Essendon VFL head coach Dan Jordan assesses the 16 senior-listed Dons who featured in Sunday’s two-goal win over Werribee at Avalon Airport Oval. 

Mark Baguley

Stats: 12 disposals, five marks, four inside 50s, two goals

From the coach: ‘Bags’ played that sort of fat-side/half-forward role, and I thought he played it really well. Some of his patterns were really good, he competed hard for us, and he also kicked two goals. It’s a bit of an unrewarded role but one that takes some selflessness, which he had.

 

Jordan Ridley

Stats: 20 disposals, five marks, six rebound 50s

From the coach: I liked Jordan’s game – he played on the wing in the first half and then pushed back a little bit in the second half. He’s starting to grow a little bit in that wing role and getting used to the patterns, and then when he went back particularly in the last quarter he had really nice composure and used the ball well coming out (of defensive 50). He also started a couple of offensive chains that gave us a couple of goals late, which could’ve been the difference in the game.

Kobe Mutch

Stats: 20 disposals, six marks, eight handball receives, four tackles

From the coach: Kobe is still on some restricted time after coming back from injury but still ran hard all day as he does. He played wing time with a bit on the inside and was around the ball and got enough of it. We just need him to work on when he’s got the ball, how he’s using it and being damaging, but I thought his work rate was really good. He certainly provides some really good run for us on the outside, and also some good contested work inside.

Zac Clarke

Stats: 14 disposals, four tackles, three inside 50s, 33 hit-outs 

From the coach: Zac obviously hasn’t played footy for a while so it was good to see him back. I thought he gave us a really good contest in the ruck and also down the line. He had 14 possessions and 33 hit-outs for his three quarters – he was on managed minutes due to AFL availability. He competed really hard down the line, which we needed, and his follow-up efforts were good. It was a pleasing game from him.


Zac Clarke impressed on managed minutes. (Photo: AFL Photos)

Irving Mosquito 

Stats: One disposal 

From the coach: ‘Mozzie’ was injured in the first minute of the game, and I think we missed a little bit of his defensive pressure. It’s obviously a challenge when you’re injured in your first year, so hopefully he’ll be able to get into his rehab pretty quickly. I don’t know the severity of his hamstring injury but we’ll know doubt find out more about that this week. Hopefully he can get back and play some footy for us – he’s really important for us, particularly his defensive pressure and his run and carry through the forward half.

David Myers 

Stats: 21 disposals, four marks, four tackles, seven clearances, five inside 50s, one goal

From the coach: ‘Myersy’ had a lot of grunt work inside against a really good midfield. He was in charge of setting up around there and it was a really good battle in the midfield. (Werribee) has some high-quality mids, and I thought ‘Myersy’ battled hard all day. He had 21 possessions and a really nice first-quarter goal - it was a workman-like performance from him.

Jordan Houlahan 

Stats: 10 disposals, four marks, two tackles, three goals 

From the coach: ‘Houlas’ started really well with three first-half goals – I liked his resetting and he looked to be covering the ground really well. He was also hitting up at the footy well. He probably faded out of the game a bit, but we speak about Houlas not being a high-possession player, but what he can do is impact the scoreboard and to kick three goals from his 10 possessions is a really good impact from a medium-forward. 


Jordan Houlahan helped set up the Bombers' win with a big first half. (Photo: AFL Photos)

Brandon Zerk-Thatcher

Stats: 16 disposals, six marks, three spoils, five rebound 50s

From the coach: Brandon played in that key-back post, and particularly when (Michael) Hartley went forward a bit later had a bigger job to do down there. I thought he was solid. He had a couple of good of forwards in (Jake) Riccardi and (Kye) Declase who were impacting the game a bit, so it was a good battle. Overall it was a solid game from Brandon, and he’s building into some consistent form. He had a little bit of an injury (from last weekend) so he did well to get up and play the game, which is a credit to him and also a good learning experience for him to work through - manage his body and still perform well.

Noah Gown 

Stats: Seven disposals, two marks 

From the coach: Noah played as a key forward. It was a tough role down there in terms of being able to compete and bring the ball in, but he’s trying really hard. We’ve just got to get that competitiveness up and have him bringing that ball to ground for us because he’s got some great attributes that we love – his hitting up, his selflessness in his role, and even some of the blocks he puts on for his teammates are all really good. He’s just got to keep working hard as a key forward. It doesn’t always go your way but if he keeps that work rate up then things will turn for him pretty quickly. 

Brayden Ham 

Stats: 12 disposals, six handball receives, two inside 50s 

From the coach: ‘Hammy’ had a little bit of focus from the opposition – they sort of ran with him. Having been a dominant player the week before, Werribee seemed to put a little bit of time into him so it was a good experience for him in being able to work through those challenges. I thought his run was still there all day. Defensively he tried to get back and offensively he tried to be dangerous, but they clearly had sent someone on him and were keen to negate his influence on the game. He played a little bit of forward and a little bit of wing, and had some good impact when he got the ball. It was workman-like from him and a good learning game for him as well.

 
Brayden Ham came under close attention from Werribee. (Photo: AFL Photos)

Jake Long 

Stats: 16 disposals, four marks, two tackles, two inside 50s 

From the coach: ‘Longy’ played at half-back and found himself freed up a few times in the first half with the ball coming in. I thought he tried to defend pretty hard - he probably didn’t get the time and space that he does given that Werribee was pretty good defensively. He had to be right on his game down there because Werribee has some dangerous small forwards, but I thought it was a solid game from Longy.

Michael Hartley

Stats: 23 disposals (15 contested), five marks, five rebound 50s, three spoils, two goals

From the coach: ‘Harts’ played a really good game. I thought when he was our key defender he was strong in the contest and used the ball reasonably well. I think there were a couple of times where they kicked a goal from his turnovers, but we want him to be aggressive at the game and take those kicks. We then threw him forward because we needed a contest up there in the last quarter and a half and he did that really well. He competed hard, brought the ball to ground, kicked a couple of goals himself and was also bringing him teammates and smaller players into it by playing his role. It was a different look for him but one that we really value nonetheless.

Trent Mynott 

Stats: 19 disposals, two tackles, five clearances, three inside 50s

From the coach: I thought Trent’s game was better in terms of his effort and intensity to get out of the stoppage, which has been a focus for him. He still won a fair bit of the ball with a good mix of contested and uncontested which is another thing he is working on. If he keeps that work rate up and gets his hands on the ball five or six more times, then he’s starting to get back into that really good block of form that we know he played in the first half of the year. I think there’s some really good signs for him moving forward.

Ben McNiece

Stats: 12 disposals, six marks, three tackles, three inside 50s

From the coach: Benny had a really solid game as a small defender. They (defenders) were under a fair bit of pressure down there and had to transition hard and work probably the hardest they’ve had to work for a number of weeks. He was setting the scene down there – his effort and intensity are always really good. There were a couple of times, particularly in the first half, where I thought his ball movement was really good and gave us some aggressive looks at the game to be able to score. I thought it was a solid game from him.

Matt Dea 

Stats: 15 disposals, seven marks, three spoils, four rebound 50s

From the coach: A pretty workman-like, blue-collar game from Matty in the back half. He works hard and tries to press, and then had to play a little bit taller in the last quarter and a half against some good opposition. They took a couple of marks on him but he kept trying and putting the heat on with his pressure. He tried to make it as tough as possible for the opposition forwards, so it was another solid game from him as a back. 

Will Snelling

Stats: 19 disposals, four tackles, three clearances, one goal 

From the coach: Will probably didn’t have quite the influence he had the week before, but he was still really dangerous nonetheless. Again he probably played about 50/50 mid and forward minutes, and there were a couple of times where he got out, looked to run and carry the ball, and used it pretty well and cleverly. There were a few other times where the ball probably didn’t bounce his way, but if it did he could’ve finished with two or three goals. He kicked a lovely goal late though to ice the game, which showed his class and his finishing ability - he’s had a really good month and if this is going to be his baseline for games then that’s rally pleasing for him.

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.