VFL Senior Coach Daniel O'Keefe analyses the performances of the nine AFL-listed players who featured in the Carlton Reserves' third consecutive win.

Dom Akuei
Six disposals

Dom seems to understand our system better and better each week, and he’s playing his role quite well. While last week we saw his vertical leap on display, this week was about his positioning which put him in the right spots to both defend and impact the contest. He also used the ball well, operating at 100 per cent efficiency.

Matthew Cottrell
24 disposals, 14 handball receives, four inside 50s

He once again performed well and, along with Jack Newnes, managed to create some outnumber situations which were important for us. He played mainly on the wing, but he had stints across half forward which he made the most of in the last term: he kicked the first two of the quarter at an important time for us, and they came about through his running patterns. 

Paddy Dow
24 disposals, seven clearances, one goal

It was another consistent performance from Paddy, who came out of the game at three-quarter time as planned to provide some coverage as an AFL emergency. He once again hit the scoreboard which has been great to see in recent weeks, and he was once again busy around stoppages. He was able to drive his legs through congestion and bring his teammates into the game on the back of his contested work, which has been a feature of his game in the last few weeks.

Brodie Kemp
19 disposals, four marks, five inside 50s

He led up well between the arcs and presented up the ground, ending with 19 disposals after 18 a week ago against Box Hill. He was really creative by hand: 13 of his disposals were handball, and 12 of those found a teammate. There were a few examples where he was able to absorb pressure and dish off to a teammate which ended in scores for us. He’s also getting some exposure as a forward rolling up to stoppages which is getting him more involved in the game,

Alex Mirkov
10 disposals, 21 hitouts, four clearances

Alex made another valuable contribution to the team. His follow-up work from ruck contests was really pleasing, as was some of his impact forward-of-centre: he had five inside 50s for the game, including a great kick to advantage in the second quarter which directly ended in a shot on goal. He continues to show something and add elements to his game each week.

Jack Newnes
32 disposals, seven marks, one goal

Jack’s stats shows a really good afternoon, and he could’ve even had a few more goals on the board if not for his selfless attitude and willingness to pass off to teammates in better positions. He played mainly on the wing with stints both across half-forward and on-ball. His willingness and ability to spread from stoppages was a major asset for us on the day and just like last week, he was able to get involved in our offence and outnumber the opposition which was really important.

Luke Parks
20 disposals, eight marks, five rebound 50s

‘Parksy’ is tracking really well. From an attacking standpoint, he used the ball well once again and most importantly, made really good decisions. He was matched up on Sam Day throughout the course of the afternoon and he controlled him quite well, keeping him to four marks for the day. What we’ve come to expect from him is his strength in the air which stood out, particularly with a couple of efforts in the third quarter.

Sam Philp
14 disposals, three goals

‘Philp’ had some quality moments on Sunday, not least the three goals that he kicked which all came in the first half. He connected well and was always a dangerous presence inside 50, while he also spent a bit of time on the wing throughout the course of the afternoon. Some of his defensive running was also really strong: it was a nice return from him.

Liam Stocker
35 disposals, 14 rebound 50s

’Stock’ won his battle against Alex Sexton on Sunday, which was important for us. We know about what he can do with ball-in-hand and we saw that on the weekend, with 29 of his 35 disposals coming by foot. While a few of those were from point kick-ins, his willingness to back himself and take the aggressive option was really evident and helped us with our ball movement. He’s had two nice performances since his return.