GIANTS VFL coach Wayne Cripps says a number of untried youngsters continue to impress in the VFL and expects them to push for an AFL debut in the second half of the season.
Sitting at 3-5 on the VFL ladder, the GIANTS reach this week’s bye following a tough month of footy as the young side struggled with inconsistency and a growing AFL injury list.
But despite the win-loss record, several AFL-listed GIANTS continue to put forward strong performances in search of their maiden AFL selection.
Amongst the host of untried talent is key forward Max Gruzewski whose 18 majors across his eight games has him third on the VFL goalkicking leader board.
Recent draftees Phoenix Gothard and Joe Fonti also continue to show their talents in the VFL, with Fonti entering the bye off the back of his best performance of the season with 26 disposals and seven marks against Geelong on Saturday.
Forward-turned-defender Wade Derksen has been another standout in the VFL this season, with his move down back in the summer continuing to bear fruit after a starring 29-disposal, 10-mark game against Geelong following an impressive shutdown game on Bulldog Rory Lobb the week prior.
Cripps said the development of many of the club’s youngsters was a huge positive across the first half of the VFL season.
“We are still seeing some great growth from our young players,” he said.
“Max [Gruzewski] keeps performing, Phoenix [Gothard] keeps getting better every game, ‘Derk’ [Wade Derksen] has probably played his best game as a defender once again, and Harry Rowston is playing some really consistent football.
“Joe Fonti is another one who is really developing and he probably had his best all-round game both offensively and defensively on the weekend - he gave us some really good drive.”
Cripps said the youngsters are also developing as leaders.
“Having the injuries we do forces you to probably grow up a little quicker as well so while they’re young players, they’re becoming leaders out there and they’re guiding a lot of our VFL players. At the same time they’re also performing at a really high level and contributing really significantly.”
Cripps said development will continue to be his main focus in the second half of the VFL season after this week’s bye.
“Fingers crossed we get a few boys back [from injury] and we can keep growing,” he said.
“We just need to get some bodies back in and continue to develop our young players and hopefully they’re banging the door down for spots in the coming weeks.”
The GIANTS’ next VFL clash will come in round 11 against the Hawks in Box Hill.
AFL-listed GIANTS’ stats against Geelong on Saturday:
18. Conor Stone
12 disposals, one goal
24. Harry Rowston
26 disposals, 10 tackles, seven clearances
25. Lachlan Keeffe
16 disposals, 13 hit-outs, three marks, three clearances
29. Phoenix Gothard
17 disposals, one goal, four tackles
35. Max Gruzewski
Eight disposals, three goals
37. Joe Fonti
26 disposals, seven marks
41. Nick Madden (injured early in second term)
12 disposals, five clearances, five tackles, nine hit-outs
43. Cooper Hamilton
14 disposals, seven tackles
45. Wade Derksen
29 disposals, 10 marks
VFL Player Shoutout: Ryan Hebron
“I thought he played his best game of the year. He had 11 marks, 11 possession gains, 16 rebound-50s, and some rally big spoils. Him and ‘Derk’ [Wade Derksen] played really important roles. The ball was coming down a lot and those two guys competed really hard and fought to the death. That’s what you expect from your skipper, and I was really happy with how he went.”
