VFL Senior Coach Cameron Joyce reviews the performances of Essendon's AFL-listed players from the weekend's VFL clash against North Melbourne.
Nik Cox
10 disposals, three marks, two behinds
(Three quarters of game time)
It was great to see 'Coxy' back out there and we played him for three quarters in the end.
He presented really well as a winger and up forward, had a couple of shots on goal in the first quarter and got through the game well.
I think he’ll get a decent bit of confidence from that to build on for this week.
That wing-forward mix is where we've earmarked him to develop in at the moment. There’ll be some good opportunities for him there to develop his craft and see where that can take him.
Kayle Gerreyn
Six disposals, three goals
You can see his set shot routine’s working really well for him.
He's also been working on his left foot, snaps around the body, ground level stuff and he got some reward for that on the weekend too.
One of the biggest things is that he's creating a really good contest ahead of the ball for us and he played on some really experienced key defenders in Logue and Corr, handling that really well.
Alwyn Davey Jnr
Nine disposals, five tackles, two score involvements
Again, his pressure and speed were certainly noticeable.
Alwyn had a couple of important score involvements for us as well and we’re just trying to keep working contest-to-contest for him.
The more contests he can get to and the more we can get him involved in the play, we’ll see him be able to use his strengths.
Luamon Lual
14 disposals, three marks, one goal
Luamon’s certainly been working on being able to challenge forward, especially when there's opportunities present.
He had some chances and got rewarded with a goal late, he had another shot earlier in the game from his run-and-carry as well, so we’re seeing improvement there.
Some of his defensive efforts were excellent on the weekend too.
Matt Guelfi
12 disposals, six marks, one goal
'Guelf’s work rate was really, really strong and obviously it was his first game back for a while too, so it was good to get a run under his belt.
He provided a few really good contests ahead of the ball for us and added some leadership down there for the group, which was great.
He was able to play full minutes, so I suppose once a player sort of plays those full minutes, they become available. It just now comes down to performance and the (AFL side’s) need for that type of player.
Angus Clarke
19 disposals, six marks, five intercepts, four inside 50's
‘Clarkey’ just used the ball well throughout the day and made really good decisions.
He played a little bit up on the wing early in the quarters and then went back behind the ball as well, so we’re just trying to add more strings to his bow and utilise that running ability.
He certainly didn't look out of place playing on the wing.
Rhys Unwin
10 disposals (90 per cent efficiency), six marks, four inside 50's, one goal
Rhys has been getting nice and high up the ground but also working hard to get back, support the defence and be an outlet from the back half, which he's done really well.
For him to end up with a couple of shots on goal from his efforts was a positive, so we'll keep working to find that balance between how high he is up the ground and being able to get him inside 50 at the fall the ball.
Ideally, we'll still get him underneath our talls to score at ground level.
Vigo Visentini
45 hitouts, 16 disposals, five score involvements, four intercepts
It’s been great to see Vigo have full-time opportunity in the ruck on big minutes.
He’s getting back behind the ball really well, his follow-ups are getting more consistent, he took on two rucks on the weekend and beat them both.
His development, especially in these last couple of weeks, has been clear for all to see.
Zak Johnson
25 disposals (84 per cent efficiency), seven marks, five intercepts
Zak’s ball use is obviously fantastic and he really sets things up for us. He's a real playmaker.
We’re just working on that defensive side of his game to really round him out.
He’s worked hard to take some steps forward in that space and the weekend was another sign of that.
Saad El-Hawli
17 disposals, six marks, three score involvements, three inside 50's, three intercepts
I thought he had a pretty well rounded game, Saady.
In the air and on the ground, he looked pretty dangerous around contests and was involved in a few of our scores.
It’s good for him because he's obviously had some AFL opportunities and wants to be knocking on the door again.
Jayden Nguyen
14 disposals, three marks
Jayden played bits of the game on Harvey and on Hansen Jnr (a couple of North’s AFL-listed forwards) and he did a pretty good job again.
He’s just such a natural competitor and his second efforts are very good, so we want to try and give him those jobs on the better small forwards where possible, just to sort of mould him into that type of player.
Archer Day-Wicks
18 disposals, seven marks, five tackles, four inside 50's
Archer’s body work and his tackling just get better week-by-week.
Playing that mix of midfield and forward, he’s getting different exposure and finding new ways to get involved, which is great.
Some of his decision making when he gets the ball – especially for a young player - is fantastic and it can set the game up for him.