Essendon VFL senior coach Dan Jordan reviews the performances of the 12 AFL-listed Bombers who featured in Sunday’s 13-point triumph over Sandringham.

Jordan Ridley

Stats: 21 disposals, seven marks, five tackles, three rebound 50s, one goal

From the coach: Jordan played a different role again for us this week, as a bit of an inside midfielder. He played a really nice game, and his first half in particular was really good. He got his hands on a lot of the ball and had about 15 or so first-half possessions and also kicked a nice goal. He faded out a bit in the second half, playing a bit more on the wing, but he’s showing some great versatility which is good for his development.

Jayden Laverde

Stats: 19 disposals (16 kicks), four marks, five inside 50s, one goal

From the coach: In his first game back from injury, Jayden played forward and gave us a nice target – he presented at the ball well and gave us some really good energy in the forward line. He spent some minutes through the midfield as well, and had 19 possessions, which is a good game back and a good platform for him to launch from moving forward.

Jayden Laverde enjoyed a strong return from injury. (Photo: Ben Johnstone)

Zac Clarke

Stats: Eight disposals, six marks, two tackles, 19 hit-outs

From the coach: Zac did a mixture of ruck and forward minutes – when he was in the ruck he competed really well against Longer, who’s a quality VFL ruckman. Zac had three shots on goal so could have finished with a few (goals) but couldn’t quite capitalise on those kicks. Given that our ruck stocks were low in the VFL however, it was good to have someone of his experience and calibre to be able to compete for us throughout the middle and up forward.

Irving Mosquito

Stats: 14 disposals, five marks, six tackles

From the coach: ‘Mozzie’ played mostly forward, with a little bit of wing and a little bit of inside time. He was busy around the contest and had some clean ball use – he had 14 possessions, but the idea is to try and build that up closer to 20 and keep his development going. He’s showing some nice signs, but we just need to keep working with him on his consistency.

David Myers

Stats: 29 disposals (17 kicks), six tackles, 10 inside 50s, three goals

From the coach: I thought David was outstanding. He played mostly inside and a bit up forward but finished with 29 possessions, 18 of them contested, 10 inside 50s and three goals, which is a huge game from an inside midfielder. He was outstanding also with his leadership and direction – he was talking to the young guys that were coming on and off the bench. It was a complete game from him. 

David Myers was "outstanding" on Sunday, according to Dan Jordan. (Photo: Ben Johnstone)

Jordan Houlahan

Stats: Six disposals, one mark

From the coach: ‘Houlas’ played forward and a bit on the wing, and looked good up and down the ground. He copped a bit of a corky which probably hampered him a little bit in terms of his movement so he didn’t have a lot of impact after that, but he still presented hard, gave us a good target and nearly pulled in some big grabs. Going forward, it will be a good learning game for him having played on some quality opposition.

Brandon Zerk-Thatcher

Stats: 11 disposals (eight kicks), five marks, three tackles, three rebound 50s

From the coach: I thought Brandon was back to somewhere near his best. He looked sharp and was intense with the ball. He hit the contests really hard and also showed desperation. He pressed really hard in defence and I was happy to see him have that sort of impact. He took five marks and was working well in the back six. It was his best game since returning from injury.

Brayden Ham

Stats: 16 disposals, four marks, two tackles, one goal

From the coach: ‘Hammy’ played a mixture of wing and forward. He used his speed to get up and down the ground, and transitioned really well. When he was forward he looked busy and kicked a nice goal, and got to the feet of the talls. It was a solid game from him – 16 possessions, two tackles and two inside 50s is good impact and he used the ball really well. 

Jake Long

Stats: 13 disposals (10 kicks), eight marks, four rebound 50s

From the coach: I thought ‘Longy's’' aggression at the contest was really good this week – some of his tackles and ground work especially. He played a half-back role behind the ball, and found himself in the thick of it because it was pretty hot around the contest. He stood strong and really fit into that back six well, and played his role for us. It was probably his best game since returning from injury.

Michael Hartley

Stats: 18 disposals, (15 kicks), five marks, three tackles, six rebound 50s

From the coach: ‘Harts’ was our key defensive post again - he had quite a quality player in young Max King who ended up kicking four goals, but it was a good battle all day to be honest. Harts certainly had some impact for us coming out of defence with six rebound 50s and five marks, but King kicked four on him so there’s room for him to work on a few things in his defensive craft. First and foremost he’s our key defensive pillar, so if he can shut down those guys he’ll have an even greater impact.

Dylan Clarke

Stats: 21 disposals, five marks, two tackles, one goal

From the coach: It was a pretty stock-standard game from ‘Clarkey’ - a lot of contested work with 12 contested possessions. He didn’t get his hands on as much as he’s had in recent weeks, but he was still pivotal in giving us first use and repeat second, third, even fourth efforts. I took my hat off to some of his work in the second half especially when we needed a bit of a lift - I thought he was really good.

Dylan Clarke was one of Essendon VFL's standouts once again. (Photo: Ben Johnstone)

Matt Dea

Stats: 17 disposals (12 kicks), six marks, four rebound 50s

From the coach: Another solid game for ‘Diesel’ on the back of last week. He was probably our best defender and looked solid in the air with six marks. He defended really hard at ground level and also looked safe when he had the ball in hand - he seems to have found some nice consistency now, so hopefully he can keep that form up and bring the guys around him with it.