After a strong opening half, the GIANTS – with only six AFL listed players - were overrun by Carlton in round 18 of the VFL.
Jarrod Brander (18 disposals, one goal), Will Shaw (10 disposals, two goals) and Cameron Fleeton (18 disposals, six marks) impressed, but it wasn't enough as the GIANTS fell to an 9.4 (58) to 13.17 (95) defeat at IKON Park on Saturday night.
“It was a solid three-quarter performance,” said GIANTS VFL coach Damian Truslove.
“We stuck to the game plan really well for that period, but our third quarter was poor and Carlton were able to capitalise on that.
“Overall, it was a really good effort considering we had four debutants and a very inexperienced team.”
Truslove shared his assessments of the AFL and VFL listed players who played in the match.
AFL Listed Players:
21 Leek Aleer
11 disposals, 3 marks
Another solid performance down back. He won or halved the majority of his contests and used the ball well by foot.
29 Cameron Fleeton
18 disposals, 6 marks
Another reliable performance down back. He lost a couple of contests early but fought back to have a really strong game and he’s developing into a really valuable leader for us at VFL level.
31 Jarrod Brander
18 disposals, 1 goal
Played an important role on the wing this week and supported our backline really well. He gave us plenty of run and drive with our ball movement.
35 Will Shaw
2 goals, 10 disposals
Was really dangerous in the first quarter playing forward. His fall of ball positioning was good and he provided us the spark we needed in the forward half of the ground.
43 Cooper Hamilton
10 disposals, 8 tackles
Cooper played a new role defensive role in the midfield this week. He’s still learning his craft, but he fought hard for the entire contest and his tackling pressure was excellent.
45 Wade Derksen
10 disposals, 3 marks
Started the game up forward and attacked the contest with aggression. Unfortunately, we lost our ruck early into the contest so he had play out the game as our main ruck. We can’t fault his effort, it was outstanding.
VFL Listed and Academy Players:
48 Harry Grintell
11 disposals, 1 goal
Played back and forward again this week. He used the ball really well by foot and gave us some great rebound off half-back.
49 Sam Frost
16 disposals, 6 marks
Another really strong performance from Sam. He plays a really important role for us down back. He was hard and tough around the contest and is developing into a really good leader.
50 Billy Clark
17 disposals, 8 marks
Played the majority of the game on the wing and provided a good option coming out of our back half.
51 Ryan Hebron
13 disposals, 2 goals
He started forward and went back in the second half. He led the way with his courage and attack at the ball.
52 Brodie Romensky
9 disposals, 2 goals
Was lively up forward. His defensive pressure was really good which saw him rewarded with two goals.
55 Kyle Veerhuis
Started in the ruck but unfortunately injured his ankle early into the contest.
56 Noah Casalini
12 disposals, 4 tackles
His leading patterns as a forward were really good. He attacked the ball and opposition with aggression.
57 Sebastian Quirk
9 disposals, 1 goal
Played a really important defensive roll for us this week. His gut run was outstanding and he used the ball well by hand and foot.
58 Xavier Barry-Murphy
7 disposals, 2 marks
Played forward and back. Always plays a team first role and his ball use was good by foot.
59 Mackinley Miller
13 disposals, 8 marks
Out of the GIANTS Academy, this was his first game at VFL level. He won or halved several critical contests playing down back.
60 Leyton Chisholm
11 disposals, 4 tackles
Worked hard around the stoppages and his tackling intent was really good.
62 Jaelen Pavlidis
15 disposals, 3 tackles
Another debutant for the club this week. He played on ball and is a talented prospect moving forward.
64 Ethan Grace
10 disposals, 2 marks
Played across half-back and used it really well by foot. Gave us great drive out of the back half.
66 Luke Fellows
7 disposals, 5 marks
Played on the wing this week. His running patterns to support the defence were really good and his decision making was impressive throughout the contest.
67 Luke Lawrence
10 disposals, 4 marks
Another GIANTS Academy product playing his first game for the club at VFL level. He played in the midfield and was hard and tough around the contest. He fought the game out well after getting a knock early.
68 Angus Edwards
6 disposals, 2 tackles
Another GIANTS Academy product playing his first game foe the club this week. He played down back in a lock down role and was very disciplined.
70 Lachlan Wright
3 disposals, 1 tackle
He played across half forward, presented well at the ball really well and got involved more as the game went on.
