IT'S A race to the finish: the VFL home-and-away season comes down to the final seven rounds of the year. 

The Blues have six matches to go, and currently sit in fifth position on the ladder with an 8-4 win-loss record. 

VFL Senior Coach Daniel O’Keefe gives his thoughts on the Carlton Reserves’ campaign and key players as they push for a first finals appearance since their return as a standalone VFL side. 

On the highs and lows of the 2022 season:

“When we were healthy at the start of the season, we were a really dynamic team and we had some fantastic wins against some really good sides. I think we started the year 3-0 which is great.

“I guess where we are now with our injury list being quite high - even to the point where the last game we played against Coburg we finished the game with only four AFL-listed boys on the ground - it probably sells the narrative of where we are at a little bit. But with those injuries have come some incredible opportunities to show and grow some fantastic resilience. 

“What we’ve been able to do for the last two games against Footscray and Coburg is show some real grit and determination with getting over the line with two great outcomes and two wins, and that’s been celebrated within our football club and our AFL program as well.”

On the impact of injuries throughout the season:

“We’ve played an abundance of players: I was even just looking at the amount of players that we’ve played through the backline this year and there’s been 16 VFL-listed players that we’ve rolled through our backline.

“Not only are we blooding some new players through the VFL program but we’ve been able to maintain a really high and strong performance as well against some really good opposition: it’s no doubt keeping us in the hunt to play finals footy this year.”

On the learnings from the thrilling win over Coburg:

“We have grown with our resilience throughout the season: even in our last review, we learnt a lot about what we did in the last quarter to hang on with one player on the bench in the second half and never give up our lead against Coburg.

“We were really proud of that and in some ways we had no right to win it and hold on. There’s no doubt we’ll use the learnings that we gained from that last game because we’ll need those learnings coming into the last six games of the season and hopefully finals off the back of that.”

On an unexpected weapon:

“We never sort of planned for it but our ability to handball chain and set up the play from not just midfield, but back half through handball has been prevalent for us to the point where statistically we’ve had more handballs than any other club on any given game day by a long way.

“Out of all the 21 other clubs, our handball efficiency is the second best. So it’s not just the amount of handballs we are getting but what we’re doing with them is very high quality. 

“It’s certainly helped us launch our attack from particularly midfield and the back half moving forwards so that surprised even me to be honest.”

PLAYER REVIEWS 

PADDY DOW
Six 30+ disposal games, 11 goals, 29.3 disposal average in 10 VFL games. 

“The most impressive thing about Paddy Dow this season no doubt has been his attitude. To be able to keep performing the way he’s performing but also bring others along with him and do it with a smile on his face: it makes us really proud.

“It’s amazing what footy means to someone like Paddy, we watched him after the siren when we did hang on for the win against Coburg and he kneels down and clenches both his fists and it just shows how much good performance and winning means to him, whether it’s in the AFL or the VFL and that’s what we admire and love about him.

“He hasn’t played a bad game at all this year and I’m glad he’s on our VFL team and not someone else’s because he’d be hard to manage for an opposition coach that’s for sure.” 

BEN CROCKER
Six 3+ goal games, third in the league with 29 goals in 12 VFL games. 

“He won’t mind me saying this, but he probably should be on top of the goal kicking because he’s kicked more points than anyone else in the competition as well.

“In some ways he’s the heartbeat of our footy club in the VFL program: he’s got incredible energy about him, a heart of gold, extremely charismatic and he brings life to our group. The AFL boys that come down to the VFL, they absolutely adore playing with him because of who he is and what he brings to the table.

“He’s got incredible running capabilities and he’s been able to use that a lot more: getting more of the footy and getting up even to our wings. And he’s got that goal nous where he can get behind and goal side of his opponent and sprint back towards goal and that’s very hard to stop because of how powerful of a runner he is.

“When he’s up and going I believe he is as hard as anyone to stop in the competition, we’re big fans of ‘Crock’ and he’s having a wonderful year.”

WILL HAYES
Eight goals, Averaging five marks, four tackles and 30.7 disposals in nine VFL games. 

“Will was here for a couple of things: he was here to perform and help our VFL program but he was also here to have a second crack at an AFL journey. For him to be able to use our program as that platform with a lot of hard work in between was amazing.

“He has been extraordinary for our group before he was picked up and absolutely deserved to be drafted in the mid-season draft. I’m just hoping for the day where ‘Vossy’ can read his name out and he can play his first game at the Carlton Footy Club in the AFL: that’d be very much a success story for our VFL program.”

JESSE MOTLOP
Six goals, 13.1 disposal average in seven VFL games, six goals in five AFL games. 

“Jesse just absolutely oozes AFL talent and craft and that’s why he’s there at the moment. He was one of our best forwards on the weekend in the loss against St Kilda where he kicked three goals in only his fifth game of AFL and he’s learning every week at that high level. 

“He’s been really fun to work with but really fun to watch as well. He’s a great kid and a bit like ‘Crock’, he’s full of energy and he’s always got a smile on his face.”

DOMANIC AKUEI
One match-winning goal, averaging 2.3 marks and 7.5 disposals in 11 VFL games.

“Dom has been a real surprise packet for me personally. There’s no doubt he’s grown more than anyone or as much as anyone in our whole footy club this year. Where he’s come from in November to where he is now: his ability to read the play, his athleticism in the air and on the ground is extraordinary and that’s a real talent.

“We’re also trying to help him along the way and guide him to be able to use his assets as much as he can because most other players would die for his assets, which is his height and his leap and his speed. But he’s still in a development phase and its more of a longer-term approach with Dom but he’s a curious person, so with that curiosity comes the ability to learn and grow and get better every week.”

And on his first and only goal of the season late against the Northern Bullants to put the Blues in front…

“To be able to send him forward with a few minutes to go and to have the capacity to kick it straight through the middle with his first shot on goal for the season when we needed it was a great moment. That was celebrated from every player and every staff member at the footy club.” 

ALEX CINCOTTA
Seven 20+ disposal games, averaging 21.1 disposals in 11 VFL games. 

“He’s had some serious knee injuries for the last couple of years, so Covid’s restricted him but then also an ACL injury has restricted him: I think it took about 14 months to fully recover. What he’s been able to do since has been phenomenal.

“He’s built like an animal and he plays like an animal: he’s got power that no one really else has and it’s extraordinary what he can do with the GPS. He uses his running capabilities to rip open the game from half back and he’s gone on a number of blistering runs where no one can lay a hand on him which is really exciting to watch.

“He’s having a sensational year for us and in my eyes is one of the best half-backs in the competition.”

STEFAN RADOVANOVIC
Averaging 6.2 marks and 17.9 disposals in 11 VFL games. 

“It’s his second year in our program and he’s become a real interceptor in the air: he’s got great hands and his ability to support his teammates in the air has been super.

“I think he’s taken the most marks for us throughout the year and if they were counting intercept marks he’d be in the top couple no doubt. When intercept marking is somewhat in vogue at the AFL at the moment he reeks of it at VFL level, he’s a stopper.”

And finally, on the potential of finals footy

“We are really keen and eager to play finals footy and it’s something that the Carlton VFL program hasn’t done for a number of years, we are striving really hard to achieve that.

“We gotta win a few more games and get some separation on the ladder, but that’s outcome-based and becomes about process and what we do from Monday to Friday to be able to achieve that.”

The VFL Blues are in action this Saturday night against Port Melbourne: Blues fans can stream the game live on the AFL website.  

Tarquin Oakley is a student at La Trobe University, undergoing his Bachelor of Media and Communications (Sports Journalism). He is currently undertaking an internship at the Carlton Football Club as part of its partnership with La Trobe University.