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.”
Jacob Ballard
26 disposals, two goals, six tackles and seven clearances
“He’s in great form. He was one of our best performed players again in the last few weeks. He’s playing off the wing and inside mid(fielder) and even forward, 26 disposals, six tackles, seven clearances and two goals is an outstanding performance.”
Blake Grewar
22 disposals, two goals, five tackles, and eight handball receives
“Returned to playing as an inside mid(fielder), which is what we recruited him for and 22 disposals and his ability to put pressure on around the contest was really evident. His class around goals really stood out, kicking two goals, one was from 45-metres out.”
Brandon Wood
20 disposals, 13 contested possessions and eight clearances
“An inside mid(fielder), really hard to play against, a big strong body and is important to our structures. His contested work led the way for the team with eight clearances. Didn’t finish his work, he could have had a couple of goals himself, but a really good contributor.”
Tom Silvestro
20 disposals, one goal, nine tackles and nine handball receives
“Is one of our best players, week-in-week-out. His ability to play inside mid(field), wing and forward, anywhere we need him, he generally impacts. His GPS (numbers) are off the charts and he’s a really good contributor and led the team with nine tackles.”
Jake Aarts
17 disposals, two goals, three tackles and four inside-50s
“An important role player, a fantastic competitor, really hard-nosed and tough player. I really love his contribution to the team, he kicked two goals and had 17 disposals as a small forward.”
Dan Coffield
14 disposals, three marks and three rebound-50s
“A great role player for us, really hard to play against down back. He sets us up, is a good organiser. It was pleasing to see him get involved in the offensive chains this week with 14 disposals.”
Shaun Mannagh
13 disposals, three tackles and five inside-50s
“A really important runner in our team, can play multiple roles. He played on the wing and forward and he’s another player with a great ability to cover the ground. His transition and defensive acts stood out this week.”
Harry Tanner
13 disposals, one goal, five marks, three tackles and four inside-50s
“The last game he played with us he didn’t really play his role in regards to the mechanics of defence and offence. We coached him through those things and it was pleasing this week that he came in and he played the best game he’s played for us in a number of weeks. Thirteen disposals, three tackles and a goal was everything we’d asked of him.”
Joel Ernest
12 disposals, six handball receives and three rebound-50s
“Great role player, hard to play on, offensively really strong this week. We were pleased with his game.”
Steve Morris
Nine disposals, six tackles and three marks’
“As usual, a super competitor, low possession rate, but high impact in the game. Influencing others in many ways. A great captain’s game from him.”
Joel Cusack
Five disposals, two tackles and one mark
“Played his second game as a key forward. They (Werribee) played one of their strongest defenders on him interestingly enough. He’s a great competitor and we need him launching at the ball and supporting others in the aerial contest. It was a solid performance and I’m sure he’ll learn a lot from this game.”
Brenton Credlin
Four disposals, two tackles and one rebound-50
“Played wing and half-back. Even though he had low numbers, his influence on the game wasn’t about his possession rate, but more about being involved in the mechanics which happened with his role playing.”