After the Round 3 loss to the Giants, NEAFL Coach Nick Malceski has given his appraisal of the performances from the AFL-listed players.

Callum Ah Chee:

Unfortunately for Cal he got injured in the second quarter. He came off with a quad injury and will miss a few weeks with it at this stage. We’re hoping he can pick up where he left off for us after a successful rehab period.

Josh Corbett:

We gave Josh the captaincy this week in his second game for the club and he tried to rally the boys all game. His strong voice and leading patterns were a feature on the day which gave him the opportunity to have three shots on goal. He will be putting pressure on for a senior gig in the coming weeks.

Jacob Dawson:

Jacob played on the small forwards this week and did a good job defensively in his 1v1 contests. His run and carry was prominent in the last quarter which gave us some much needed drive out of defence. We’re Looking forward to him doing this more against Brisbane this weekend.

Sam Day:

Sam competed well again in the air and his leading patterns were once again very good. He was a bit starved for opportunity, but is doing what he needs to do to be ready if he earns an AFL call-up. 

Caleb Graham:

Caleb had a quiet game this week. He played on a good player in Zach Sproule from GWS who got the better of him. Caleb is already excited to go this week and get back to his form from two weeks ago where he was very hard to play against. His focus this week will be on his 1v1 contests and coming off his man to support team mates.

Ben King:

Ben played forward again and was involved really early with a shot on goal. He competed in the air when his chance came and brought it to ground for our smalls. He will work hard this week on his forward craft and goal kicking with Tim Clarke, our forwards coach. 

Jack Leslie:

Jack had a quieter game for his high standards. He had some really good contests, but we would like more from him if he is to earn a senior recall. He will continue to work hard on his craft this week at training and we’re confident he’ll be able to bounce back this week against Brisbane. 

Jez McLennan:

Jez had a different role playing on taller opponents this week and did a great job. He was outsized in the contests but was still able to either halve or win them. By defending well he was able to find some more footy on the weekend and we’re looking forward to him continuing that form this week.

Tom Nicholls:

Tom started slow but then got going and competed better in the ruck and around the ground. He had a tough opponent in Dawson Simpson and was able to nullify him in the second half. We’re confident Tom will continue to set himself high standards and play well week in, week out so he is ready when his chance comes.

Connor Nutting:

Connor played half forward and a bit on the wing this week. He started to impact the game late with his run and carry when we played him higher up the ground. We’re looking forward to him starting the game this week the way he finished by playing to his strengths.

Michael Rischitelli:

Rischa battled hard inside doing a lot of the grunt work in the midfield for us. His tackle pressure and contested footy has been good over the first three games and he has been one of our most consistent overall. Having his leadership out there has been invaluable for our younger players. He will keep banging the door down for a senior spot.

Brad Scheer:

Bradley was very solid again this week. After quarter time we gave him a role on Aiden Bonar from GWS who had 10 touches in the first quarter alone, and Brad was able to nullify him to just eight touches for the rest of the game. Brad was able to find 24 disposals of his own in that role with a goal also. We’re looking forward to him continuing his form to put pressure on the senior team. 

Josh Schoenfeld:

Josh played wing and inside midfield in his first game back from injury. His first half was solid with his two-way running and consistency getting to contest after contest. He ran out of steam a little bit in the second half but he will improve on that as he builds his match fitness back up. We are looking forward to Josh continuing his good work again this week.

Aaron Young:

Aaron battled hard all game through the midfield for us and was one of our best. He was able to find the ball with 38 disposals and hit the scoreboard with 1.2 along with six tackles. His transition running was solid and after an impressive start to the season in the NEAFL he will be putting pressure on the AFL players.