VFL and development coach, Craig McRae provides a summary of how the Tigers’ players performed in last Sunday’s Round 14 win over Essendon at Windy Hill. 

Connor Menadue

25 disposals, one goal, six inside-50s, five rebound-50s and five clearances

“Continued his great form at VFL level, his contest work was really strong with 12 contested possessions. His ability to play multiple roles, he started at half-back, then went inside the midfield and onto a wing has been a real feature. He’s in good form and ready for AFL opportunity.”

Liam Baker

24 disposals, two goals, four tackles, four inside-50s and two rebound-50s

“Is another who is playing great football at VFL level. He continues to get a lot of the football, impacted the scoreboard this week by kicking two goals and also laid four tackles. He’s in really good form as well.”

All photos provided by Ben Johnstone

Shai Bolton

22 disposals, eight tackles, one goal and seven inside-50s

“He’s really setting the game alight at the moment. Some real highlights, kicking a really awesome goal late in the game. Having eight tackles was a real feature of his performance. He played midfield, wing and also forward late in the game, so he’s ready to play AFL footy when the opportunity presents.”

Patrick Naish

21 disposals, seven marks and four rebound-50s

“Played his best game for a while, his ability to defend was a feature, eight marks was a stand out. It was the defensive part of his game of which we were most pleased of.”

Sam Lloyd

20 disposals, 10 handball receives, one goal and seven tackles

“Played through the midfield and his leadership really stood out, particular in the defensive side of his game and communication and leading from the front. That’s been a real stand-out in that part of his game in recent weeks.”

Tyson Stengle

18 disposals, six tackles, one goal and four clearances

“Played through the midfield and also forward. He’s really hard to beat one-on-one, his evasive skills and decision making is something that we’re really enjoying. He’s really playing to his strengths.” 

Kamdyn McIntosh

17 disposals, 10 tackles, three inside-50s and three rebound-50s

“He’s another who’s playing good football at VFL level. His second game back now, played through the midfield and on a wing. He didn’t impact the clearances as much as we’d like, but certainly impacted with the defensive side of his game.”

Callum Coleman-Jones

16 disposals, 17 hit-outs, five tackles and one goal

“Played through the ruck and a bit of forward. In the absence of Ivan Soldo he’s getting really good development time through the ruck. His aerial stuff is starting to stand out week-after-week, and he’s improving and we’re really happy with his growth.”

Noah Balta

14 disposals, 16 hit-outs, four tackles, four inside-50s and three rebound-50s

“Really liked his game. He started in the ruck, went forward and in the last quarter with Ryan Garthwaite out, he went down back and was a real stand-out for us.”

Ben Miller

10 disposals, four marks, three tackles and three rebound-50s

“Solid as a rock down back. His growth and his development are really strong. He’s rarely beaten,intercept marking, rebound-50s, he’s hard to play against at the moment. He’s in good form.”

Ryan Garthwaite

Six disposals, three tackles and two marks

“Unfortunately hurt his ankle in the second quarter and didn’t return and may be in some doubt this week, time will tell.”

Daniel Coffield

16 disposals, nine marks, three tackles and five rebound-50s

“His fourth game back now after an interrupted pre-season. He looks like he’s back to his real best form. His aerial contest was really, really strong and back to his best, nine marks on the day and really set us up and was rarely beaten.”

Tom Silvestro

14 disposals, five tackles and three inside-50s

“A real team player, we love him in our team. He’s such a terrific competitor. He put his body on the line many times, played multiple roles, wing and half-forward. His cover defence was something that we really enjoyed.”

Joel Ernest

14 disposals, eight contested possessions and three rebound-50s

“He came back into the team after missing out. He was in great form when he went out and unfortunately the squeeze came for his role, but he came back in and showed why we really enjoy having him in our side. Off half-back, really competitive, hard to beat one-on-one, and his rebound-50 stuff was something that we really enjoyed.”

Jacob Ballard

13 disposals, one goal, two clearances and three marks

“Played forward predominantly and played through the midfield when needed. With a couple of key personnel out, he had to play as a third tall, sometimes even the second target for us. He presented well, and his aerial stuff, playing to his strength was something we saw there. He kicked a nice goal and was an important player for us.”

Brandon Wood

13 disposals, four tackles and five clearances

“Pinch-hit through the midfield, a really hard competitor, hard to play against. The strong contested part of his game was a real feature and led the team for clearances which is what we want from him.”

Shaun Mannagh

12 disposals, three goals and six tackles

“Back in the side this week, came in and really impacted the game early, he kicked two goals in the first quarter and really set us alight and had three by halftime. His tenacity to win the ball really stood out, six tackles was a really good game from Shaun.”

Ryan Bathie

10 disposals, four inside-50s and two marks

“Came in and showed great leadership from him. He’s the most experienced player we have, led from the front in that regard. He presented well, played his role well and he was a good contributor on the day.”

Brenton Credlin

10 disposals, three tackles and four inside-50s

“Played his best game for us for a while. He came in having gone out of the team for a week and comes back in and plays his role extremely well. He played a bit of wing, half-back. He really fits into our structure well and led from the front with his contest stuff.”

Billy Coates

Nine disposals, one goal, three tackles and three marks

“Returned to the side as well with a few changes this week. Big strong body, played an important role for us in the forward-line, went back and impacted and also supported a bit in the ruck. He kicked a nice goal and could have kicked another really nice one in the last quarter, but unfortunately hit the post to be point of the year.”

Blake Grewar

Nine disposals, one goal and three tackles

“Back from five or six weeks out with an ankle injury, he comes into the team, looks classy and strong over the ball. He played mainly forward and we look forward to his growth in the coming weeks as he gains fitness. He’s been a really good player for us and kicked a nice goal.”

Connor Riley

Nine disposals, five contested possessions and two clearances

“Did a great job for us, we used him in a tagging role and kept his opponent to under 10 disposals. He was really disciplined to what he was doing and bought into our team defence and was one of the best players on the day.”

Max O’Sullivan

Seven disposals, two tackles and two marks

“Came in as a small forward, hasn’t played for a couple of weeks. Pressure, chase, tackles are the things we want to see from him. He didn’t impact the scoreboard but was definitely involved in some attacking chains and played his role.”