VFL Senior Coach Daniel O'Keefe analyses the performances of the 11 AFL-listed Blues in the VFL.

2. Paddy Dow
Stats: 31 disposals, 17 handball receives, six score involvements, five clearances

Paddy went in with a plan to own more space around stoppages, resulting in a different game compared to previous weeks. While he had lower contested possessions and clearances, he had a greater impact on the game on the back of his footwork and ability to support teammates with 17 handball receives: this brings Paddy’s weapons into play in terms of his drive from congestion. His positioning at stoppages was critical in that it allowed him to impact offensively if we won the ball or transition defensively if we didn’t.

4. Lochie O’Brien
Stats: 18 disposals, four inside 50s, four score involvements

He played the entire first half on the wing and was tracking for a really good game before he came from the ground given he was the carryover emergency at AFL level. His attention-to-detail and communication at defensive stoppages was first class and there were a number of times where he applied pressure, won the ball and surged the ball forward. He provided good defensive cover at stoppages and his ability to adjust position and create balance gave him a great base to transition from.

8. Lachie Fogarty
Stats: 26 disposals (12 contested), five clearances, five inside 50s

It was another consistent performance from ‘Fog’, who played on-ball and up forward. Playing as a midfielder, his reaction and communication of roles with his teammates was very good: he had a great balance between his inside and outside game. He gave us solid defensive cover and made good decisions on when to surge the ball forward. His cleans hands around the ball and ability to navigate through traffic are always a feature of his game and the weekend was no exception.

11. Mitch McGovern
Stats: 17 disposals, five rebound 50s, one goal

It was a great return from Mitch after a long stint out. His ability to shift being the ball was really good, and in offence, he took the game forward: this got better as the game went on as he looked more and more dangerous. When we were down late, we swung him forward for the last eight minutes to try and win the game. He ended up having a hand in the two match-winning goals, first kicking one himself and then crashing a pack which led to another.

17. Brodie Kemp
Stats: Eight disposals, three marks

‘Kempy’ played his role for us. His five intercept possessions - including a game-high three intercept marks - were a positive in his game, and his ability to play our defensive system was good. He had a good understanding of when to drop and it was great to see his weapons on a couple of occasions in particular, where he took two contested marks to gain re-entries into our forward 50.

27. Marc Pittonet
Stats: 15 disposals (13 contested), 22 hitouts, nine clearances

It was great to see ‘Pitto’ back after missing since Round 6 of the AFL season with a PCL injury. He gave our midfield first use, with 12 of his 22 hitouts being to advantage. He was also able to support at ground level, with his follow-up and movement around the contest leading to nine clearances for the game. His communication was really strong and he halved most of his aerial duels: he played with a presence and, as he always does, did everything with a team-first mindset. 

35. Ed Curnow

Did not return to the ground after an injury in the first term.

38. Sam Durdin
Stats: 10 disposals, four marks

‘Durds’ showed good progression from last week in his second game back. His aerial contests were strong, recording a game-high eight spoils for the day — most of these came over the top of packs where he was able to kill the ball. He used the ball soundly and he played our system better than previous weeks. It was said last week, but considering he’s only new, his communication and leadership on-ground is fantastic: this was praised by his teammates post-game. 

41. Dom Akuei
Stats: Eight disposals, one goal

Dom started strongly in the first half in a new role where we played him up forward. He jumped well at the ball in aerial contests and while he didn’t mark the majority, he brought the ball to the front for our smalls to get to work. He also had an impact when the ball hit the ground, providing first gives on most occasions, while his reaction as a target up the ground was generally positive. We’ll provide some further education for him on leading patterns given his introduction to the role.

43. Will Setterfield
Stats: 40 disposals, nine inside 50s, seven clearances, seven score involvements

It was a well-rounded game from the wing, where he impacted in transition (18 handball receives) and around the contest (12 contested possessions). We liked his reaction and movement around stoppages which allowed him to provide defensive cover. He was a hard man to tackle all game and he looked to stay involved in the play even after disposing of the bal. He ran the right patterns playing on the wing on both sides of the ball and his composure with ball in hand was very good, identifying whether to play fast or slow.

45. Alex Mirkov
Stats: 10 disposals, 17 hitouts, six clearances, five tackles

This was Alex’s best game, which was no doubt helped by being able to wear down two quality Geelong ruckmen on the back of his partnership with Marc Pittonet. Alex continues to show big improvement with his ruck craft and game sense, which is a credit to the work he’s doing with Matthew Kreuzer. He held his own at stoppages against Ceglar and Ratugolea, and he was also able to stay involved at ground level as his stat line shows. Possibly his biggest area of growth in recent weeks have been his aerial contests, whether that’s taking contested marks or producing a spoil.