Coming off a close to best on ground performance for Peel Thunder in last Saturday’s loss to East Perth at Medibank Stadium, senior development and assistant coach Simon Lloyd said the hard work and determination shown by Michie during the pre-season was paying off.
“Viv has shown in his first couple of weeks of league football, and through the pre-season, that he is exceptional in the tight contest, where he wins a number of clearances and is very clean with his ground balls,” Lloyd said.
Michie has hardly missed any training through the pre-season and his body stood up to the rigours of a full pre-season.
“Ross constantly talks about stacking it up, and Viv has stacked up session after session,” Lloyd said.
“To Viv’s credit he has a strong mind and shown that he is now getting the opportunity to show what he can do on the football field and everyone at the football club is excited to see it.
“I think if you asked any player or coach at the football club they would agree that Viv is highly regarded due to his professionalism and resilience.”
Lloyd shared his WAFL notes on all Freo's players:
Midfielders
Viv Michie (PT) 25 disposals (15 kicks, 10 handballs), 4 marks, 5 tackles, 1 goal
Viv played inside-mid and six times he cleared the ball from center square bounces and four times from boundary throw-ins. He showed a lot of run and carried the football into space. He showed he was very effective in his ability to lower his eyes and hit the lead up target. His tackling pressure was excellent.
Hayden Crozier (PT) 23 disposals (13 kicks, 10 handballs), 4 marks, 4 tackles
Hayden showed some good energy early on the wing. His ball use was creative and decisive. He provided an option for the outlet kick and generated a lot of run. Hayden showed good effort in his contested involvements and displayed a positive defensive mindset with some strong tackling.
Tom Sheridan (PT) 17 disposals (4 kicks, 13 handballs), 3 marks
Tom played on the wing and went forward in the last quarter. He consistently worked hard back into defence to support. His focus with Ash Prescott on moving the ball quick through the midfield showed and he was able to do consistently. Tom won ground balls and gave first gives through handball. Overall, Tom is building his game.
Rucks and forwards
Josh Mellington (WP) 9 disposals (8 kicks, 1 handball), 2 marks, 2 goals
Josh began the game with a hard edge, his ball use in general play was good and we were happy with his run, particularly in the second half. We were pleased that he grinded out the game and applied pressure around the contest. Josh’s focus in the coming weeks will be to lift his tackle rate. He did have a number of scoring opportunities late in the game and, in good time, Josh will take those opportunites and he’s not far off a big game.
Tanner Smith (PT) 13 disposals (8 kicks, 5 handballs), 5 marks, 1 goal
Tanner improved on his game from last week. He played the majority of the game as a key forward and had short periods as a defender. He had a very good first quarter where his work rate was high. He constantly provided hit-up leads and strong run, both offensively and defensively. He also showed that he really competed in the air and demonstrated quick reaction at ground level. The most pleasing aspect of Tanner’s game is that his effort never waned during the four quarters.
Craig Moller (PT) 18 disposals (7 kicks, 11 handballs), 3 marks, 4 tackles, 1 goal
Craig played ruck against a strong body in Paul Johnson, who has several years of AFL and senior VFL and WAFL experience. The great thing about Craig was that he showed very competitive effort, competed well around stoppages and we were pleased with his follow up. As the weeks progress, we are seeing that Craig handles the ball very cleanly. He also runs very hard defensively and we were pleased with his competitive effort and the fact that he shouldered the number one ruck role in only his second league game.
Matt Taberner (PT) Reserves 10 disposals (8 kicks, 2 handballs), 4 marks, 2 goals
It was a really good first up game for Matt playing in a deeper forward role. He started the game very well, taking a few strong contested marks. We were very pleased with his defensive work in regards to his tackling and chasing. Overall he had five set shot opportunities resulting in two goals and three behinds, Matt is very diligent and he will work on his efficiency and his set-shot routine in the coming weeks.
Defenders
Alex Forster (PT) Reserves 19 disposals (15 kicks, 4 handballs), 9 marks
Alex played at half-back and started well. By the end of the game we were happy with his positioning as a spare defender. Alex is building his game and we are looking at him to have a big impact in the aerial contested ball.
Jesse Crichton (PT) 18 disposals (10 kicks, 8 handballs), 6 marks, 6 tackles, 1 goal
We were pleased with Jesse’s positioning at stoppages. He often positioned where he was able to identify and get to forwards who were releasing in congestion. He went into the midfield in the last quarter. Jesse is focusing on his rebound off half-back where he has shown that he can generate a lot of drive.
Peter Faulks (PT) 17 disposals (7 kicks, 10 handballs), 6 marks
Peter had a solid performance down back where he won his position and, on different occasions, covered well for his teammates. He showed some run and bounce late in the game and was strong in a number of aerial contests and at ground level.
WAFL Results League
West Perth 11.12 (78) defeated Subiaco 8.6 (54)
East Perth 11.14 (80) defeated 9.14 (68)
WAFL Results Reserves
Subiaco 14.10 (94) defeated West Perth 9.11 (65)
East Perth 12.13 (85) defeated Peel Thunder 11.8 (74)
