Northern Blues senior coach Josh Fraser gave his thoughts on the 15 Carlton-listed players who fronted up for his side at the weekend in the loss to Geelong at Preston City Oval.
51. Blaine Boekhorst
Stats: 16 disposals, 4 marks, 3 tackles
From the coach: Blaine didn’t have the impact as he did the previous week. As he continues to build fitness, we’ll be looking for a bigger impact from him playing off a wing.
7. Dylan Buckley
Stats: 19 disposals, 6 marks, 3 inside 50s, 1 goal
From the coach: I thought in the second half in particular he was able to go inside and win some contested ball, while also spending time on the outside. At various stages he was able to use his strengths and generate inside 50s.
Dylan Buckley was one of the Northern Blues' best performers against Geelong. (Photo: Tim Murdoch)
58. Charlie Curnow
Stats: 9 disposals, 3 marks, 3 tackles, 1 goal
From the coach: It was a slow start for Charlie - he was a bit fumbly but worked into the game with his work-rate which was pleasing. He showed some encouraging signs as he builds on his return.
Charlie Curnow made his senior VFL debut on Saturday. (Photo: Tim Murdoch)
26. Matthew Dick
Stats: 29 disposals, 10 marks, 8 handball receives
From the coach: He was beaten in some important contests early on, but he found plenty of the ball although didn’t use it as well as we would’ve liked. He continues to be one of our more important players especially when it comes to organisation down back.
Matthew Dick gathered 29 disposals against Geelong. (Photo: Tim Murdoch)
31. Jayden Foster
Stats: 11 disposals, 4 marks, 2 inside 50s
From the coach: There were a few times where ‘Foz’ needed to readjust his positioning in the contest, and he needs to get back to building consistency. He continues to focus and work on becoming a hard defender to play on.
38. Billy Gowers
Stats: 15 disposals, 7 marks, 3 inside 50s, 6 handball receives
From the coach: He was down a little bit compared to what he’s offered in the previous month. We need him to get back to defending and becoming really hard to play on while using his run and carry to our advantage, which we saw glimpses of.
48. Kristian Jaksch
Stats: 21 disposals, 8 marks, 6 handball receives
From the coach: I thought he gave us a reasonable target in tandem with Liam Jones before he was moved down back. He had some important intercepts: he didn’t use it as well as we’d like but he’s getting into really good spots and adapting to some important roles.
27. Michael Jamison
Stats: 8 disposals, 4 marks, 3 handball receives
From the coach: It was good to see ‘Jamo’ back - early on he had some important contests where he was able to halve or win the contest. That was encouraging and he’ll continue to build in the coming weeks with more game time under his belt.
14. Liam Jones
Stats: 14 disposals, 4 marks, 5 inside 50s, 1 goal
From the coach: I thought he competed really well, especially given a lot of the time he was opposed either double or triple-teamed. His leading patterns were encouraging and he wasn’t getting full reward for effort. He keeps backing up each week, which is all we can ask.
80. Matthew Korcheck
Stats: 10 disposals, 12 hitouts, 2 marks inside 50
From the coach: I definitely thought he showed some encouraging signs, and he’s looking more comfortable overhead by the week when it comes to taking marks. He needs to continue working on his game awareness but there’s constant improvement there.
67. Clem Smith
Stats: 13 disposals, 2 marks, 6 handball receives
From the coach: He had a chance early to hit scoreboard and missed some tackles, so it’s some method things with Clem that he needs to work on. His work-rate has improved and while he has some work to do, we’ve seen his good stuff.
Clem Smith took this spectacular mark against Geelong. (Photo: Tim Murdoch)
76. Jason Tutt
Stats: 22 disposals, 6 marks, 5 handball receives, 1 goal
From the coach: It wasn’t the impact we’re used to from ‘Tutty’: there were some contests where he wasn’t brutal enough and didn’t have the impact with his disposal that we would’ve liked. But he continues to provide that outside run and drive for us. He needs to build his impact on the game.
65. Dillon Viojo-Rainbow
Stats: 7 disposals, 3 inside 50s, 1 goal
From the coach: Dillon played off half-back and spent a bit of time on the wing: he needs to get back to his strengths as well as identifying when to run and carry at right times while also being physical at the contest.
42. Mark Whiley
Stats: 19 disposals, 7 handball receives
From the coach: Mark was one of our inside midfielders who again didn’t have the impact we would’ve liked. To his credit he tried over four quarters, but was a bit fumbly which cost him the ball at times. His leadership and direction is really important for us inside, which we’ve identified.
36. Cameron Wood
Stats: 11 disposals (9 contested), 21 hitouts
From the coach: A patchy game, where he gave us some good stuff early but faded in the middle part of the game. In the last quarter he played forward and took a strong mark. He needs to keep building his game, picturing what he needs to do and bring that to the table. His good is really good.
