GIANTS VFL coach Wayne Cripps has praised the ‘sensational’ performance of James Peatling as well as several emerging youngsters who stood tall in Sunday’s 14-point win over Port Melbourne in Blacktown.
The GIANTS trailed by 12 points early in the last quarter against the Borough but kicked five goals to one in a dominant final term to come away with a 9.17 (71) to 8.9 (57) win.
Peatling starred in the victory, with the 23-year-old finishing with 31 disposals, 10 clearances, six tackles and two brilliant final-quarter goals in a match-winning performance.
Cripps was quick to heap praise on the zippy midfielder who was one of two unlucky omissions from the AFL side last week for returning duo Josh Kelly and Jack Buckley.
“He kicked two big last quarter goals when the game was on the line, he had 10 clearances, he had 19 contested possessions - I thought ‘JP’ [Peatling] was sensational,” Cripps said.
“That’s exactly how you want your AFL players to come back and respond after being dropped back to the VFL.”
Cripps was also pleased with the performance of recent draftees Phoenix Gothard (23 touches) and Joe Fonti (22 touches, 10 marks and eight tackles) who both continue to develop in their debut seasons at the club.
“They’re two first-year players who I think are just getting better and better each week,” he said.
“For a first year forward, Phoenix is really finding the ball as a half-forward which is great.
“And then Joe’s run to support the attack has been at a really high level all year and he’s definitely trending [in the right direction].”
Another highlight from Sunday’s win was the return of Isaac Cumming from a hamstring injury, with Cripps hoping Cumming’s performance is enough to see him return to the AFL side sooner rather than later.
“It was great to see him back, he just celebrates all the team success and player success, and his energy is first class,” he said.
“He plays that wing role really well and gives us great structure, but hopefully we don’t see much more of him [due to being in the AFL side].”
Another notable performance was teenage GIANTS Academy ruckman Logan Smith who finished with 13 touches, five clearances and a match-high 24 hit-outs in an impressive VFL debut.
“He was really good. What we saw is that the best thing about him is that he’s not just a ruckman, his follow up stuff is at a really high level,” Cripps said.
“You want your ruck to be an extra midfielder and he definitely showed those signs as he was able to get his hands on a fair bit of ball but he also had a real presence down the line in the contest.”
The GIANTS’ VFL side will next face the cross-town rivals the Swans in Blacktown on Saturday morning ahead of the AFL Derby between the clubs later that day at ENGIE Stadium.
AFL-listed GIANTS’ stats against Port Melbourne on Sunday:
10. Jacob Wehr
22 disposals, eight marks
13. Isaac Cumming (managed game time)
15 disposals, one goal
18. Conor Stone
21 disposals, seven marks
20. James Peatling
31 disposals, 10 clearances, six tackles, two goals
24. Harry Rowston
27 disposals, eight clearances, seven tackles
25. Lachlan Keeffe
20 disposals, 13 hit-outs, six marks, four clearances, one goal
29. Phoenix Gothard
22 disposals
35. Max Gruzewski
14 disposals, seven marks, two goals
42. Nathan Wardius (managed game time)
Five disposals, two tackles
37. Joe Fonti
22 disposals, 10 marks, eight tackles
45. Wade Derksen
28 disposals, nine marks
VFL Player Shoutout: Jackson Bowne
16 disposals, three tackles
“He had a run-with role on a really good midfielder (Harvey Hooper) and he did a really good, disciplined job. He (Hooper) still found a little bit of the ball but I felt he had very minimal impact on the game, so Bowne really shut down a key piece for them and played a really selfless role for us.”
