VFL Games 2026

[KSAS]

Thanks Deja for that update on Bowman. So he looks to have injured his calf rather than re-injuring his hammy. Fingers crossed it's only minor and we'll see him back on the field soon.

It may've been a precautionary decision not to play him this week, hence not being on mentioned on the injury list? Similar to Curnow and Serong perhaps?

[bandwagon]

Dunno if anyone else caught the replay, can't say I recommend it - it was a low scoring and scrappy game, though the last 2 minutes were entertaining. North had 13 AFL-listed players with 408 games of experience, we had 10 & 225 games, so the result did not unduly surprise. Our best 3 were again Corey Warner, Cleary & Ladhams, and I think all of them are ready for a recall if needed, though their weaknesses as well as their strengths were evident in this match. The other AFL listed players were a bit of a mixed bag:

Hamling played full back and was solid and had a brief stint forward.
Snell had a couple of bad turnovers, but generally intercepted well, distributed neatly and had one or two good attacking plays. I used to think Edwards was not ready for the AFL as was too error-prone, but at the higher level he seems to concentrates more on the basics and so is more reliable. Perhaps Snell is ready for an elevation as well, I don't know if we will learn more from another year in the VFL.
Hanily was busy as usual, but was sometimes made errors when trying to be too ambitious.
Kyle has definitely improved from earlier in the year, though that was a really low base.
Phillipou kicked a goal that was a thing of beauty, but completely stuffed up a couple more opportunities, quiet overall.
Chamberlain was again used on the wing, was athletic and took some excellent marks, but needs to get involved more.
Dattoli was very quiet. Generally played HFF but was in the center early but struggled to get his hands on it.

[UUaswan]

Dunno if anyone else caught the replay, can't say I recommend it - it was a low scoring and scrappy game, though the last 2 minutes were entertaining. North had 13 AFL-listed players with 408 games of experience, we had 10 & 225 games, so the result did not unduly surprise. Our best 3 were again Corey Warner, Cleary & Ladhams, and I think all of them are ready for a recall if needed, though their weaknesses as well as their strengths were evident in this match. The other AFL listed players were a bit of a mixed bag:

Hamling played full back and was solid and had a brief stint forward.
Snell had a couple of bad turnovers, but generally intercepted well, distributed neatly and had one or two good attacking plays. I used to think Edwards was not ready for the AFL as was too error-prone, but at the higher level he seems to concentrates more on the basics and so is more reliable. Perhaps Snell is ready for an elevation as well, I don't know if we will learn more from another year in the VFL.
Hanily was busy as usual, but was sometimes made errors when trying to be too ambitious.
Kyle has definitely improved from earlier in the year, though that was a really low base.
Phillipou kicked a goal that was a thing of beauty, but completely stuffed up a couple more opportunities, quiet overall.
Chamberlain was again used on the wing, was athletic and took some excellent marks, but needs to get involved more.
Dattoli was very quiet. Generally played HFF but was in the center early but struggled to get his hands on it.

Very good point with Edwards, form typically isnt a straight correlation between the grades and some may benefit from a different role or in his case probably more so different responsibility

[dejavoodoo44]

Coaches votes for the game against North.

9 Corey Warner (SYD)
6 Cooper Harvey (NM)
5 Caiden Cleary (SYD)
5 Hugo Mikunda (NM)
2 Riley Hardeman (NM)
2 Bailey Scott (NM)
1 Mitch Mellis

[dejavoodoo44]

The team for tomorrow's game against Collingwood, which takes place at 2pm at Tramway.

B: P. Snell (41), J. Hamling (29), K. Gibbs (70)
HB: M. Geddes (61), H. Kyle (32), L. Giacometti (51)
C: N. Chamberlain (42), C. Warner (37), J. Harrison (65)
HF: M. Mellis (50), T. Hanily (40), J. Dattoli (9)
F: J. Longmire (56), H. McLean (2), J. Phillipou (18)
R: P. Ladhams (19), C. Cleary (33), N. Shipley (52)
INT: N. Andreacchio (67), J. Callegari (59), C. Peters (53), T. Ryan (64), H. Podmore-Taylor (62)
23rd Player: N. Andreacchio (67)
EMG: J. Tidemann (57), H. Cameron (69), O. Davis (63), K. Harbour (66)

IN: N. Andreacchio, H. McLean
OUT: J. Sutton (unavailable), T. Forrest (omitted)

Looks like Rampe genuinely needs a rest.

[dejavoodoo44]

Good first quarter, where we moved the ball much better than Collingwood. It seemed to me, that it was only a lopsided free kick count that kept them close.

[Dow]

Warner is having another good game and Mclean hasn't done much wrong.
Malice i really like him

[UUaswan]

Mclean honing his ruck skills for league by not rucking at all

[dejavoodoo44]

Warner is having another good game and Mclean hasn't done much wrong.
Malice i really like him

I assume you meant Mellis, but autocorrect got it. Yes, he's impressed me this season and he's probably now pretty close to being picked up in the midseason draft. Unfortunately, not by us.

[bandwagon]

Another good quarter but Collingwood wont go away.
Interesting positioning of some players - didn't see Cleary attend a centre bounce that quarter, seemed mainly at half forward where he certainly made it count with two goals. It reduced our clearance dominance from Q1, but probably good for Cleary to practice where he would be used in the seniors. Also a UUaswan mentioned, McLean not used as backup ruck. Interestingly neither was Podmore-Taylor (who went well as key back). Also Mellis going from strength to strength.

[Dow]

I assume you meant Mellis, but autocorrect got it. Yes, he's impressed me this season and he's probably now pretty close to being picked up in the midseason draft. Unfortunately, not by us.

Sorry i am a terrible speller lol you are right (hope we rookie him next year)

[bandwagon]

3QT 16.8 v 6.9
I'd love this scoreline in the seniors! None of the stats are outrageously one-sided, but we are just more effective across the ground.

[dejavoodoo44]

A very good quarter to further stretch our lead, both in the way we moved the ball and the pressure that we put on Collingwood. I got the impression that we were playing a harem scarem brand of football, because it was an effective and enjoyable way to move the football, while they playing a harem scarem brand of football, because they were forced in to it and they didn't really like it.

[imuninformedtwo]

That’s the best game I’ve seen Kyle play and while he’s got a fair bit to do, you can also see from glimpses what sort of power Philippou has at his disposal.

[Sandridge]

GO BLOODS!!

Please let it be an omen for later on!!!