As I promised on chat during Sunday's games, here's a run-down of how some of Port's young fella's performed in their SANFL matches on the weekend. SANFL league K H/B M T FF FA HO C I50R50 G B B.Jacobs(PA) 14 8 1 1 1 0 0 1 7 2 0 0 J.Butcher(PA) 4 4 4 3 0 0 1 0 1 0 3 1 A.Moore(NA) 7 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 M.Lobbe(WA) 0 7 1 2 1 0 14 0 0 0 0 0 D.Webb(WA) 6 3 4 1 1 1 4 0 2 1 1 1 S.Phillips(Nw) 8 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 3 2 0 1 T.Jonas(Nw) 7 6 6 2 1 2 5 1 0 3 0 0 M.Westhoff(CD)12 3 5 2 3 0 0 0 2 2 1 0 SANFL reserves K H/B M T FF FA HO C I50R50 G B J.Irons(WWT) 7 11 4 5 1 1 0 2 2 2 0 0 B.Newton(WA) 9 2 3 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 M.Motlop(WA) 13 13 4 2 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 M.Curnow(St) 6 5 1 1 1 0 14 0 0 2 0 0 A.Young(NA) 8 2 2 1 1 2 0 0 2 1 0 2 The player most people are interested in is Jacobs who had a good senior SANFL debut following his solid 29 disposal comeback from illness in the reserves the previous week - hopefully won't be too far away from his AFL debut (another 2-3 weeks to build fitness & form should see him cherry ripe). Although Butcher didn't get much of the ball, has kicked 12 for the season and his 3 goals this week were a solid contribution towards Port's win over West who were on top of the ladder - word from Alberton is they are taking the long term view with him after a horrendous 2010 affected by serious back problems, but he has worked hard on strengthening his core and overcoming his back injury - however, with Schulz close to a return, it may be a while before the Butch gets a shot. Following a pre-season hampered by groin trouble, Moore played his first senior game after slowly working on his fitness & form in the reserves for a few weeks - another few weeks in the seniors to continue building his match fitness should see him come into calculations mid-season. Lobbe will need a bit more time to build on his fitness & touch considering he's had only one reserves & one league match after coming back from a dislocated shoulder, however Port desperately need support for Brogan, and he could be fast-tracked considering Redden didn't play senior or reserves on the weekend even though I can't find his name on the injury lists!!! Phillips is a bit of a wild card - played well for Norwood last season, but has been hampered by having his jaw broken twice. His first game back last week against Central was good, but was a bit quieter this week. Newton played his first game in the reserves after finally being given the all clear by the medico's after a long time side-lined by an ankle injury (described as being the same injury that virtually ended Tredrea's career) - will be worth keeping track of this lad as he is held in high regard like Jacobs. Motlop jnr played his first game for West's reserves after changing SANFL clubs due to limited opportunities at North - needs to really knuckle down & work hard from here. Young continues to find his feet at reserves level and needs to be looking at breaking into senior ranks soon. Webb, Jonas, Westhoff, Irons & Curnow are all rookie listed players, however another LTI could see an opportunity arise for one of them, or even Hay or Bass who didn't play on the weekend.
Nice report - thanks. Why is it that TS beats the official Port web side to the punch on 'Players in the SANFL'??? Was looking at it only last night (no need for an answer!!!). Would be great if we could generate something like this for Freo and WC.
Primus mentioned today about the prospects of '2 or 3 more youngsters coming into the side in the upcoming weeks'. Names mentioned were Lobbe, Phillips, Jacobs and Butcher. Said Lobbe and Jacobs both had similar game times the last two weeks, which will continue to increase. Said playing Jacobs this week would undo the good work and set him back. Premature I know, but prospects of Mzungu, Poupolo, Jacobs, Hibberd and Smith hitting there 3rd game in Rnds 8-13 would certainly make life easier. Would just come down to timing and which ones to hit.
@ TiB Players in SANFL report finally up on official PAFC site - seems to be taking them longer to get it online each week!!! @ Drifter74 Yeah, caught up with those comments from Matty too - and totally agree with him about undoing all the good work Jacobs & Lobbe have put in by selecting them prematurely. Both have only had 1 reserves & 1 senior SANFL game since their respective lay-offs, so they definitely need another couple of weeks minimum at senior SANFL level to build up match fitness. Even though Lobbe didn't get much of the ball, it's worth noting that he had fairly tough match-ups against James Mieklejohn & Ivan Maric in just his 2nd game back from the shoulder dislocation - tough ask for any young ruckman. The pleasing thing with Butcher is, even though he didn't have high possession numbers, he's become a real focal point up forward for the Maggies & seems to be relishing the task - will be a potential FWD downgrade option mid-season if he gets his chances (but there's no guarantee he'll hold his spot if/when he gets his chance - watch this space!!!