Essendon VFL senior coach Dan Jordan assesses the 17 AFL-listed players who featured in Sunday’s 69-point victory over Port Melbourne at Adcon Stadium. 

Marty Gleeson

Stats: 11 disposals, six marks

From the coach: Marty only played the first half and I thought he was really solid - he is continuing on his consistent form from the previous couple of weeks. He had six intercept marks and 11 possessions, defending well and positioning himself well when the ball was coming out (of Port Melbourne’s defence). He should be fresh and in line for AFL selection later in the week, considering his consistent form.

Aaron Francis 

Stats: 15 disposals, four marks, four goals

From the coach: Aaron played primarily as our key forward and to kick four goals is a great return. More importantly, I thought his contest work was brilliant. He was able to bring the ball to ground and get our smalls involved at ground level – he was a real focal point up there. He competed really hard down the line and inside our forward 50. It was a good game from him.


Aaron Francis was one of the standouts against Port Melbourne. (Photo: Ben Johnstone)

Mark Baguley

Stats: Four disposals, three inside 50s

From the coach: ‘Bags’ is another one who just played the first half. He played that fat-side forward role, which isn’t a high-possession role, but one that we value nonetheless. With his AFL experience, his patterns and so forth are really good and that’s what allowed our forwards to open up some space and contribute. As well as applying some pressure through the forward 50, he had a couple of shots on goal and could have finished with a couple for the half, so just needs to convert those opportunities.

Jordan Ridley 

Stats: 16 disposals, four marks, five inside 50s, one goal

From the coach: ‘Rids’ played on the wing all day. He’s just getting used to that new role. I thought he was better – he’s taken some good steps forward in that wing position. He had 16 possessions, transitioned hard up and down the ground, finished with a lovely goal and also had five inside 50s. He’s such a quality user that when he’s going inside 50, it’s usually to our advantage. He’s progressing nicely in that wing role.

 
Jordan Ridley is adjusting to his new position as a wingman. (Photo: Ben Johnstone)

Kobe Mutch

Stats: 22 disposals, six marks, four tackles, five inside 50s 

From the coach: This was Kobe’s first game back, so he was on some managed minutes but it was good to get him out there. As Kobe does, he ran hard, and won some contested footy. Twenty-two possessions from managed minutes is a good return, and a nice platform for him to build on coming back from that hamstring injury. Hopefully he’ll be back into a near full game next week.

 
Kobe Mutch hit the ground running in his return from injury. (Photo: Ben Johnstone)

Irving Mosquito

Stats: 14 disposals, five tackles 

From the coach: A classic game from ‘Mozzie’. I thought his defensive pressure was really good, he had four tackles in the first half including some really big rundown tackles which were really important for us. He had some good opportunities when going inside 50 and probably could have finished with a couple of goals. He didn’t hit the scoreboard, so we’d like him to impact in that area as well but when the ball is near him both offensively and defensively, it’s really exciting. He brings a spark and we want him to continue building on his consistency.

David Myers

Stats: 15 disposals, five marks, three inside 50s

From the coach: ‘Myersy’ just played the second half, so he came in and was pretty consistent in terms of his contested possessions and being able to set up around the stoppages. Port Melbourne is a good contested side so to have a big-bodied mid in there like him who controlled things was really important for us. Fifteen possessions in the half is a good return – he may not have been as clean as he liked but he was another one kept fresh to be available for the AFL squad and see how that team turns out later in the week. 

Jordan Houlahan

Stats: 14 disposals, six marks, three inside 50s, one goal

From the coach: Jordan played up forward. We had him focus a little bit more on his defensive game this week, in terms of high half-backs that Port Melbourne get some drive on and I thought he did that reasonably well. We also wanted him to contribute as a forward and play his role, and he always has sort of low-possession games (usually 12 or so) but he seems to impact and hit the scoreboard. He kicked 1.2, so probably could’ve kicked three goals but also gave us a focal point coming out with six marks in the forward line. I thought it was a solid game from him. 

Brandon Zerk-Thatcher 

Stats: 13 disposals, five marks, five rebound 50s

From the coach: Brandon got injured in the third quarter, but prior to that was playing really well again. He had 13 possessions but looked really strong in that key defensive post. Port has got some big key forwards like (Dylan) Conway and (Jordan) Lisle, so he and Michael Hartley played really well on them. That was aided by a fair bit of pressure down the ground, which was good. Brandon’s in some nice form so hopefully his knock doesn’t put him out for too long. I think he’s a chance to get up this week but we’ll monitor that and hopefully he can keep this good form going.

Noah Gown

Stats: 10 disposals, four marks, one goal

From the coach: Noah again played as one of our key forwards. He competed hard down the line and also gave us some movement inside 50. He’s still developing which is going to take some time, but we’re really liking what we’re seeing from him in terms of his attitude. He also took four marks and kicked 1.1 so he’s showing some nice signs as a 19-year-old forward in his first year of senior footy. He certainly doesn’t look out of depth so we’re really happy with his progress. 

Brayden Ham

Stats: 26 disposals, five marks, three tackles, two goals

From the coach: I thought it was a terrific game from ‘Hammy’. We’ve spoken in the last couple of weeks about how we’d like him to have a few more possessions, so 26 from him this week on the wing with some forward time is great. He kicked 2.2, so it could have been a complete game from him if he kicked three or four, but he just used his running ability up and down the ground really well. He held his width really well and his pressure was really good too – he had a couple of run-down tackles and applied some pressure around the contest, which was a focus point for us.

Jake Long

Stats: 15 disposals, eight handball receives, three tackles

From the coach: A pretty stock-standard game from ‘Longy’ in that half-back post. He gave us a bit of run and carry and used the ball reasonably well, and then was also strong defensively. He had 15 possessions and got eight handball receives - we like to get a bit of the ball in his hands so he can run and be aggressive at the game. Longy is just really consistent at the moment and just playing his role. As a team, we really need that.

Michael Hartley

Stats: 22 disposals, nine marks, four rebounds 50s, one goal

From the coach: ‘Harts’ again played as our key defensive post, mainly on (Jordan) Lisle who is big in the competition for his goals. He kept him goalless so that was a really good effort from him in the back half, and then he also played some minutes in the ruck which saw him sneak forward and kick a goal. He had some good impact and a few hit-outs. It was good for him to get a little taste of some multi-dimensional roles but once again he was really solid in that back post with nine marks. His impact when going through the ruck as well was really pleasing.

Trent Mynott

Stats: 18 disposals, five tackles, six inside 50s, one goal

From the coach: Trent is still building a bit from that injury coming back – it was a solid game from him. He had 18 possessions but was probably a little bit fumbly and would like to be a bit cleaner. He kicked a beautiful goal when he went forward and showed his smarts. He just needs to keep working on his fitness and his transitions and building that back up. We know the player that he can be, and he’s showing some good signs moving back towards that.

Ben McNiece 

Stats: 17 disposals, four marks, three rebound 50s

From the coach: I thought Benny as our small defender was terrific again in terms of his setting up, his structure, and also helping our backline. He made some really good defensive decisions and applied some real heat (on the contests). There were also a couple of times where he got the ball and was really aggressive with his ball movement and opened up the whole ground for us. Seventeen possessions from him is really good defensively. I really liked his game.

Matt Dea

Stats: 18 disposals, six marks, four tackles, two rebound 50s

From the coach: We sort of wrap up his work every week as a good game, and this game was probably no different for Matty. He had 18 possessions and six marks in the back half, six marks, and was strong in important one-on-one contests. He was good both in the air and on ground level and is becoming a key pillar of our back six. He’s contributing really well every week. 

Will Snelling

Stats: 28 disposals, five marks, eight tackles, three goals

From the coach: I thought this was Will’s best game for the club so far. He played probably 50-50 forward and mid, and had great impact forward. He used his smarts and ground-level pressure to kick three goals, and laid eight tackles as well which is terrific and something he’s been renowned for. His pressure around the ball is something we want him to bring every week. He also found himself with 28 disposals and I thought his game was super, both when he was around the ball and being able to transition out, but also when he was forward and being at the feet of the big guys. Hopefully he starts knocking the door down for AFL selection, but he’s built really nicely since he’s been at the club.

Brooke Varney is in the final year of her Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) degree at RMIT University. As part of their strategic partnership, Essendon Football Club and RMIT University are committed to providing opportunities for students, staff, players and the wider community.