Essendon VFL senior coach Dan Jordan assesses the 16 senior-listed players who played in the season-opening win against Frankston on Sunday.
Kyle Langford
Stats: 25 disposals (14 contested), six clearances, five marks
From the coach: Kyle transitioned really hard outside of the contest and I thought he gave us a real physical presence around the ball. We gave him some limited game time in the second half just to keep him fresh for AFL selection, but I thought it was a pretty solid all-round midfield game from him.
Marty Gleeson
Stats: 17 disposals, nine marks
From the coach: This was Marty’s third game back now, and he’s getting closer to a full game. I thought he read the ball really well, put himself in some good positions and used the ball coming out of defence. He’s taking a lot of confidence as each game builds and hopefully wants to start putting together some really good footy to start pushing for AFL selection.
Marty Gleeson. (Photo: Ben Johnstone)
Josh Begley
Stats: 11 disposals, three marks, two goals
From the coach: Josh played 50 minutes in his first game back from an ACL and got through fine. He competed really hard in the forward line and kicked two really nice goals, and just provided really good energy and intensity early up in the forward line.
James Stewart
Stats: seven disposals, four marks, four goals
From the coach: James was probably our best forward for the half he was on - he was moving really well, led up at the football, looked really dominant in the air and then also transitioned up and down the ground really well. He kicked four goals in one half and I thought he was terrific.
Irving Mosquito
Stats: 13 disposals, four inside 50s, three tackles
From the coach: ‘Mozzie’ was busy - he provided some good pressure in the forward line and got himself on the end of it a fair bit. He probably didn’t use the ball as well as he would have liked, but he put himself in some good spots and always looks dangerous when he’s around the ball. He also ran some minutes through the middle, which was good for him, and we saw a little bit of his midfield craft.
Jordan Houlahan
Stats: 14 disposals, six marks, two goals
From the coach: ‘Houlas’ transitioned pretty well as a high forward. He competed hard in the air and nearly brought down some big grabs. He also kicked two nice goals, and probably could’ve kicked four, which would’ve been a complete small forward’s game, but he’s still working at his game and working on his work rate which was good on the weekend.
Mason Redman
Stats: 21 disposals, seven marks, six inside 50s
From the coach: Mason played half-back in the first half and I thought he patrolled the backline really well. He gave us some nice overlap and used the ball well going into our forward half, and then in the second half he played on the wing. We got him used to some running patterns there to acclimatise himself in what was sort of his first full game back, but I thought he played a really good game, was consistent all day and one of our better players.
Mason Redman. (Photo: Ben Johnstone)
Mitch Brown
Stats: 17 disposals, six marks, five goals
From the coach: ‘Browny’ worked hard as a forward getting up and down the ground, which he’s known for. Obviously coming back from AFL can sometimes be a challenge, and he was finding it a little bit frustrating in the first half I think in terms of the delivery of the ball. He worked his way into the game though and finished with five goals, which is a really good key forward’s game. His work rate up and down the ground was quite evident.
Noah Gown
Stats: 14 disposals, seven marks, five inside 50s, two goals
From the coach: Noah’s a young forward who is competing really well, his work rate is good and he’s really good in the contest as well. His ground level footy is really good as well for a big fella, and once he starts holding onto a couple more of his marks he’s going to be a really dangerous forward.
Noah Gown. (Photo: Ben Johnstone)
Brayden Ham
Stats: 19 disposals, 10 inside 50s, six marks, one goal
From the coach: I thought it was one of ‘Hammy's' best games - he looked sharp off half-back, kicked a goal and was really damaging when carrying the ball through the middle. He played wing in the second half and looked to have some good impact defensively transitioning to get into some good areas for us to win the ball back and take it forward.
Brayden Ham. (Photo: Ben Johnstone)
Michael Hartley
Stats: 16 disposals, three marks, three rebound 50s
From the coach: ‘Harts’ played as our key back post and he was really solid all day. He took some intercept marks and was pretty dominant in defence as our boss. He did spend some minutes through the ruck in the second half and competed hard there but I thought he set up our backs pretty well and was the general down there.
Dylan Clarke
Stats: 30 disposals, eight marks, five tackles, four inside 50s
From the coach: ‘Clarkey’ was quite prolific as an on-baller, he had the 30 possessions and was really hard in and under which is what we’ve come to expect from him. He was good in the contest and good at getting the ball out, and also transitioned hard out of the contest.
Sam Draper
Stats: 22 disposals, 39 hitouts, 10 clearances, two goals
From the coach: I thought ‘Drapes’ was outstanding to be honest. He was dominant in the first half in the ruck, had around 12 first-quarter possessions and kicked the two goals. He followed up really hard and his transitioning was really intense, outworking his opponent but then also getting plenty of the footy and being really strong and dominant around the contest. He faded out a bit in the second half but I thought it was still a really strong game from him.
Sam Draper. (Photo: Ben Johnstone)
Trent Mynott
Stats: 28 disposals, six tackles, four clearances
From the coach: Trent was one of our better on-ballers. I thought he used the ball well and was clean around the contest. He seemed to be running on top of the ground and getting involved in some chains of play, but also laying some good tackles and being really hard with his skill in the contest.
Ben McNiece
Stats: 17 disposals, seven marks
From the coach: ‘Benny’ is building into some form. His first half was outstanding and he took some nice intercept marks. He came off his man and pressed on occasion, giving us some really good defensive coverage. His talk and instruction to some of our younger VFL backs were outstanding too.
Tom Jok
Stats: 17 disposals, six marks, four inside 50s, one goal
From the coach: ‘Jokky’ played on the wing and some of his highlights were his running ability and his transitioning up and down the ground. He got back to some really great positions for us defensively, but also got himself into a lot of attacking positions where we could use him coming through the corridor. He was able to get his hands on the ball and deliver it inside-50, which is exactly what we want 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.
