Casey Scorpions sit atop of the VFL ladder but are far from content.
Coach Justin Plapp said while he was pleased with the brand of football the side was producing, there was still plenty of scope for the group, as Daniel Short reports.
Plapp endorsed the credentials of promising midfielder Alex Neal-Bullen who has this week received AFL selection following a rich vein of form.
Plapp also praised the development of first-year key-position players Sam Weideman and Liam Hulett.
“He’s (Neal-Bullen) been really solid.” Plapp said.
“I think he’s averaging around 34 possessions a game.
“His clearance numbers are really strong, his contested ball ratio’s really strong as well. He’s been a credit to himself to be able to continue to play and perform at a really high level.
“We’re pleased with our start, we’ve had some good results.
“We’re pleased, but we’re certainly not happy. We want to keep working on the things that are really important to our brand of football.
“Pleasing but we’re not content.”
They host the Box Hill Hawks Saturday night underlights at Casey Fields, who are eager to test themselves against such a quality opponent and return to the winners list – having lost last week to Werribee coming off a Round 5 bye.
The match will be a big occasion for the club with captain David Mirra playing game 100.
RELATED STORY: Mirra and Bransgrove hit 100
From an individual aspect, the lightly-built Teia Miles has impressed coach Marco Bello. The rebounding half-back flanker continues to show promise now in his second year at the Hawks.
“You’re always happy to be at the top end rather than the bottom end … but we’ve still got a heap of improvement ahead of us which is a good sign.” Bello said.
“You love coming up against the really good sides of the competition … you get to test your system versus theirs. You train all preseason to one system and you hope that it holds up and so far it is.
“They’re on top of the ladder for a reason; they’re playing some good footy. (It’s a) great test for us and a good challenge.
“He’s (Miles) only a 60-odd kilo kid … but I love the way he goes about it. He’s an attacking half-back flanker and he’s obviously getting a fair bit of the footy.”
In other games:
In a super Saturday night of games, two further Peter Jackson VFL games will start once the sun goes down.
Collingwood will host Williamstown at the Holden Centre, with the game highlight to be the ruck duel between Jarrod Witts and returning state squad ruckman Nick Meese. The Magpies will need to contain the Seagulls in the first term, with the visitors having kicked 19 first term goals in recent rounds.
North Ballarat will host its second night game of the season, facing Port Melbourne at Eureka Stadium. Oliver Tate returned to the Roosters lineup last week from WA, while Port Melbourne will welcome back Josh Scipione to its forward half.
Frankston will host Geelong in the Channel 7 game Sunday, with the winner to draw level on three wins with the teams in the top 8. Co-captain Ryan Williams returns to the Cats lineup for his second game of the season, as the Cats field just 10 AFL listed players including Nathan Vardy and Billie Smedts.
Essendon and Footscray will aim to jump into the VFL top four with a win on Sunday, with the Bombers to see Top 10 draft selection Aaron Francis make his VFL debut.
It will be a big day for the Northern Blues as they host Coburg, with former club captain Brent Bransgrove playing his 100th and final game for the Blues. The home team will want more input up forward, with the side unable to kick over three goals in each of their last three rounds. Coburg will be full of confidence after win number one for the season last week.
Sandringham host Werribee in the final game of the round, with just one game separating the top eight teams. Majak Daw will return from AFL duties for the Tigers, with the side enjoying a two-point win over Box Hill in the last round.
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Last Modified on 20/05/2016 16:23