THE CARLTON Reserves enjoyed a strong win on the weekend, accounting for an experienced Footscray outfit by 19 points at IKON Park.

A number of AFL-listed players produced outstanding solo performances in the clash: this is what VFL Senior Coach Daniel O'Keefe had to say.

2. Paddy Dow
27 disposals, seven clearances, six score involvements

Paddy got going around the contest in the second quarter after a slow start to the game, which in turn helped the team get better field position. He’s continuing to work on taking ground when under pressure, and he’s running strong patterns which is allowing him to impact on both sides of the ball. He made good decisions in offence which saw him finish the game with six score involvements.

3. Jesse Motlop
Five disposals, four tackles

While it wasn’t a high-numbers game from a stats perspective, Jesse’s impact in the second quarter especially was instrumental in keeping the ball inside our forward 50. He had a number of pressure acts and did the things that don’t appear on the stats sheet - like putting blocks on for talls - on multiple occasions. 

8. Lachie Fogarty
32 disposals, 14 contested possessions, nine clearances

‘Fog’ continues to be a team-first player. He created turnovers with his awareness and reaction at the contest and was also able to win or at least halve contests forward of the ball. He won his own ball at stoppages and applied pressure, reflected with his nine clearance and five tackles. It was his starting points at stoppages which allowed him to impact, as well as his clean hands around the contest.

13. Liam Stocker
26 disposals, nine marks, six rebound 50s

’Stock’ had a strong impact on the game. He had 22 kicks for the night and he took the game on with penetration and, at times, precision. He showcased his experience and leadership with his positioning behind the ball for most of the night, and he performed well in one-on-one battles throughout the game. 

16. Jack Carroll
29 disposals (15 contested), eight marks, six clearances

Jack set himself up for a really good performance with the way he trained and prepared during the week. He played as an inside mid and it was his movement and shape around the contest which allowed him to not only win his own ball, but also support his teammates. He reacted quickly both up and back after stoppages and his running allowed him to stay connected between offence and defence.

17. Brodie Kemp
14 disposals, four marks, three rebound 50s

‘Kempy’ played on Josh Bruce for the majority of the game, and he kept him to nine disposals and three uncontested marks for the game. He played a reasonable game on him, consistently halving one-on-one battles and also winning his fair share. He made some nice decisions in terms of when to drop back when Bruce went higher up the ground. His aerial decisions were also improved on the week before, demonstrating a good balance between spoiling and marking. It was a solid game from him.

34. Sam Philp
22 disposals, six marks, six score involvements

‘Philpy’ played the conditions well. He surged the ball forward when he needed to and didn’t overuse it. He was a reliable connector for us and finished the game with 22 disposals, which was his most for the season: our better ball movement compared to last week helped him. He had a good balance around the ball and provided first gives when they were on offer.

36. Josh Honey
13 disposals, eight score involvements, six marks, four goals

Friday night’s game continued a form line which has been progressively building nicely over the last couple of weeks for Josh. A feature of his game was his running patterns allowing him to impact both offensively and defensively: more than just his scoreboard impact, he was able to support our team defence. He was clean at ground level which  was a big factor in him finishing with 4.1 for the night, as was his ability to consistently win or halve contests in a very strong overall game.

40. Will Hayes
26 disposals, six marks, six score involvements, one goal

Will played mainly on the wing for us and was strong with his communication all night. He ran hard defensively to outnumber and support our backline, but it also brought him into the play offensively in transition once we won the ball back. He worked hard to impact the game in the forward half and, on the back of this, finished the game with a goal as reward for effort. 

41. Dom Akuei
Three disposals

Dom unfortunately came from the ground late in the first quarter and was ruled out with concussion. He’ll miss this week’s game and also the bye the week after. In the time he was on the ground, he impressed with his willingness to come forward and defend.

43. Will Setterfield
34 disposals (22 uncontested), eight tackles, eight inside 50s

’Setters’ played on the wing where he won his own ball, pressured the opposition and impacted offensively. He set the scene with his communication and intensity to close space, and he reacted quickly to get forward when we won the ball, putting him in a strong position to test his opponent or put himself in the right spot to impact defensively if we lost it back.

45. Alex Mirkov
Five disposals, 26 hitouts

Coming up against a ruckman with AFL experience, it was pleasing to see Alex hold his own at ruck contests and also follow up at ground level. He continued to work on his aerial presence in marking contests, which he showed some good growth in. A strong contested mark which he took in the second quarter was a reward for effort.