Robbie Tarrant was rock-solid in defence for Werribee on Saturday but his best on ground performance wasn’t enough to guide the Tigers to back-to-back wins.
The 19 year-old has had a testing time in the VFL so far this year, charged with roles up forward and down back depending on the opposition and match-up requirements - all of which are helping in his football development and education.
Most recently, Tarrant was given the task of shutting down Melbourne forwards Brad Miller and Liam Jurrah who lined up for the Casey Scorpions.
Starting on Miller who finished with just one goal, the 21 year-old held his own and was moved onto the dangerous Jurrah in the second half.
“He provided great rebound for us and was by far the best defender on the ground,” North Melbourne development coach Jason Lappin said.
Tarrant collected 20 possessions, 4 clearances and laid 3 tackles in his best game of the year.
In somewhat of a role reversal, Tarrant played down back while Alan Obst (15 possessions, 6 marks, 8 tackles, 1 goal) was thrown forward for the second consecutive week. He also had stints in the ruck and kicked 1 goal and two behinds.
Obst had more opportunities than fellow forward Nathan O’Keefe (12 possessions, 1 goal) who only managed one shot on goal. Although he converted it, the afternoon was a quiet one for the 2008 draftee who benefitted from the run after two weeks off.
Opportunities weren’t the issue for Ben Speight (16 possessions, 4 behinds), but accuracy was. The North Melbourne rookie had four shots but was unable to register a major.
When asked what the issue was the 20 year-old joked to kangaroos.com.au he simply “didn’t have my kicking boots on.”
Another player learning the football trade at a rapid rate is Jamie Macmillan (14 possessions). The Kangaroos’ selection in the 2009 National Draft lined up against Demon Colin Sylvia for much of the day and had a more ‘defensive’ mindset according to Jason Lappin.
Meanwhile in the reserves, Matthew Scott played out an entire game coming off consecutive concussions. The North rookie racked up 25 possessions playing as an in-and-under midfielder while Conor Meredith had 14 touches to go along with 5 marks and a goal.
Seniors
Casey: 17.15.117
Werribee: 10.16.76
Reserves
Werribee: 21.11.137
Casey: 13.124.92
