Votes and notes this week by Chris
For the glass half full types, that’s four points, no injuries and three wins in a row. For a lot of us though, this game against the undermanned and inexperienced Dons should have delivered more than that. A percentage boost, another bag of goals for Griff, an eye catching return from Rioli to name a few. It wasn’t much of a spectacle, or honestly much of a contest, but we never managed to put the kind of distance between the sides that would have opened the door for a party time blowout.
We got caught in tackles a lot, and one of the main culprits was the man voted best afield and given the Yiooken Award, Dusty Martin. Essendon seemed to have a focus on gang tackling him, knowing that his first reaction is always the don’t argue. We all love it, and he delivered a beauty to Brendan Goddard, but it’s become predictable.
I have not given him the 5 votes because I thought he has had much more effective games without the huge number of possessions, and he actually put a brake on some of our forward moves with his determination to make his mark physically.
Rance had a quiet game and didn’t get near the votes but I loved his passionate address to the team on the way off at half time. Any lip readers know what he said?
5 votes: Dylan Grimes. Yes, I thought he was fantastic, made great decisions and executed well. He’s more than a golden fist. He kicked more than I remember him doing usually, which I take as a sign of confidence.
4 votes: Shane Edwards. Back to top form, I feel like he must be a coach’s favourite for the way he carries the ball and knows just when it’s time for a kick, I don’t know what the team rules are but I reckon Shedda has them engraved on his heart.
3 votes: Dusty Martin. Played four quarters in the engine room and didn’t seem to tire. Phenomenal number of contested possessions, would love to have seen him chuck it on the boot a few more times.
2 votes: Brett Deledio. Quality all over the ground and 3 goals.
1 vote: Trent Cotchin. Great game from the skipper with a couple of sausage rolls.
The Benny
23: Riewoldt
17: Martin, Cotchin
11: Rance, Houli
9: Hampson
8: Miles, Deledio
7: Edwards
6: Lloyd
5: Lambert, Castagna, Griffiths, Grimes
3: Townsend, Short, C. Ellis
2: Rioli
1: B. Ellis
Blair Hartley Appreciation Award
11: Houli
9: Hampson
8: Miles
3: Townsend
Anthony Banik Best First Year Player
5: Castagna
3: Short
2: Rioli
Joel Bowden's Golden Left Boot
11: Houli
Greg Tivendale Rookie List Medal
5: Castagna
3: Short
Next week’s votes are up for grabs, let me know in the comments or by email if you’d like to get involved.
Would love to have a crack at the votes for next week. I’ll be at the game which will make it easy!
Hey thanks Liahm, you have the job! I’ll be there too, hoping for a much better effort than last year.
Yes – I was luke-warm regarding Dusty’s game too. He got tackled far too often. The disposal count is not a reliable indicator for best on ground. Dusty was imposing at times, but, as Dimma always says, there are still things he needs to work on.
My favourite moment of the game was Jack’s turn on the 50th meter arc to set up Lids who then kicked the goal from a few meters out. (I think sometime in the 3rd quarter).
The game had all the tension of a NAB game. Good that we didn’t slip up and of course great to see Shedda doing his remarkable handball intercepts and quick kicks/handballs.
go Tiges 🙂