VFL Senior Coach Damian Truslove speaks on the performances of every AFL-listed Blue who featured for the Carlton Reserves against Williamstown on the weekend.

8. Lachie Fogarty
16 disposals, four inside 50s, one goal

‘Fog’ came back into the VFL team and played a slightly different role, the majority of it in the midfield with a little bit of time up forward. It was really good for him to hunt the ball and get confidence out of the game. He performed strongly.

13. Blake Acres
11 disposals, five marks (played one half)

Blake only played the second half, as he’s had high loads in the last month. He played on the wing, got his hands on the ball and was composed. He was really good late in the game when it was tight, using his experience out there.

15. Billy Wilson
18 disposals, five marks

Billy was one of a few on restricted game time. He gave us a lot of bounce and power playing across half-back, we loved his drive and his metres gained was really impressive.

16. Ben Camporeale
27 disposals, 12 contested possessions, five clearances

Benny played in the midfield and was strong around stoppages: in the second half, he was really influential around centre bounce and between-the-arc stoppages to get us territory.

The biggest area he’s working on are his transition patterns when the ball leaves stoppage, and he’s improving all the time - he’s a really hard worker.

21. Lucas Camporeale
17 disposals, six marks

Lucas started up forward and gave us a spark up there, he looked dangerous in the forward half. Due to injury, we moved him to a wing in the second half where he’s played a lot of his football, and his patterns and discipline to support our defence was excellent.

24. Nic Newman
23 disposals at 91 per cent efficiency

He was outstanding. He’s back to AFL level which we thought he would be, he’s been building every game. His composure with ball in hand, his leadership and how clean he was, he certainly put his hand up to be in contention.

He played a little bit on the wing, and then the whole second half he played down back.

25. Liam Reidy

20 disposals, six clearances, one goal

Liam Reidy was fantastic in the ruck, where he spent 80 per cent of his time to go with a little bit of time forward. His second half in particular was influential in putting us in a position to nearly get over the line. The way he competed hard not only in the ruck but also with his follow-up, his effort around stoppages was excellent.

26. Nick Haynes
19 disposals, 13 marks, eight intercepts

Nick Haynes was good. He was a little bit crook on the day, but his effort to play the game out and have the performance he did was great. His leadership down back was good, plus the way he used the ball and his composure was strong.

28. Harry Charleson
13 disposals, five marks

Harry Charleson had a job on one of their dangerous small forwards, and he got that job done - particularly in the first half. It was a good role that Harry performed on the day.

30. Jack Ison
11 disposals, two goals

‘Iso’ played different roles, some as a deep forward and also across half-forward. He’s extremely dangerous when he gets ball in hand. As with all young players, he’s learning our system and learning his role - he’ll continue to get better.

34. Rob Monahan
12 disposals, eight marks

Rob is one who continues to improve as he plays more football. He played across half-back and gave us some drive from there, he got his hands on the ball a fair bit and he’s learning his defensive craft. He keeps improving in that area, weighing up when to be attacking and when to defend.

41. Matt Duffy
Three disposals (concussed in second term)

‘Duff’ has been in solid form and was going pretty well defensively, his positioning early was really impressive. He won’t be out there this week because of concussion protocols, we’ll get him back when he’s ready.

42. Adam Saad
13 disposals, six intercepts, four rebound 50s

I enjoyed coaching ’Saady’, I haven’t coached him since back in the Coburg days - I don’t think he’s played VFL since being here. His attitude was great, he was there to work on his game and get through a full game healthy. He gave us some bounce.

43. Ashton Moir
10 disposals, one goal

Ashton played a slightly different role, as a deep forward at times and also with time through the midfield. We’re giving him a look at that, as he’s so dynamic with his movement. We think he’ll continue to improve playing a new role. Our forward line was quite undersized, he was one of the main keys with Dane Harvey.

45. Flynn Young
13 disposals, three goals

Flynn has been really consistent, and with another three goals, he continues to present really well at the ball as a half-forward. He’s a beautiful kick that finishes well and he’s another one that we think will be in contention for the AFL side soon.

46. Matthew Cottrell
10 disposals (played one half)

Matty Cottrell played the first half on the wing and it was so good to have him out there after his injury challenges. He performed well, particularly considering how much time he’s had off. He was just excited to be on the ground and get involved. Hopefully he’ll play a bit more game time this week.

47. Wade Derksen
17 disposals, nine marks

Wade played as a key back and he had an important role on Tom Fullarton, who’s a very good player. He did a good job on him. Wade continues to learn our system, he’s only new to our club and getting better all the time.

Plus word on the VFL-listed players…

I thought our VFL boys performed well. Darcy Tucker in the midfield was really good and performed better as the contest game went on. We also had Will Cookson who played forward and midfield, and he was quite influential with his run and pressure.