Exhibition Match: Northern Blues vs U18's

[RiverRat]

Have to qualify all positive statements by reminding oneself that they were playing against 17 year old kids - with the exception of our own teenagers who were opposed by talented players with similar physiques. Good commentary Crash but I thought I would add some of my own.

Dylan Buckley: Dylan played pretty well and he had the small forwards under control. His run and dash was good, but he doesn't do enough for my tastes. He appreciated the relative lack of pressure and didn't panic at all. Agreed
Liam Jones: Liam played in defence for the whole game and did pretty well. He was not beaten in a marking contest. He would get a lot of confidence out of that effort. Jones has all of the attributes to be a good defender but rarely plays there and it might be too late in the day to make the change - should have been tried there more often. Unlike Jaksch, he can adjust to the ball in flight and has the closing speed and leap to spoil many marking contests. Also has the speed and body work to assist players trying to run the ball out of defence.
Andrew Philips: Looked a bit rusty, but started taking some marks later in the game and did well in the centre bounce. Agreed but against limited opposition
Harry McKay: There were times when it looked like Harry would dominate, as the U18's struggled to handle him. He took a couple of excellent contested marks, but his kicking....
I would like to see a greater level of determination from Harry. Should have imposed himself and didn't
Sam Kerridge: Kerridge totally dominated. With that extra moment or 2, he made few mistakes and really got the ball away from the centre. He had 40 possessions and he wasted very few of them.
Alex Silvagni: What Kerridge did in the midfield, Silvagni did in defence. He was a general down there and he knew when to leave his man and when not too. Intercept marks, good disposal, good body work, hard running: he showed the things that could well get him senior football this year.
Paddy Kerr: did some nice things but payed mainly up the field. Doesn't do enough at this point Agreed, but he does have a nice pair of hands and a dangerous boot.
Jesse Glass-McCasker: Pretty quiet in defence, but did his job. Went forward after half time and looked much better. he got into the game, made some good decisions, took a couple of lovely marks and kicked straight. Far more in the play in the forward line. He went off late in the game with a minor injury. Showed more as a lead up forward than I have seen from him as a defender
Gussy Sheehan: Unfortunately he went off in the last quarter with what looked to be a minor quad injury. It was a pity, because he showed heaps in defence with some great decision making and that excellent left foot. He also played on the wing and was very good. Agreed
Kristian Jaksch: OK in he forward line in the first half, but he went back into defence and that got him into the game. He kicked 2 50+ metre goals while played in defence and was more in the play. Same issues as before - Matthew Watson Mark II. Has decent hands and can kick goals from outside 50 but struggles to get any contested marks. He relies on receiving good passes when he leads in a straight line, when he is unopposed (as he was for the 2 goals yesterday) and getting free kicks when an opponent falls over him. He will continue to kick a few goals per game in the VFL but not much more unless the coaches identify and address his limitations - they couldn't do it for Watson and show no signs of doing so for JK.
Dennis Armfield: spent a lot of time on the bench, coming on after half time. A real leader at this level, but he wasn't needed and only went out to run off the cobwebs.
Billie Smedts: Very solid and powerful in the air. Very solid. Should be happy with his game. Agreed but needs to use the ball better
Liam Sumner: Didn't impress a lot, he appeared to have a job, but he didn't get a lot of the ball. spent a lot of time on the pine
Andrew Gallucci: he had a couple of great patches, but he also spent a fair time on the bench. He kicked 3 goals in the 1st quarter and another in the last. I am not sold on him yet, but if he keeps kicking goals he'll get a game. has speed, quickness and goal sense but Zac Fisher has probably deposited him further down the pecking order
David Cuningham: Apart from a couple of dodgy kicks at goal, Cunners had a good game. He got a number of centre clearances and looked dangerous each time the ball went near him. Not so impressive on the negative side yet. 25 possessions and the only dodgy ones where his attempts at scoring. Agreed
Blaine Boekhorst: very disappointing. Not a lot of the ball and just didn't appear to have the desire. This seems to be a kind assessment
Cameron Polson: 28 possessions including some nice centre clearances. Kicked a goal from beyond 50. I didn't see much defensive about his play, but he did enough to suggest he could get a game soon.
Matt Korchek: Did most of the ruck work n the first half and did quite well. I don't think he will make it: he offers very little apart from his tap work. But he has improved. Agreed - unfortunately

Good move by the coaches to play Jones and Jaksch in defence in order to give the young forwards (plus JGM) an opportunity to paly against similar strength defenders  - unfortunately, only JGM seemed to take advantage of the opportunity.