VFL Practice match Blues vs. Port

[crashlander]

Who were our boys rucking against?

I suspect the height of Casboult and TDK would give them a head start on most VFL opposition, and if Kerr also had an influence it suggests poor opposition.

I have no idea who was playing for Port: no list was available. They did have a big guy in the ruck, probably some lad recently in the AFL system by the look of him. He has an extra 15 kg at least on de Koning. Whoever it was got better as the game went on because de Koning tired. His team had better systems in the middle as the game went on and the more experienced bodies became important.

Kerr didn't get a lot of possessions, but he did do his job. Port didn't win a one on one contest in their forward half in the first half and only one or two afterwards. Port got their goals a lot like Essendon did in the later game; get the ball out the back and run with men free.
Kerr did very little as a forward because we struggled to get the ball into our attacking area late in the game: Port got centre breaks and used them to create the loose man.
Kerr's most impressive part was in the ruck, where he acted like another midfielder and managed to get the ball going our way with some great tackles and pressure. That really impressed me. if he can do more of that, he'll get games sooner rather than later.