IT WAS a happy start to the 2022 VFL season for the Carlton Reserves, beginning their campaign with a comfortable 42-point win over Brisbane.

Featuring in that Friday night contest at IKON Park were 11 AFL-listed Blues: this is what Daniel O'Keefe made of their performances.

Dom Akuei
Stats: Two disposals

It was a nice return for Dom in what was also his VFL debut for the Club. He got through his allotted game time unscathed, finishing up at three-quarter time. He came forward to defend and spoiled well in the air, utilising his vertical leap. The next part of Dom’s development is working on his one-on-one contest. 

Jordan Boyd
Stats: 19 disposals, four marks, four inside 50s, three tackles

It was another strong performance where we saw Jordan’s strengths once again on Friday night, which was his efficiency and ability to hurt the opposition by foot. He went at nearly 90 per cent efficiency and made really good decisions with the ball. To go with his attacking weapons, he continues to show progression on the defensive side of the game with his spoiling technique: being consistently urgent in defence is something we continue to work on with ‘Boydy’. 

Matthew Cottrell
Stats: 25 disposals, seven marks, five inside 50s, one goal

It was great to see ‘Cotters’ get reward for effort on the scoreboard with our last goal of the game. He had a number of opportunities in front of goal earlier in the contest which he unfortunately couldn’t make the most of. He split his time in the first half on the wing and across half forward where he was able to ask questions of the opposition with his running patterns on both sides of the ball: his work overhead also really stood out on the night. 

Paddy Dow
Stats: 32 disposals, 10 inside 50s, seven clearances, one goal

‘Dowy’ reset after a slow first term to really have a big impact on the game in the last three quarters. His drive out of congestion really stood out from our point of view, and he combined his impact in the front half of the ground - including an impressive goal in the second term - with his ability to get back and support our defence. He had some good numbers with 16 contested possessions and seven clearances, but probably missed a few more opportunities with some instances of absorbing pressure at the source. 

Brodie Kemp
Stats: Seven disposals, two clearances

It was a quiet game for ‘Kempy’, who played up forward on Friday night. He wasn’t as involved as he was against Richmond in our final practice match, although he did build into the game as it progressed and had some nice moments at ground level. Missed a chance in the final term which we’d normally expect he would take: we’ll back him for a response this week. 

Alex Mirkov
Stats: 14 disposals, five tackles, 30 hitouts

It was a strong performance from big ‘Mirk’, particularly over the first three quarters. His tap work was really promising as was his ability to get involved at ground level: finishing the game with five tackles is a big positive. As someone who hasn’t played a lot of football, a focus area of his is running out games well and finishing off his good work for the entirety of the game. 

Jesse Motlop
Stats: 15 disposals, four tackles, three clearances

‘Mots’ worked into the game in the second half after a quiet start. He didn’t hit the scoreboard as he did in our final few practice matches, but what stood out on the day was how clean and composed he was with his hands, either through his work at ground level or bring teammates into the game with first gives. He lacked some of his usual energy early, but we know he’ll only get better and better after what was his first VFL game.

Jack Newnes
Stats: 30 disposals, nine marks, five tackles, one goal

Jack embraced his usual role on the wing while also having hits up forward, particularly in the first half where he kicked the first goal of the game. He has a strong running game where he was consistently able to help a teammate and create an outnumber, whether that was through uncontested marks or handball receives, and he also used the ball well. His experience is pretty important for us in a young group, so we’ll continue to look to him to provide that communication to our developing AFL and VFL-listed players. 

Luke Parks
Stats: 12 disposals, seven marks

Parks had the job on Wylie Buzza, who has shown his quality at VFL level. Luke did exactly what we needed him to, keeping Buzza to just four kicks and three marks for the night. We know what ‘Parksy’ is capable of in the air and he provided that once again, and his closing speed was also really promising. It was a nice defensive game from him. 

Tom Williamson
Stats: 16 disposals, nine tackles, five rebound 50s

Tom played a fair portion of the first half on the wing, before he settled into his usual role across half back in the last two quarters. There were a few skill errors which crept into his game over the course of the night which he’ll continue to work on, but I think the positive out of his game was he continued to be aggressive in defence and ended the game with nine tackles — more than anyone on the ground. 

Lewis Young 
Stats: 21 disposals, 10 marks, five rebound 50s

Lewis was one of the more influential players on the ground on Friday night, having a big impact for us deep in defence. He had the most marks of anyone on the ground and a fair portion of those were intercepts which was really pleasing. We saw some good growth in his positioning and how tight he defended, but it’s something he can continue to focus on.