VFL midfield and development coach Xavier Clarke provides a summary of how the Tigers’ players performed in last Sunday's Round 15 win over Werribee.
CROWD Guess the Crowd for our Round 18 match with Port Adelaide and go into the draw to win
Josh Caddy
26 disposals, two goals, eight marks, seven tackles, six clearances
“Was outstanding really, used the ball well, played majority midfield time and also kicked two goals for the game. His work around the ball with seven tackles and his ability to be able to win the ball was fantastic and showed great leadership.”
Jack Higgins
23 disposals, four tackles & four clearances
“Was pretty good around the ball. Played a little bit of mid(field) and mixture of forward as well. He’s in good form at VFL (level). He didn’t hit the scoreboard as he usually does but didn’t spend more time up the ground.”
Jacob Townsend
22 disposals, 10 tackles, five clearances, one goal & six inside-50s
“In good form at the moment at the VFL (level). He’s been playing predominantly forward but on the weekend he spent more time in the midfield due to the nature of the game. Ten tackles is an absolute highlight. We know what he’s going to give us around the ball and we love him when he plays that way. He makes players walk taller.”
Patrick Naish
21 disposals, six marks, five inside-50s & five rebound-50s
“He’s been playing a different role down back across half-back for us. He was effective and still had the ball enough times. He is working on his defensive pressure as a half-back but also his ability to win the ball, which we know is one of his strengths.”
Liam Baker
21 disposals, nine handball receives, four inside-50s & three rebound-50s
“He’s been playing back, to try and get him in a role down there to win the ball at ground level but also defend down there. He also went to the wing in the third quarter.”
Riley Collier-Dawkins
17 disposals, eight tackles, three clearances & five inside-50s
“Was one of his better games in a couple of weeks. He got his hands on the ball, had eight tackles which is unbelievable around the contest. He’s a big body, we like it when he’s smashing in and that’s when he’s at his best. I liked his game on the weekend.”
Callum Coleman-Jones
17 disposals, 42 hit-outs, six marks, five tackles & five clearances
“Carrying most of the ruck load at the moment and playing forward as well, giving us a marking target up forward as a key forward. His craft is really starting to show with his ruck work, especially at centre-square bounce. He’s continuing to develop into a very good player.”
Dan Butler
16 disposals, seven tackles, five clearances, two goals & four inside-50s
“Played a little bit of forward and midfield as well. It was the Butler that we know, causing havoc around the forward line with his pressure, having seven tackles but also at forward 50 stoppages, getting on the move. I thought he had a pretty good game.”
Mav Weller
15 disposals, four clearances & five inside-50s
“Was a bit quieter but also had a fair knock to the ribs early in the game which restricted him in a lot of areas but credit to him he stuck out as much as he could. He didn’t finish the game due to those sore ribs.”
Jake Aarts
14 disposals, four tackles, one goal & two clearances
“Came off a calf injury. Je’s unbelievable in terms of his courage and his toughness and putting pressure on in our forward 50, but also putting scoreboard pressure on as well. Love his work rate and love the way he puts his head over the ball.”
Connor Menadue
12 disposals, three marks & two tackles
“Was a little bit quieter, played a different role for him to get experience in that. When he did get an opportunity to win the ball and break the lines he looked very dangerous. He bounced the ball and hit targets inside our forward 50, which is his biggest strength.”
Luke English
Nine disposals, six handball receives & six inside-50s
“First game for a long time, he had restricted game time but got through the game. He’s got a big engine so game fitness didn’t bother him at all but he’ll be better off for the run and going into the back half of the season.”
Ryan Garthwaite
Eight disposals, seven spoils & four marks
“Just solid down back again, took some great marks, which was fantastic as well. It was good to see him playing good footy.”
Oleg Markov
Seven disposals, four marks & four inside-50s
“Didn’t have the impact he did in the previous week up forward kicking goals and on the lead, but certainly his leading patterns were still really good. He’s in the right spots but he just didn’t get the ball. He’ll continue to develop as a forward and it's something we’ll look at for the rest of the year.”
Ben Miller
Six disposals, four marks & one tackle
“First game back, only played limited game time with half a game but it was good to see him back out on the track. Hopefully we can get some continuity into his body and play out the rest of the year so we see the best of ‘Benny’ Miller in the second half of the year.”
Tom Silvestro
18 disposals, eight handball receives, three tackles & two clearances
“We love this guy in our team. He’s the heart and the soul, he puts his head over the ball. There was one incident with 30 seconds to go in the last quarter and we could hear the collision up in the coaches’ box. He just plays his role, he’s selfless and we call him ‘Mr Perfect’.”
Jacob Ballard
15 disposals, six clearances, three inside-50s & two rebound-50s
“I thought he provided us with a great contest, especially in the third quarter where he started to really get us going around the ball in the midfield. Unfortunately, he was knocked out in a tackle and took no further part in the game but he started to have a real impact on the game in the second half.”
Dan Coffield
15 disposals, six marks, six spoils, two inside-50s & four rebound-50s
“Just a great leader for us down back. He reads the play so well and works really well with ‘Garth’ (Ryan Garthwaite) and (Ben) ‘Funky Miller’ down back. He had a great game in terms of being able to organise our backline which was great to see.”
Lachlan Street
14 disposals, seven marks & one goal
“Played multiple roles for us. Played forward, back and at times pinched-hit in the midfield. He’s starting to become a really good player for us. The reason being, he can play multiple roles, he’s cool and calm and knows how to win the ball.”
Blake Grewar
13 disposals, four tackles, four clearances & one goal
“Played multiple roles, be it forward or midfield. He went to one of (Werribee’s) midfielders in the second half to minimise their impact and did a fantastic job there. He knows how to win the ball around the contest and is very smart when he does get his hands on the ball.”
Lewis Diggins
12 disposals, eight handball receives & two tackles
“First game for the Club. Did not look out of place at all. He was very good in terms of his defensive role and knows how to win the ball. He looked cool and calm under pressure, which was great for a first game player. I think we’ll see him more and more as the season goes on.”
Steve Morris
11 disposals, six handball receives & three tackles
“First game back after missing a week. It was great to see him out there with his leadership, we know what he’s going to give us. His ability to come forward to defend and set up our backline is certainly something that we love having.”
Billy Coates
Eight disposals, 18 hit-outs & one goal
“Billy fills roles for us, whether it be forward or in the ruck or down back. I thought he played a really good game on the weekend. Having 18 hit-outs in the ruck was a great effort for an undersized ruckman. He provides us opportunities to move other players around. He’s certainly playing his role.”
