NORTHERN Blues coach Josh Fraser assesses the performances of all Carlton-listed players who featured in the VFL win against Collingwood on Sunday:

Tom De Koning
Stats: 4 disposals
From the coach: He played two and a bit quarters before taking a knock and we took a no-risk approach. Tommy keeps showing glimpses of a young tall developing well, both with his work in the air and on the ground. He didn’t have a huge impact in terms of possessions but his ability to do what we’re asking of our young talls has been really impressive.

Nick Graham
Stats: 35 disposals, 10 tackles, 9 clearances
From the coach: He was prolific around stoppages and put some really good pressure on, while using the ball particularly well especially centre-forward to set up a number of inside-50 entries. He led from the front with his voice and his energy. It was a really strong performance.  

Darcy Lang
Stats: 23 disposals (14 contested), 10 clearances, 5 marks
From the coach: He played a little bit more inside this week and finished with 20-plus disposals. I liked his competitiveness around stoppages and that he used his legs at different times to get out of congestion. Along with Nick Graham, Sam Fisher and Tom Wilson, he was one of our inside midfielders who proved to be a handful for the opposition.

Kym Lebois
Stats: 8 disposals
From the coach: He didn’t have a huge impact on the game, but we started to see some of the things we saw before he was injured earlier this year. He was another player who didn’t finish the match after copping a knock to the leg: as a collective we didn’t want to take any risks. He’s starting to get speed and confidence into his play and we feel he’s not far away from putting a big performance together.

Matthew Lobbe
Stats: 9 disposals, 20 hitouts, 1 goal
From the coach: I liked his game. I thought along with Andrew Phillips he was quite dominant in the ruck. He got forward at the right time and is starting to get his aerial marking going. He has a great presence among the group and is leading from the front really well.

Cillian McDaid
Stats: 8 disposals, 5 tackles
From the coach: Cillian is someone who is still building his game-time up. He showed some real dash and pace at different stages while generally using the ball quite well. As a young player, we’re working on him building the fundamentals in-game for longer. He’s showing good signs and will build more confidence as he gets more continuity.

Harry McKay
Stats: 11 disposals, 4 marks, 1 goal
From the coach: He had some important moments late, particularly a contested mark in defence which helped us hold onto our lead late. In terms of his forward craft, he kicked a nice goal and presented pretty well at different stages. We saw some good signs in the second half in the defensive side of his game.

Andrew Phillips
Stats: 9 disposals, 6 marks, 42 hitouts
From the coach: He was terrific. He dominated the ruck and he didn’t only get his hands on the ball, but some of his hitouts to advantage were really impressive. What we love about him is his capacity to get around the ground and take a big contested mark. He played with aggression and a real presence. 

Jarrod Pickett
Stats: 17 disposals, 6 marks, 4 inside 50s, 3 goals
From the coach: Really important in the context of the game. He embraced the moment in front of goal and applied some terrific pressure late. It was a big step forward for him from his return game, where he had an ‘almost’ game if you like — he was able to make the most of opportunities this week and he’ll just keep getting better.

Angus Schumacher
Stats: 5 disposals
From the coach: He was another who didn’t finish the match off purely through precaution and taking no risks with him. As a young defender his ability to make defensive decisions is improving and he’s taking the game on more with ball-in-hand. We’re watching him develop with more confidence as the season progresses.

Matthew Shaw
Stats: 19 disposals, 7 marks, 6 rebound 50s
From the coach: We liked his game as a match committee — the way he defended is as good as he’s been all year. His ability with the ball to make good decisions and execute out of our back half was really important. It was probably his best game for the club.