Recap

Matt Balmer’s scouting notes:

NSW/ACT were the only Division Two to pull off a win over the weekend, with a strong win against Vic Country.

Vic Country:

#2 Kane Farrell– Bottom ager Farrell spent most the afternoon on the wing, the left footer ended with a solid 10 disposals.
#5 Aidan Quigley– Very quiet day with just five disposals for the midfielder.
#6 Lochie O’Brien– I was really looking forward to seeing the bottom aged outside midfielder play after his good start to the TAC Cup season. Unfortunately after quarter time he wasn’t sighted where I believe he went off injured.
#7 William Drew– Hard nosed midfielder collected 11 contested possessions and grabbed six tackles through the day and was one of the better players for Vic Country. He’s a really nice size and had a team high six inside 50s.
#8 Jake Page– Just the seven disposals for the left footer throughout the day.
#9 Brent Daniels– The small inside midfielder had a good game collecting 20 disposals (with just one of them being ineffective). What was really impressive with the 172cm bottom ager was his tackling and clearance work around the ground, a name to remember for 2017…
#11 Louis Pinnuck– The outside midfielder had a nice game with 15 disposals, his run and carry was good and he was prepared to kick the ball long to the forwards.
#12 Will Leslie– The brother of Gold Coast Suns player Jack had just the single possession on Sunday.
#13 Tom Williamson– I thought Williamson was probably the best player (behind Atley) for Vic Country. 23 disposals and 11 handball receives running hard on the wing, the only knock I have on the 188cm midfielder is his kicking which wasn’t great on Sunday.
#16 Sam White– White played as a running defender and took two nice marks. A solid game from the Rebels tall.
#19 Cooper Jones– Jones is a good mark overhead and he showed that on multiple occasions throughout the day. He spent most the day in defence.
#21 Sean Masterson– Just the one disposals for Masterson in the second quarter.
#22 Harry Morrison– A quiet game for Morrison who played most the game in defence, collecting seven disposals.
#23 Lloyd Meek– Plenty of recruiters were keen on watching Meek in the ruck. He had a really good game with 22 disposals and dominated his opponent all day. Meek might be the first Victorian ruckman picked up in this draft.
#24 Dion Johnstone– Chargers dashy Johnstone had a quiet day to what he normally produces at TAC Cup level with just 11 disposals. He did have two score assists which were positive, but he just didn’t seem to take the game on as he normally would at the Chargers.
#26 Kade Renooy– Renooy had a really good game playing on the outside with 22 disposals. A real disappointment was the amount of targets he missed when bringing the ball out of defence and it resulted in his kicking efficiency being below 50%.
#29 Kayle Kirby– Kibry had five kicks for the match and collected 4.1. While the 181cm over ager showed plenty of spark and athleticism, I was a bit disappointed with him at stages as he just tried to do “too much” with the ball in hand at stages. Kirby also took five marks and laid five tackles which are his strengths- One to keep an eye on throughout the season.
#32 Harry Boyd– A quiet game for the tall with just five disposals as he just couldn’t work into the game.
#33 James Cousins– Inside midfielder Cousins was pretty good on Sunday, he laid some really good tackles in the centre square.
#34 Joseph Atley– The inside midfielder was Vic Country’s best player for the afternoon. He collected 25 disposals and laid six tackles in a really strong outing which should help his draft chances.
#37 Ryan Hearn– Despite not setting the stats sheet on fire, I thought over ager Hearn had a good game. He provided a good chop out for Meek in the ruck and also looked dangerous at times inside 50.
#44 Cody Henness– An ok game for Henness with 10 disposals, but I’m not sure where he best fits in the Vic Country team.
#45 Ned Nihill– Bushranger tall was quiet with six disposals on Sunday.
#47 Shannon Beks– I liked Beks game on Sunday, 14 disposals and four marks. His work inside 50 was good for Country and he is pretty agile especially when on the lead.
#52 Braidon Blake– Blake was a handy player for Country, standing at 194cm he had nine disposals spending most the game in defence.
#53 Isaac Wallace– Another who was in the best for Country, the small provided some spark on the outside as well as in the inside. I’ll be keeping my eye on him to whether he can clean up his disposal.

NSW/ACT:
#8 Connor Byrne– The GWS academy prospect bobbed up and kicked two first quarter goals. He finished the day with 17 disposals and seven inside 50s, he spent most the game on the wing and inside the forward 50. Probably dropped off many draft boards, but his name just won’t go away with a performance like Sunday’s.

#14 Harry Perryman– BOG out of all the players over the weekend. 27 disposals and three goals was an incredible performance considering many hadn’t heard of him coming into the weekend. Rest assured he kicked four goals for Collingullie-GP in their Grand Final last year (The same game all the recruiters flocked to NSW to watch now Giant Matthew Kennedy play). 184cm for the balanced midfielder will make him an interesting prospect and one to watch at the Division Two championships.

#17 Charlie Bance– Bance returned as an over ager and the inside midfielder played a solid game collecting 19 disposals. His 2nd half was really impressive and he laid seven tackles going hard in the middle.

#23 Ben Davis– I circled Davis in my note book, not because he dominated but showed glimpses of something. I’m not sure what it is I saw in him, but it will be interesting to see how he goes for the rest of the year. His brother Abe is on the Sydney list currently and I think Davis is a chance to be drafted.

#30 Liam Maze– A disappointing day in my eyes for Maze, I was really hoping the ruckman would standout as he played well in a few games I saw of him last year. He was comfortably beaten in the ruck, but I’m hoping for better things come the Division Two championships.