A nine-goal haul from Jake Riccardi has lifted the GIANTS to their fifth win of the VFL season, defeating the Northern Bullants by 110 points at Preston City Oval on Sunday afternoon.
Riccardi was the stand-out performer for the GIANTS, who bounced back following a disappointing draw against Sandringham last week to claim a 5.8 (38) to 23.10 (148) win.
Tanner Bruhn responded well after being omitted from the senior side, registering 31 disposals and a goal, with Kieren Briggs also pushing for senior selection after yet another strong display in the ruck.
Jacob Wehr (27 disposals, one goal) and James Peatling (28 disposals) were both impressive, with Zach Sproule, Conor Stone, Josh Fahey, Jarrod Brander and Xavier O'Halloran all likely to come into contention for AFL selection this week.
GIANTS VFL coach Damian Truslove credited the win to his side’s dominant opening quarter.
"We set the game up in that first quarter," he said.
"Our pressure was fantastic and we were really effective with our skills up forward.
"We finished the game strongly which was pleasing because it's been a challenge for us so far this season."
Truslove shared his assessments of the AFL and VFL listed players who played in the match.
AFL Listed Players:
5 Tanner Bruhn
31 disposals, 1 goal
Tanner dropped back to VFL level with a really good attitude. He hunted the ball really well and we were impressed with his running patterns off the ball.
10 Jacob Wehr
27 disposals, 1 goal
Continued his really good form in the VFL. He ran hard and used the ball well by hand and foot.
18 Conor Stone
17 disposals, 1 goal
It was good to get him back following injury. He ran hard both offensively and defensively and used the ball well.
20 James Peatling
28 disposals, 4 marks
Gave us a lot of offensive drive out of the back half and was hard and tough in the contest.
21 Leek Aleer
7 disposals, 1 goal
Had an important role down back. He defended first and was really good with his contested work in the air.
26 Jake Riccardi
9 goals, 10 marks
Jake had been close to a big performance for a few weeks now. His work rate was first class and he was extremely accurate all afternoon.
28 Zach Sproule
3 goals, 6 marks
Another player returning from a lengthy stint on the sidelines. He worked really hard in our front half and hit the scoreboard on the back of his good leading patterns.
29 Cameron Fleeton
13 disposals, 5 marks
Attacked the ball and opposition with aggression as per usual, and we were pleased with his involvement in our ball movement out of the back half.
31 Jarrod Brander
25 disposals, 1 goal
Played an important role on the wing and ran really hard.
32 Kieren Briggs
29 hit-outs, 22 disposals
Had to compete against two opposition rucks and did it really well. He gave our midfielders first use of the ball off the back of his impressive stoppage work.
33 Xavier O'Halloran
23 disposals, 1 goal
Hard and tough in the contest, Xavier's been a fantastic leader for us in the VFL. He really got us going in that first quarter.
34 Josh Fahey
27 disposals, 5 marks
Exciting ball use off half back. He was involved in a lot of our scoring chains and used the ball really well by foot.
35 Will Shaw
9 disposals, 1 goal
Looked dangerous in the first quarter and continues to run really good patterns as a high half forward.
46 Callum Brown
12 disposals, 4 marks
One of his better games this season. He defended first and had great offensive rebound off his good positioning.
VFL Listed and Academy Players:
47 Josh Green
10 disposals, 1 mark
Played as our second ruck, competed well at stoppages and led hard at the ball as a forward.
49 Sam Frost
12 disposals, 4 marks
Played an important and selfless defensive role with a good team-first attitude.
50 Billy Clark
17 disposals, 7 marks
Played on the wing and down back. He ran good patterns to help out the defence and was composed with ball in hand.
51 Ryan Hebron
13 disposals, 5 marks
Played forward and led up well at the ball really well. He puts a lot of defensive pressure on the opposition in the front half.
53 Bailey Stewart
16 disposals, 3 tackles
Played in the midfield and worked hard. He spread hard to outnumber the opposition at the stoppages across the ground.
54 Max Monaghan
11 disposals, 2 goals
Played forward this week, led at the ball well and his defensive pressure was good.
55 Kyle Veerhuis
4 disposals, 1 tackle
Played as a key defender in a selfless team first role and won or halved many critical contests.
63 Ricky Monti
9 disposals, 1 goal
Played as a small forward and looked dangerous with his energy. He kicked a really good goal and had plenty of opportunities.
64 Lachlan Benton
18 disposals, 1 goal
Lachlan's first game for the club, he found plenty of the ball and was really good in the contest.
