Northern Blues coach Josh Fraser rates the performances of every Carlton-listed player in the VFL loss to Collingwood:
51.Blaine Boekhorst
Stats: 16 disposals, 4 inside 50s, 2 goals
From the coach: I thought it was a positive return game for ‘Boeky’ after a few weeks out with a wrist injury. He played his role as winger really well and importantly got forward to hit the scoreboard. He’ll look to build form and fitness in the coming weeks.
Blaine Boekhorst made a strong return from a wrist injury. (Photo: Tim Murdoch)
7. Dylan Buckley
Stats: 19 disposals, 4 inside 50s, 5 tackles, 1 goal
From the coach: Once again he played an important role in a variety of positions - I thought particularly in the second half he got his running game going and was a weapon for us when carrying the ball.
26. Matthew Dick
Stats: 18 disposals, 6 handball receives
From the coach: A bit inconsistent early with his positioning but he re-adjusted to provide stability in our back six. He generally made good decisions with ball in hand.
31. Jayden Foster
Stats: 16 disposals, 6 marks
From the coach: I thought ‘Fozzy’ competed well in the contest and was able to stay focused in his positioning relevant to man. He had some good, important moments where he intercepted to either mark or spoil.
Carlton youngster Jayden Foster showed positive signs in the VFL on Saturday. (Photo: Tim Murdoch)
34.Jesse Glass-McCasker
Stats: 4 disposals, 3 tackles
From the coach: It was a slow start for Jesse but he worked his way back into the game which is a good sign for a young defender. He needs to find consistency with positioning and body work.
38. Billy Gowers
Stats: 21 disposals, 5 marks, 4 inside 50s, 9 handball receives
From the coach: Like our other defenders, he had a slow start but worked his way back into the game well. He had some really impressive defensive running patterns and one-on-one contest wins that got us going forward.
32. Nick Graham
Stats: 36 disposals (14 contested), 10 inside 50s, 9 clearances, 13 handball receives
From the coach: I thought he was the standout around the ball particularly after the first 15 minutes: he was combative inside, won a number of clearances and generated score launches through the middle of the ground.
Nick Graham was the Northern Blues' standout against Collingwood. (Photo: Tim Murdoch)
48. Kristian Jaksch
Stats: 10 disposals, 4 marks, 2 goals
From the coach: He’s a real mobile target in the front half, and created opportunities for our other forwards through his leading patterns and work up the ground. He competed well in the air and won a few big contests which allowed us to score from.
14. Liam Jones
Stats: 7 disposals, 4 marks (all contested), 2 goals
From the coach: I thought he competed all night in the air, and he was able to halve the contests if he didn’t mark it. I thought his pressure was good at drop of ball for a tall.
80. Matthew Korcheck
Stats: 6 disposals, 14 hitouts
From the coach: He keeps showing signs of improvement, where he had some important moments as a ruckman while he also got forward to find the ball. He continues to show signs of growth.
67. Clem Smith
Stats: 12 disposals, 9 loose-ball gets
From the coach: I thought Clem was very active in our front half and put a lot of forward pressure on. He’s starting to build encouraging signs in recent weeks and that’s come about through his work rate.
65. Dillon Viojo-Rainbow
Stats: 15 disposals, 6 handball receives, 5 loose-ball gets
From the coach: Dillon played mainly at half-back with a bit of time on the wing, and it was a good learning curve as a defender in determining the balance of when to go forward or stay back. He had a few good moments where he sat under the high ball: the next step is becoming more reliable in critical contests.
42. Mark Whiley
Stats: 26 disposals (16 contested), 9 clearances, 8 tackles, 5 inside 50s
From the coach: I thought his impact was solid: he worked well with all our midfielders, and he plays an important role as a leader in organising positioning at stoppages. His impact got better as the game went on.
36. Cameron Wood
Stats: 15 disposals, 5 clearances, 22 hitouts, 1 goal
From the coach: Cam’s game was really strong. He got around the ground well, providing support defensively and going forward with an impact. His follow-up work was as good as it’s been all year.
Cameron Wood was in fine form against Collingwood. (Photo: Tim Murdoch)
