VFL Senior Coach Daniel O’Keefe reviews the performances of the AFL-listed Blues who featured for the Carlton Reserves in Round 7.

Dom Akuei
Stats: 10 disposals

"Dom had some good moments, especially when playing to our system behind the ball and also with his decision-making to provide us with an option. His growth will come with his consistent and continuous awareness of his opposition, and this will come in crucial moments — like the ones we found ourselves in throughout the last quarter. He has a lot of growth left in his game, but he also has a whole lot of upside."

Paddy Dow
Stats: 33 disposals, 17 contested possessions, nine clearances, two goals

"It was a consistent four-quarter performance from Paddy, which was a credit to his character and attitude: he was under attention from the opposition but he set the scene with his attack on the contest. A high stoppage game suited him, but it was his positioning which set up the way he was able to impact and also support his teammates. It was also very good to see him hit the scoreboard with two goals."

Lachie Fogarty
Stats: 28 disposals, 12 tackles, six clearances, one goal

"He thrived in a highly contested game. He was clean with his touch, both at the contest and also at the drop of the ball. It was a good mix from Lachie in that he was able to impact on the game offensively - including a great goal from the centre - and also get stuck in and apply pressure defensively. He finished the game with a dozen tackles, and his bodywork at stoppages set the foundation for him."

Brodie Kemp
Stats: 20 disposals, three rebound 50s

"Once again, ‘Kempy’ was in defence for us on Saturday night. He had some strong moments where he won the ball or beat his direct opponent. There were a couple of execution or decision-making errors in his game with ball in hand, but something he should take confidence from was his ability to produce a spoil and kill the opposition’s momentum: that was a highlight from his game."

Caleb Marchbank
Stats: 20 disposals, five marks, six rebounds

"He was a shining light for us on his return in what was a difficult result come the end of the night. His approach to the game was superb, as was his defensive intent. He gave his opponent nothing behind the ball and he backed that up with a balanced game in attack, particularly when he played as our spare in the second term when Frankston had the breeze: he was excellent in this quarter in particular. His positioning in that role was great, allowing him to mark or spoil, and he was calm and collected throughout. It was a great return for him."

Alex Mirkov
Stats: 13 disposals, 54 hitouts, seven clearances

"On a night where conditions didn’t suit the taller players, ‘Mirk’ performed well. He was physical and got his hands on the ball first at ruck contest, providing a number of hitouts to advantage but also following up at the contest. He continues to show good progress with his aerial work in terms of both his marking and also bringing the ball to ground for our smalls to get to work."

Jesse Motlop
Stats: 17 disposals, seven tackles, six inside 50s

"He provided some really good source pressure for us, finishing the game with seven tackles. He continues to show his ability at stoppages, as we’re continuing to give him some centre-bounce minutes: he’s able to break away with ball in hand. He was present throughout the course of the game, but there were some opportunities where he could’ve been more direct with his ball use which is all part of Jesse’s education."

Sam Philp
Stats: 17 disposals, 10 contested possessions, one goal

"‘Philpy’ provided some strong examples of source pressure and getting at his opposition to force a turnover. Playing up forward, he worked hard back to goal to get dangerous, and he worked hard defensively to hold the opposition up. He held his balance well at stoppages around the ground and also finished with a goal in the last quarter."

Will Setterfield
Stats: 15 disposals, four rebound 50s, three inside 50s

"‘Setters’ only played the first half as the AFL emergency, but in his time on the field he stood up as a senior player. He played mainly on the wing with a couple of stints on-ball, and what shone through was he was winning his own ball and also working hard to outnumber offensively and defensively. He made some good decisions when he was playing inside."

Tom Williamson
Stats: 17 disposals (82 per cent efficiency), four marks

"‘Willo’ played on the wing for us and also went inside late when we were chasing the game. He tried really hard on the night with both his running and his attack on the contest. He took on some of the advice we gave him during the week around his positioning at stoppages around the ground. He wasn’t alone in giving away free kicks at an important time of the game, which is something we needed to be better at on the night as a collective."