Gold Coast’s non-selected AFL players played a scratch match against West Coast over the weekend as the AFL team travelled to take on Geelong. 

Assistant Coach Tim Clarke has given his appraisal of the players’ performances below. 

Will Brodie:

Will had another solid game this weekend as an inside midfielder and is winning the ball well at stoppages. He’s been working hard on the defensive aspect of his game and it was pleasing to see a few examples of excellent defensive work-rate from Will. This will need to remain a strong focus to push for senior selection

Chris Burgess:

Chris had another strong contested defensive game on the weekend. He defended well with proactive positioning and was involved in a number of contests. The focus for Chris this week will be keeping the ball in front of the contest and not allowing it over the back which can lead to easy opposition scores. 

Matthew Conroy:

It was a big step up for Sauce this week as he filled the main ruck role with Zac Smith travelling to Geelong as an AFL emergency. He was up against some experienced players and held his own, with some terrific follow-up efforts the highlights of his game. Offensively he was more involved and kicked a great goal in the second quarter. With Zac based with the AFL team in Wollongong it is a great opportunity for Sauce to develop his ruck craft further. 

Jacob Dawson:

Jacob continues to play well in a balanced defence. His positioning has been very good lately and he is winning a lot of contests. On the weekend he had plenty of offensive involvement and is helping generate a lot of rebound out of defence. His decision making coming out of defence has been a real positive of his game. 

Corey Ellis:

Corey was one of our best players on the day and continues to build on his strong form. He played a lot of time in the midfield and had some great offensive impact, hitting the scoreboard multiple times. He played his role exceptionally and when he wasn’t scoring himself he was setting his teammates up in attack.

Jy Farrar:

Jy played in the forward line again this week and was a dangerous prospect in our front half. His movement inside 50 and positioning has improved significantly in recent weeks. He had four shots on goal but inaccuracy let him down and he could have had an even bigger impact if he kicked straighter.

Brayden Fiorini:

Brayden played in the midfield and had an impressive balanced game. He continues to go forward with the ball in hand and makes good decisions to hit targets inside 50. Defensively he was also good with both his defensive pressure and positioning. Brayden is someone who can continue to impact at AFL level when there is an opportunity.

Sam Flanders:

Sam played his role and was lively in offense early in the game. He had a few opportunities inside 50 but wasn’t able to capitalise as he would have liked. Sam has been great with his defensive pressure in recent weeks but was a bit quieter against West Coast which is something he’ll be looking to improve on.

Sam Fletcher:

Sam played mostly forward this week and had a high number of score involvements. He used the ball well when he had it and had some good defensive efforts. When he plays in the midfield Sam usually has a highly-contested game so he needs to continue to bring this when he plays forward as well. 

Caleb Graham:

Caleb had a really good game defensively on the weekend. He’s becoming very hard to play on and is doing a terrific job at neutralising opposition attacks. Caleb didn’t have a heap of offensive involvement this week but it’s something he’s continuing to work on. 

Jacob Heron:

Speedy played all game for us on the wing and worked back well to support the defenders when required. He had some great examples of excellent positioning on offence which saw him receive a fair bit of the ball. He had a contest in the third quarter going back with the flight of the ball which was incredibly brave and outstanding to see.

Jack Hombsch:

Hommer was good again this week in defence and is playing a big role in how well the defence is able to set up behind the ball. He was able to take his opponent out of the game and wasn’t beaten in a contest, largely due to his great positioning. We know what we’re going to get from Jack each week and he is continuing to put pressure on the AFL defenders to perform. 

Jesse Joyce:

Jesse continues to defend very well and was involved in a high number of contests on the weekend. He was also one of our best offensive players, able to break the lines coming out of defence and make good decisions with his ball use. This was all generated on the back of his proactive positioning in defence which is really pleasing. Jesse is another who is putting pressure on for an AFL spot. 

Sean Lemmens:

Sean was one of our leaders in the forward line on the weekend and played his role well. He looked lively when the ball was in his area and had 2-3 really clean crumbs as a small forward. He also hit the scoreboard multiple times which was pleasing to see.

Jez McLennan:

Jez continues to defend well but what was really pleasing from this weekend was his offensive involvement. He won more of the football this week and used the ball well when he had it. We’re working with Jez on improving his ability to react quickly when there is an opportunity to get involved on turnover with a handball receive. 

Jordan Murdoch:

Jordan played most of the game on the wing for us and made a strong impact there for the team. He was noticeably working back hard in defence and was dynamic coming out of the backline with some run and carry. Jordan was much more involved this week which is what we want to see week in, week out.

Patrick Murtagh:

Patty is continuing to show signs of development as a key forward for us. As someone who’s relatively new to the game he is still learning the nuances of his forward craft so he can have an impact on games. We’ll be working with Patty on his leading patterns and how he reads the game in the coming weeks.

Izak Rankine:

Izak is continuing to build each week and was heavily involved in our forward half on the weekend. His defensive intent was very good and he is constantly putting opposition defenders under pressure. He was lively inside 50 with half a dozen score involvements and is one who is pressing to make his AFL debut. 

Malcolm Rosas Jnr:

Mally has been building his match fitness in recent weeks and was on limited game-time again this weekend. When he was given the opportunity he was extremely dangerous in our forward half and created a number of opportunities with his great defensive pressure. We’re looking forward to Mally building on this in the coming weeks.

Josh Schoenfeld:

Schoey played mostly in the forward line this week and also spent some time in the West Coast midfield due to their numbers. His forward leading patterns were again very good and he impacted the game well with his work around the contest.