Western Bulldogs Development Coach Chris Maple looks at how each of the Bulldogs listed players fared in Williamstown’s VFL win over Bendigo Gold on Saturday.
Jarrad Grant: He kicked four and was very, very lively early and took a fantastic mark. He presented well all day and applied a lot of pressure. One of the best games we have seen in a while from him.
Tom Campbell: Played a lot of the game up forward and took ten marks – a lot of which were contested. A lot of those marks were also up forward and he ended up having six shots on goal to kick two majors and four behinds. As a forward it was probably one of Tom’s best games without the conversion. Very happy with his forward play and he always does well in the ruck.
Jason Tutt: Tutt had about 20 possessions and kicked the ball quite well. He travels with a lot of speed and good agility. We are looking for Jason to have a balanced game in both attack and defence.
Mark Austin: Austin played a bit between back and forward – probably half, half. Obviously it was a very one sided game, so we moved Mark forward. He presented well at the ball carrier and kicked a goal – he also kicked the post once, unfortunately for him. Took some nice marks and defended as usual, very dour, and didn’t give his opponent an inch.
Christian Howard: Christian played a role on a player, which was new for him. We were very happy with his defensive decisions and his offensive decisions – when to leave the run with opponent. He kicked the ball magnificently in what was the best game he has played for quite a while — we are really happy with his progress.
Daniel Pearce: Played on the wing and at half back. He had quite a lot of team involvements. Returning from injury, he is a lot better for the run.
Michael Talia: Talia is in good form at the moment. Defending well and getting quite a bit of the ball, considering it was such a one sided game. He rebounded well out of the back 50 and his run from behind was excellent and he used the ball well.
Patrick Veszpremi: Veszpremi had a big day, he kicked three goals, had 30 odd possessions and had a real impact wherever we played. He played forward and on the wing. Just his power, running through the lines and long kicking really helped the team.
Mitch Wallis: Inside mid all day, racked up about 36 possessions and 10 clearances, so he had a very big day in that respect. Mitch will be pressing for senior selection again if he keeps doing the right things.
Daniel Cross: Back at VFL level Crossy was outstanding. Really led the young guys well. Part of Daniel coming back would be to help the youth develop and he certainly does that with his instruction and it was great to see him get to 38 possessions and really be one of the dominant players on the ground.
Lachie Hunter: Lachie had an outstanding day. He had 33 possessions and kicked the ball really well. He had 19 marks – a lot of which were uncontested, but it just showed that his work rate was right up. He’s probably starting to press for senior selection as well. He’s had a good three weeks at VFL senior level now.
Development League
Alex Greenwood: Greenwood played at the development level and had 20-odd possessions. Had some good clearances and uses the ball really well. He would be pressing for senior VFL selection this week.
Josh Prudden: Prudden started the game really well at the development level. He kicked the ball magnificently inside 50. Unfortunately he’s rolled his ankle and may miss a week. But his form has been fantastic.
Jack Redpath: Back from a little bit of a lay off. He played down back and he’s finding his feet at that role. He did very well just rebounding all their entries and was the dominant defender on the ground. He used the ball really well, so he is making some really good progress in that area.
