Peter Jackson VFL – Round 3
Sunday 20 April 2014 – 12pm AEST
Footscray v Northern Blues
VU Whitten Oval, Footscray
The Northern Blues travel to the historic Whitten Oval on Easter Sunday to do battle against VFL newcomers Footscray.
In their first road match for season 2014, the high-flying Blues meet a quality Dogs outfit that has yet to release its full potential in a mixed start to the season.
A thumping 117-point win over Richmond in Round 1 was followed by an underwhelming performance against Williamstown at Burbank Oval last weekend, that saw them fall to the Seagulls by 41 points.
Yet the Dogs, in their first year as a standalone VFL affiliate, boast a breadth of AFL and VFL-listed talent, particularly in their forward half.
Western Bulldogs small forward Tory Dickson has booted six goals across the first two games as a forward foil to power forward-cum-ruckman Ayce Cordy.
Running type players in Brett Goodes and Jack Redpath have also been strong for the Dogs over the first two matches.
Former Carlton and Collingwood player, and integral part of the Northern Blues, Jordan Russell – now a Development coach at the Western Bulldogs and player at Footscray – will play his first match against his old side.
Typically a running side that prides itself on uncontested possession, it will be up to the Blues to curtail the influence of the Dogs’ spread.
For the Northern Blues, there will only be a few changes to the side that escaped with a win over Frankston last weekend.
Jack Anthony returns to the forward line after a week off through injury, to fulfill the hole left by Jarrad Waite and Levi Casboult from the opening two rounds.
Brock McLean will look to build on his impressive outing last week, while Nick Graham comes back into the Blues line-up and it will likely require some attention from Footscray to curb the two ball-winners’ influence.
Cameron Wood will come to face a few old teammates having played alongside many of the Western Bulldogs-listed players at Williamstown in 2013. His dominance in the ruck and around the ground has again been prominent, and – in last week’s case – match-defining.
The team will be finalised in conjunction with Carlton’s official team announcement.
Northern Blues Player Watch
Brock McLean: The leading possession-getter in last week’s win (36 disposals), McLean’s influence in the stoppages was immense in the last quarter. His clearance from a Cameron Wood tap led to the Luke Reynolds goal after the siren. Will be his third straight game for Northern Blues and will be looking for a repeat performance of last week to continue to stake his claims for AFL selection.
Dennis Armfield: Now well on his way from recovering from a knee injury, Armfield’s work rate has been a feature in the first two rounds. Playing across half forward, his defensive pressure with the likes of Tim Totevski and Tom Temay has been scintillating in the Blues scoring goals from opposition turnovers.
Sam Docherty: In a Carlton-laden backline, the former Brisbane Lion is proving himself as a general down in defence as a premium ball user and decision maker. Played more minutes through the midfield to gather 26 possessions last week. The Blues look composed when he has the ball in hand.
