Northern Blues playing-assistant coach and Carlton development coach Kieran McGuinness was impressed by the form of two young Blues in Thursday’s VFL practice match.

Carlton-listed defenders Ciaran Byrne and Matthew Dick were two of Northern’s most influential in the big win over Richmond, ending the day as the Blues’ most prolific ball-winners.

From the ground, McGuinness said he was pleased by the form of Byrne and Dick down back against the Tigers.

“I thought ‘Casey’ and Matty Dick were sensational down back for us on the day,” McGuinness said.

“Casey Byrne’s run for us is fantastic which he showed us [on Thursday], and Matty gave us a contest all day and used the ball quite well from what I could tell on the ground.” 

Byrne finished the afternoon with 28 disposals, including an electric second term where he collected 12 disposals and had a hand in three of Northern’s five goals for the quarter.

Dick was dependable with a solid game off half-back, collecting 22 disposals and providing some defensive solidity down back alongside McGuinness.

Northern Blues senior coach Josh Fraser was similarly impressed by the form of the two Carlton-listed players.

“Across the board, it was probably difficult to name our three or four best players but the two of them were definitely good contributors for us,” Fraser said.

“In Ciaran’s case, he’s shown a lot of positive signs in both his ability to defend and ability to create off the back half so he shone through in those areas.

“I think having Kieran McGuinness down there really stabilised our defence as well.”

Combining his playing duties with Northern as a defensive assistant coach and on Carlton’s development coaching staff, McGuinness has a first-hand perspective of Carlton’s youngsters at Northern.

After a shoulder injury brought a premature end to his maiden year at Northern in 2015, McGuinness returned to action for the first time in eight months against Richmond. 

“It was my first game since mid-July last year so I really enjoyed getting back out there with the guys,” McGuinness said.

“Now it’s all about continuing to improve, both individually and as a team. I want to get myself right for the next practice match - we should always be looking to perform." 

McGuinness - who was a two-time premiership winning captain at Norwood in the SANFL - said the goal for the youthful Blues was continuing to improve ahead of the VFL home-and-away season. 

“It’s only week two of the practice matches so there’s a long way to go, but the Richmond game was a positive step in the right direction,” McGuinness said.

“In my case, it’s all about helping out the other guys in terms of their development as footballers and making sure we’re all right to go.”

The Northern Blues’ final practice match is this Saturday at Preston City Oval, taking on Port Melbourne at 1pm. Their VFL season commences on Sunday, April 10 with a trip to VU Whitten Oval against Footscray.