VFL Senior Coach Damian Truslove analyses the performances of the 12 AFL-listed Blues who featured for the Carlton Reserves in Round 5 VFL action.

8. Lachie Fogarty
24 disposals, seven marks, one goal

‘Fog’ played a combination of inside midfield and forward, we moved him to the forward line in the second half to stabilise our forward line and he did a fantastic job. He ran really good patterns, used the ball well by foot and hit the scoreboard.

13. Blake Acres
19 disposals, six marks, two goals

Blake had another strong performance on the wing. He ran really selfless patterns to support our defence and his ball use continues to improve.

15. Billy Wilson
28 disposals (19 kicks), five inside 50s

Billy played off half-back and again gave us some drive: we love his power and the way he takes the game on, we continued to see that. He’ll continue to keep working hard on his execution going inside 50, but overall it was another strong performance.

16. Ben Camporeale
21 disposals

Benny came back into the team through the midfield after concussion, it took him a little bit to get into the game but I thought as it went on, he continued to improve. He’ll be looking for a big performance this week.

28. Harry Charleson
22 disposals, seven marks

Harry continues to find plenty of the ball offensively in our back half and he’s using it well by foot. He’s working hard on his defensive craft and looking to play more lockdown roles on dangerous small forwards.

29. George Hewett
31 disposals, six clearances, two goals

George had another strong performance in our midfield, while he also played forward. He played about 40 per cent of the game forward and it was good to have a look at him there: he hit the scoreboard and his stuff as a midfielder around stoppages was strong again, tough and hard at the ball.

30. Jack Ison
13 disposals, three goals

He continues to hit the scoreboard, ‘Iso’. He’s exciting and powerful, he has the ability to turn games very quickly. He continues to improve and is working hard on his off-ball patterns to support his goalkicking.

31. Campbell Chesser
16 disposals, four inside 50s

‘Chess’ played the majority of the game as an inside mid - he’s continuing to work on his contested ball craft and stoppage craft to give him another string to his bow to go with playing on the wing.

33. Lewis Young
20 disposals (100 per cent efficiency), 12 marks

He had the match-up early on Max King, and then his leadership and direction on the field with our young backs was excellent. Late in the game, his performance continued to improve.

36. Cooper Lord
12 disposals

Cooper only played in the first half [holdover emergency for AFL side] but he played a combination of wing and inside mid. He used the ball well, was strong in the contest and ran hard both ways.

37. Jordan Boyd
22 disposals (21 kicks), seven rebound 50s

‘Boydy’ is in good form, he’s consistently performing well at VFL level. He’s hard and tough in the contest and gives us drive off half-back: we know he’s a fantastic competitor, he’s in really good form.

39. Talor Byrne
12 disposals, five tackles

Talor Byrne came back to use from the AFL team, he uses the ball really well by foot when he gets his hands on it. He ran strong patterns all day, unfortunately the ball didn’t always bounce his way as a forward which can happen. His pressure was strong and he used the ball well.

40. Hudson O’Keeffe
11 disposals, four contested marks, one goal

It was pleasing to see ‘Skull’ take four really strong contested marks, it’s an area of the game he’s been working hard on. He played the majority of the game in the forward line with a little bit of time in the ruck in the second half: I thought he got better as the game went on, I’m expecting another strong performance this week from him.

41. Matt Duffy
Eight disposals, four marks

Matt Duffy played as a third tall defender: he’s getting more involved in our offence now, which is a positive as he’s a good kick. He continues to work hard with our backline coach Ash Close on his defensive craft.

43. Ashton Moir
10 disposals, one goal

Ash played inside mid and forward, and it was exciting to see some of his strengths show. He kicked potentially the Goal of the Year from the pocket from a forward-50 stoppage, while we also saw his power and speed away from contests at times. Hopefully we’ll continue to see more of that.

45. Flynn Young
20 disposals, six marks, one goal

Flynn played a bit on the wing as well as half-forward. I thought he ran really hard to support our defence and we love the ball in his hands because he’s such a good kick. Again, another solid performance and he’s close to AFL selection.

47. Wade Derksen
Eight disposals, one goal

Wade played a slightly different role as a deep forward, as well as a bit of second ruck which we wanted to have a look at. He always competes hards and fights and scraps to put pressure on the opposition: it’s another string to his bow to play forward, as well as playing back in the coming weeks.