Essendon VFL senior coach Dan Jordan assesses the 13 AFL-listed Dons who featured in Saturday’s 50-point win over North Melbourne at Windy Hill.
Mark Baguley
Stats: 15 disposals, three marks, five inside 50s, one goal
From the coach: I thought ‘Bags’ had a really good game. He spent a few more minutes through the midfield this week, but still had a good impact up forward. His pressure was really good, he kept the ball inside and was rewarded with a nice goal. Also some of his contest work to create some scoring opportunities for us, particularly from a medium forward, was a great effort from him.
Jordan Ridley
Stats: 17 disposals, four marks, five tackles
From the coach: Jordan played on the wing, mostly on that fat-side role. He had a bit of the footy with 17 possessions and laid five tackles, which is good. It was a solid game from him on the wing as he’s learning that new position and is showing some really good progression. He can keep building on that.
Josh Begley
Stats: 18 disposals, six marks, one goal
From the coach: Josh played a sort of high-forward role again with a bit of wing time. Eighteen possessions and six marks is a good effort. We like him when he’s taking the game on and his work rate was great – he worked up and down the ground really hard and got himself into some good positions. He had a good impact on the game.
Josh Begley worked hard in his return to the VFL. (Photo: Ben Johnstone)
David Myers
Stats: 30 disposals, four marks, seven tackles, six clearances, seven inside 50s, one goal
From the coach: Another really good game from Dave inside. 30 possessions, four marks, seven tackles and finishing off with a nice goal is a pretty complete game from an inside-mid. He had a good balance of contested and uncontested possessions too, and once again was really important in setting up our young boys and making sure they got their structures right.
Jordan Houlahan
Stats: Eight disposals, two tackles, one goal
From the coach: Jordan had the eight possessions playing on sort of a high-forward role and kicked a nice goal. He’s working on having more impact on the game. With just two tackles, he needs to keep working on his consistency. When he is actually in the game he contributes really well. We just need him to be in the game for longer.
Brandon Zerk-Thatcher
Stats: 19 disposals, six marks, four rebound 50s
From the coach: It was a good game from Brandon as our key defensive post. We lost a little bit of experience with ‘Harts’ (Michael Hartley) out down there (listed as an AFL emergency), but I thought Brandon stood up really well. He took six marks and had 19 possessions, and seemed to foil a fair few of North Melbourne’s attacks by being in the right place at the right time with his four rebound 50s as well.
Brandon Zerk-Thatcher stood firm in defence. (Photo: Ben Johnstone)
Noah Gown
Stats: 11 disposals, four marks, three tackles, three goals
From the coach: There wasn't a lot of impact in terms of possessions, but I thought Noah competed really hard and gave us a good target down there against some high-quality North Melbourne backs. To finish with three goals is a really good impact from him, and he’s playing his role really nicely at the moment.
Jake Long
Stats: 19 disposals, four inside 50s, three rebound 50s
From the coach: It wasa good game from ‘Longy’ off half-back. I thought he was aggressive when he got the ball in hand and ran at the game, and that’s what we want from him, to try and take the game on and use his speed. Nineteen possessions is a bit more than probably what he has done in the last couple of weeks, so that shows he had good impact on the game. Four inside 50s, three rebound 50s as well, and I thought he set up a couple of goals for us through his aggression and running.
Trent Mynott
Stats: 25 disposals, four tackles, seven clearances, six inside 50s
From the coach: Trent’s game was good, particularly his first half. I thought he seemed to be really hard and physical in the contest, but then also get out and run and carry the footy. He had six inside 50s, which is good from him and something that he’s been working on. I thought he used the ball more effectively this week and looked dangerous with the ball in hand. He finished with 25 possessions but probably faded out a bit late, but when the game was there to be won in the first half he was influential.
Trent Mynott was influential against North Melbourne. (Photo: Ben Johnstone)
Will Snelling
Stats: 20 disposals, 11 tackles, four clearances
From the coach: It was a solid game from Will, who played a mixture of forward and mid time. He’s really clean when he uses the ball, particularly in the wet conditions, which was evident on the weekend. His pressure as well – 11 tackles is a great result in terms of someone who is playing that role. If he keeps bringing these sorts of numbers, he can definitely keep knocking down the door for AFL selection.
Will Snelling continued his stellar VFL form on Saturday. (Photo: Ben Johnstone)
Ben McNiece
Stats: 18 disposals, five tackles, seven rebound 50s
From the coach: Another solid game from Ben. Playing in sort of that back post he had 18 possessions, but more importantly defended really hard. We tried to get the ball in his hand a bit more and he used it effectively. He made some good decisions with it, but North had some dangerous small forwards and Benny locked down on a fair few of those to make it a tough day for them. As a small defender, overall I thought it was a really solid game.
Tom Jok
Stats: 15 disposals, six tackles, three clearances, 11 hitouts
From the coach: First game back from injury for ‘Jokky’ – he’d been out for nearly four or five weeks. He played a bit of a different role for us, which saw him pinch-hitting in the ruck as well as playing some wing minutes on his limited game time. I liked his impact. I thought he tried hard, had 15 disposals and competed in the ruck. (Tom) Campbell’s obviously a quality ruckman and that was evident in terms of the way he played, but Jokky was able to get him around the ground a bit which is what we asked him to do. It was a nice platform for him moving forward.
Tom Jok made a strong return from injury. (Photo: Ben Johnstone)
Matt Dea
Stats: 17 disposals, five marks, three rebound 50s
From the coach: A solid game again from Matty. He had a week off last week and looked to be fresh, running on top of the ground and judging the ball really well. He made some good defensive decisions and was able to apply some great pressure when the ball was coming out, as did a lot of the people. Seventeen disposals in the back half is really solid, and that’s what we’ve come to expect from him.
Brooke Varney is in the final year of her Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) degree at RMIT University. As part of their strategic partnership, Essendon Football Club and RMIT University are committed to providing opportunities for students, staff, players and the wider community.