12 marks and three tackles

“Played arguably his best game for the football club in the three years he’s been on the list. His marking ability really stood out with 12 marks for the day, seven of those contested, which is a huge number. His ability to jump and launch at the football and then his athletic capability to cover the ground was a real feature. He kicked 5.3 and set-up a couple of others. He looked way above the level and it was really pleasing the way he returned from AFL football.”

Noah Balta

17 disposals, one goal, eight marks, five inside-50s and four rebound-50s

“A bit of a swingman, we played him forward and back, but didn’t play ruck this week, but he has done that in the past. A really athletic player who can run and launch at the footy and cover the ground. An example of this is when he grabbed the ball in the middle of the ground, ran and bounced, and kicked a goal from 50 metres out. It was a really good performance from Noah. He performed better down back than as a forward, but he still managed to kick a goal when he was down there.”

Ivan Soldo

16 disposals, 33 hit-outs, one goal, three tackles and three clearances

“Played his best game for a number of weeks with 16 disposals, 33 hit-outs, three clearances and took a spectacular mark when playing forward. We’re trying to get a balance with him playing forward and ruck. It was clearly one of his best games, with his marking a feature as well.”

Ryan Garthwaite

13 disposals, one goal, seven marks and two tackles

“Defended really well for three quarters, then we swung him into forward/ruck in the last and we’re developing him in different roles as well. He kicked a nice goal and we had a good celebration around the goal he kicked. He’s in great form but we just wanted to see if he could play that forward/ruck role, which he seemed to do pretty well in the last quarter. Seven marks was a feature for him for the day, especially three contested.”

Callum Coleman-Jones

12 disposals, 20 hit-outs and three clearances

“Played through the ruck and forward. His ability to support others in the aerial contests is really standing out. It’s almost to the detriment of his own marking ability, but we’ll get that balance right. He only had two marks himself and that’s one of his greatest strengths. Maybe a little bit too unselfish at times, so we want him launching at the football more. Played probably his best game through the ruck all year, with his follow-up work being a real feature.”

Tyson Stengle,

Eight disposals, one goal and two tackles

“Unfortunately got injured in the second quarter, but up until that stage he was the best player on the ground. His ability to win all of his one-on-ones, be it aerial or on the ground, and his tackling, really stood out in that first quarter. We didn’t see him after half-time.”

Ben Miller

Seven disposals, one tackle and one hit-out

“Played back and a little bit of forward. Another who’s hard to play on. We’d love to increase his offensive influence. He has a low possession rate but he’s really hard to play on with his defensive stuff stacking up.”