7. Matthew Kennedy

Stats: 24 disposals (12 contested), seven clearances, four inside 50s
From the coach: He utilised his strength around stoppages really well. We’d like to see him transition more consistently in general play. He’s got to keep bringing his one-wood to the table, which his stoppage and contested work. He’s continuing to do that and now the focus is on his offensive and defensive running patterns.

13. Liam Stocker

Stats: 19 disposals, five rebound 50s
From the coach: His hardness at the contest is something we love. We used him at half-back and we gave some exposure through the middle of the ground, where he won some important clearances and showed some really positive pressure efforts. He keeps adding bits and pieces to his game. We spoke about it as coaches that we’d like to keep giving him and others exposure in different roles as part of their development.

16. Darcy Lang

Stats: 14 disposals, five marks
From the coach: By his own admission, it wasn’t one of his better outings. He’s three games back from a lengthy layoff so we think he’s starting to get going in the areas of the game we know he’s good at. We need him to work hard on the outside and hunt and find the ball when it’s in his area. He’s an experienced player and I know he’s keen to put in a big performance this week.

19. Angus Schumacher

Stats: 12 disposals, five rebound 50s
From the coach: The consistency of what he’s doing on-field and the thinking element to the game is something as a younger player which he keeps working hard on. We want him to bring his strengths to the table when he defends hard and then brings his run and rebound on the back of that, that’s when he plays his best footy.

26. Harrison Macreadie

Stats: Eight disposals, six spoils
From the coach: He didn’t have a huge impact on the game offensively, but he did some nice things defensively in terms of defending his man. He works our system really well which is very pleasing to see. ‘Creads’ will continue to work on parts of his game during the week, it’s a credit to him the way he’s been able to come back and perform.

Harrison Macreadie is continuing his return to full fitness. (Photo credit: Rose Zarucky)

27. Matthew Lobbe

Stats: Six disposals, six tackles, 25 hit-outs
From the coach: He spent a fair bit of time up forward and his leading patterns were quite good, we weren’t able to utilise him often enough. His second half and competitiveness around the stoppages allowed us to get some momentum back. I love his leadership on the field, he’s always trying to galvanise the group and get them on track with what he needs to achieve.

29. Cameron Polson

Stats: 12 disposals, six inside 50s
From the coach: Cam worked extremely hard. He put on some good pressure in our front half and probably should’ve finished with a few. There wasn’t enough reward with ball in hand for his work ethic: he’s really determined, Cam, and he reviews his game as hard as anyone. We probably didn’t move the ball in a way that suited our forwards on the day.

Cam Polson kicked the Northern Blues' opening goal on the weekend. (Photo credit: Rose Zarucky)

31. Tom Williamson

Stats: 14 disposals, five marks, four tackles
From the coach: He had a frustrating start to the game with a few unlucky free kicks going against him early. Tommy is a competitor, he defended pretty well and had some classy moments with the ball. We need to remember where he’s come from — he’s missed a lot of football, to produce what he has is really encouraging. He ran out the game well and his confidence will grow each week.

32. Alex Fasolo

Stats: 11 disposals, one goal
From the coach: ‘Fas’ presented at the ball pretty well. He had some nice moments with ball in hand centre-forward, which set us up a few times. He’s an experienced player who can bring a lot to our group with his leadership and energy. He’s one of a number of guys who we expect a lot from at VFL level and he’ll be looking to build some strong form this week.

34. Andrew Phillips

Stats: 10 disposals, five marks, 34 hitouts
From the coach: I thought he worked into the game pretty well after Werribee’s ruckman got the better of our boys early in the game. His strengths are that he’s a big, rangy ruckman, he’s got a great leap and he can be really physical. We saw signs of his proactivity around stoppages getting better as the game went on and he took a few strong marks around the ground, which he has to do as a tall.

36. Patrick Kerr

Stats: Six disposals, three inside 50s, one goal
From the coach: Patty was quiet, he was one of our forwards who couldn’t build into the game for a variety of reasons. He came off a really good game last week and one thing I know about him is he rarely plays two quiet ones in a row. He’ll continue to work hard on his one-on-one contest work and we want him to bring his strengths: he’s a terrific mark and a lovely kick.

37. Ben Silvagni

Stats: Six disposals
From the coach: Benny is a young defender who were under the pump on the weekend: it was a good learning curve for him. He’s positioning himself pretty well, he just needs to be more consistent with referencing an opponent at the right time. We gave him a look forward in the last quarter and he took a terrific contested mark and had a few shots on goal: he showed his versatility. He’s a young guy who will continue to work hard on his craft to get reward.

38. Finbar O’Dwyer

Stats: Four disposals
From the coach: He’s working hard Finbar for little reward: there’s continued education on where he’s running and opportunities to get the ball. What we love is he’s got some x-factor — he’s got a really nice set of hands. He’s playing catch-up a little bit having not played a lot of footy and not having a full pre-season. We’re looking for little positives in his game and he’s producing some each week.

44. Matthew Owies

Stats: Four disposals
From the coach: Matty didn’t have a huge impact but to be fair to him, he applied some terrific forward pressure early in the game. For him, being able to react to game situations and putting himself in the right position is key. You look at where he’s come from, he hasn’t played a lot of footy in recent years.

45. Hugh Goddard

Stats: 14 disposals, six marks
From the coach: Hugh was dependable again. He didn’t have the impact of previous weeks but he tries to not only play his role, but also assist those around him: his leadership qualities are really strong. Some of his aerial work was positive, but he didn’t use the ball as well as he had in previous weeks. We know what we’re going to get from Hugh each week and that’s unconditional effort.