After a dominant win over Redland in Round 14, NEAFL Coach Nick Malceski has given his appraisal of the performance of the club’s listed players ahead of this weekend’s game against Sydney Uni. 

Chris Burgess:

Chris had one of his best offensive games giving us drive out of defence and his ability to change angles shifted Redland’s defence and gave us openings. Defensively he was ok, winning some big 1v1 contests. He will be looking to continue to push for another senior selection. 

Jacob Dawson:

Jacob was consistent in defence and used the ball well down there. He finished with 32 disposals and played a part in limiting Redland’s avenues to goal. Jacob has had a good month of footy and has been developing his craft well as a defender, he keeps looking for ways to improve himself during the week.

Corey Ellis:

Corey started the game slowly but got going as the game went on. He was able to give us some drive out of out backline in the second half and was hard to play against. This week we will be wanting Corey to start they way he finished the game off and have a big impact from the start. 

Caleb Graham:

Caleb had one of his better games this year in defence. He was good with his defensive efforts and was willing to leave his man to help teammates out in the air. He took seven marks which was really pleasing to see and is playing with confidence. Caleb will be looking to back this up again this weekend as he has the last month of footy. We are all pleased with the way Caleb is developing this year.

George Horlin-Smith:

George had a very solid game playing through the midfield. He finished up with 28 touches, 5 tackles and a goal. His leadership to our younger players is excellent and I know they love playing with him. His form over the last couple of games had been solid and he will be pressing for another AFL call-up.

Sean Lemmens:

Sean played his first game back from injury, he was on limited game-time and played majority in the midfield but also some time forward. He was able to find some footy with 21 touches and 5 tackles which is Sean’s strength. We are looking forward to him cracking in again this week.

Jack Leslie:

Jack’s last three games have been really solid but this week didn’t play to the level that he has been at. He has been improving each week off the back of his craft Monday to Friday and this is showing in games. I know that Jack will be back to his best this week as he is keen to bounce back.

Jez McLennan:

Jez started the game strong and had an impact both offensively and defensively. However he was unhappy with his second half as he faded out of the game a little. Jez has already had a great start to the week in regards to his training craft and this suggests he’ll have a really solid game this week. 

 Jordan Murdoch:

Jordan played on the wing for the majority of the game. He was able to find the ball with 27 touches and used it well. He gave us plenty of drive forward which we were pleased with, and ran some good defensive patterns to get back and help out our defenders. He is another that has played well over the last couple of weeks and could be pushing for a call-up. 

Tom Nicholls:

Tom was good again in the ruck with 48 hit outs and two goals. What has allowed Tom to play well and have an impact is his follow up work – tackling and blocking for mids is the standout. He also showed that the work his doing throughout the week is paying off with a couple of contested marks which has been a focus for him. 

Connor Nutting:

Connor had a quieter game for his standards, he did kick 1.1 and had some good aerial contests which helped us when going forward. He wasn’t happy and I know he will bounce back this week. I’m looking forward to Connor having a real impact up forward and lead our academy boys up there. 

Michael Rischitelli:

Risch was solid as usual in the midfield for us and his leadership was crucial once again. He found plenty of it on the inside, finishing with 30 disposals, five marks, three tackles and a wind-the-clock-back goal from 55m. He continues to help educate our younger midfielders on their role in the team and leads by example on the park.

Mitch Riordan:

Mitch played his second game for the club and had another impressive performance finishing with 26 touches, 5 tackles and a goal. We love the way he goes about it on game-day and are looking forward to him going again this week to keep growing with confidence each game he plays. 

Aaron Young:

Youngy was one of our best players on the day. He started hot and kicked three goals in the first quarter. He finished the game with 27 touches, 10 marks and 3.1 but unfortunately injured his knee in the last quarter which was shattering for him. He’s had scans and we’ll know more about the extent of the injury in the coming days.