VFL Senior Coach Daniel O'Keefe analyses the performances of the nine AFL-listed Blues who featured in the Carlton Reserves' Round 6 win.

Dom Akuei
Stats: Six disposals

A common theme we’re seeing with Dom is that his good stuff is very good. When he is at his best, he keeps his game simple in defence. He had some great moments where he came forward to defend, and his aerial contest has seen some growth in recent weeks. The next stage of Dom’s learning is identifying when to follow or drop off from his direct opponent, and the reasoning behind that: we love his appetite to learn. 

Jordan Boyd
Stats: 21 disposals, five tackles, one goal

He was fantastic in offence for us. His ability to get run receives allows him to penetrate the opposition defence and give us field position. Of his 17 disposals, 11 were handball receives, with a number of those coming in the middle of the ground: that ended in five inside 50s and a great long-range goal. He also showed some great leadership and care for his teammates in an inexperienced backline. 

Paddy Dow
Stats: 34 disposals, 15 contested possessions, seven clearances, seven score involvements

He was the best player on the ground in the opening three quarters. His decisions around the ball is allowing to win his own ball and drive from congestion. His connection with Alex Mirkov was once again strong, enabling him to make an impact around clearances. He is at his best around the contest when he is on the move: he performed strongly with the opposition looking to curb his impact at stoppages through body work.

Lachie Fogarty
Stats: 20 disposals, six marks, five inside 50s

Spent his time between both the midfield and also up forward, where he supplied great pressure which ended in two goals. Around the contest, he was once again clean with his hands and was able to bring his teammates into the play on the back of this. He was disciplined defensively from stoppages and with his running patterns, which allowed him to stay connected on both sides of the ball. 

ALL THE ACTION Read the match report from the Round 6 win

Brodie Kemp
Stats: Nine disposals, three tackles, three rebound 50s

‘Kempy’ played down back this week in his game, where he played 50 per cent game time. He was often lined up on the opposition’s tallest forward but won the contest the majority of the time. He was comfortable on the last line of defence and made some great decisions: he was solid in our defensive system. Having played up forward so far this season, he showed us that he can perform at both ends on the ground.

Alex Mirkov
Stats: 10 disposals, three marks, 35 hitouts

It was another consistent performance from Alex. He gave great service to our midfield and his follow-up work kept him involved at ground level. Like his performance against Werribee, he is starting to mark the ball around the ground and it continues to be the big focus area in his game. He is running stronger patterns on both sides of the ball and is contributing over four quarters.

Jesse Motlop
Stats: 18 disposals, seven score involvements, one goal

‘Mots’ created turnovers for us on a regular basis, thanks to both his positioning and his pressure at ground level. He was sharp with his feet and kicked a classy goal in the third quarter: he also demonstrated his selflessness when he assisted a teammate in the second term, despite having the chance to take the shot himself. We’ll continue to give him some minutes in the centre square, where he as looked comfortable to date and dangerous with his spread.

Sam Philp
Stats: 17 disposals, five inside 50s, five score involvements

Rotating between half forward and wing, ‘Philpy’ performed his role for us on the weekend. He helped stretch the ground and got involved when we managed to get the ball out onto the open side. He finished with five score involvements from his 17 disposals and was clean with his ball handling, with some good examples of first gives.

Tom Williamson
Stats: 21 disposals, 15 handball receives, three goals

His work rate both defensively and offensively was really strong, allowing him to have an impact on both sides of the ball. He got back to support our defence a number of times, and he worked hard offensively and ran good patterns to end with three good goals. He gave us balance in his position from centre-bounce stoppages and gave us good defensive cover at stoppages around the ground.