Venue: North Port Oval, Port Melbourne
Conditions: Sunny, 2-3 goal wind favouring one end
In action:
- Liam Anthony (23 disposals, 4 clearances)
- Trent Dumont (25 disposals, 8 clearances, 6 tackles)
- Brad McKenzie (12 disposals, 4 marks)
- Robin Nahas (5 disposals, 1 goal)
- Joel Tippett (10 disposals, 5 marks, 4 spoils)
- Eric Wallace (11 disposals, 37 hit-outs, 5 tackles)
- Max Warren (17 disposals, 6 marks, 4 tackles)
- Mitch Wilkins (11 disposals)
NMFC.com.au's best: Joel Tippett
Matchups
- Liam Anthony v Tim McGenniss
- Robin Nahas v Nathan Laracy
- Eric Wallace v Dylan Reid
What the coach said (Gerard Fitzgerald)
Quarter-time: "You’ve got the capacity to really elevate and go places. The ball must go through the corridor more this quarter.
"Identify when it is best to use the hit-ups or deep entry. Make sure you’re proactive in thinking and changing the angles."
Three quarter-time: "What we want to do is, every time we’re forward of centre, attack the goalsquare.
"Run and bounce the ball, quickly move it and get this mob under pressure. We are capable of kicking multiple goals quickly and we are right in this game."
Points of interest
1. After Lachlan Hansen’s substitution and Nathan Grima’s cork against Melbourne on Saturday night, suddenly the performance of Joel Tippett became extremely important.
The newly re-signed defender emerged with flying colours, playing close to a full game for the Roosters and proving an important player in the back half.
"It was a good game for him to have. He was on a variety of different opponents all day. He positioned himself well, read the ball well and also took a few intercept marks.
"The other good thing today was that when the ball hit the deck, and he was obviously fatigued, he was still able to find something to hold the forwards up. Whether it was just getting an arm in, or a tackle, he just scrapped really well." – Development Manager Ben Dyer
2. Robin Nahas played his first game for more than two months at North Port Oval. With plenty of attention, he battled valiantly.
"We often had seven defenders today, which meant we had five forwards. With a couple of high half forwards pushing up as well, it left Robbie on his own on a few occasions.
"He was blowing a bit, but that was always going to be the case with his first game back. He had a crack at it, and he needed to play this week."
3. With 25 disposals, Trent Dumont finished his first season with another typically good game in the middle of the ground. He showed maturity and game-sense beyond his relative inexperience.
"At times when we were with the breeze, we were guilty of not using the corridor enough, but Trent kept trying to go back through there which was positive.
"He should be really happy with his season. He cracks in every week and he doesn’t play a poor game. It’s a great thing for a first year player to have."
4. Two seasons into his footballing career, Eric Wallace is set for a big summer and pre-season.
"It’s really important for him to work on his fitness, so he can get to as many contests as possible.
"Also his game sense, so he knows exactly where to be and at what time.
"His rucking is very solid most of the time, but it’s the other areas that will round him out."
Most likely call-up: Joel Tippett
