THROUGHOUT the remainder of the 2008 NAB AFL under-18 championships, AFL youth and high performance coordinator and former AFL star Jason McCartney will give afl.com.au his thoughts on the players who caught his eye.
Here are his assessments after Victoria Metropolitan easily accounted for Tasmania by 67 points at Bellerive Oval in Hobart on the Queen's Birthday holiday on Monday.
TASMANIA v VICTORIA METROPOLITAN
Tasmania
Mitch Robinson – Mitch again took the game on. That was something that really stood out against Vic Metro. He won 21 disposals, the equal of Tom Lynch, who was Vic Metro's highest ball-winner. He broke the lines, attacked and delivered really well by foot.
Mitch also delivered the ball inside 50 three times and he really sets the standard for his side. He also had six hard ball gets and five tackles. He was a very good player in division two and he has performed just as well at this level.
Jesse Crichton – Jesse was really clean with his ball use and hands. He had 21 disposals, which included 16 handballs, but they were really creative. He's only a lightweight at the moment at 66kg, but he's ferocious in his efforts – and also made six tackles. Once again he took the opposition on and some of his teammates need to follow his lead.
Aaron Cornelius – By his own admission he had a shocker last round and this week he started down back. His work-rate and body language were much better. He worked his way into the game and then returned to his more familiar surroundings up forward.
He grabbed the ball quite cleanly towards the end of the game and he ended up with six marks. It wasn't a super game, but he was starting to look dangerous. I really think he is now set for a big game against NSW/ACT on Saturday, after some positive signs in this match.
Victoria Metropolitan
Tom Lynch – An AIS boy, Tom played centre half-forward and full-forward and late in the quarter he really presented well. He marked well in the air and was good at ground level. He ended up with 21 disposals and kicked four goals.
It was really pleasing for 'Lynchy', considering he is coming off a full knee reconstruction last year. He's only been playing since Easter, but his preparation is second to none. He did everything that was asked of him in his rehab and he's reaping the rewards now. He maintained his fitness levels at such a high level that he has been able to play good footy since returning. Tom was really good in this match.
Shaun McKernan – The brother of former North Melbourne ruckman Corey McKernan has been really impressive. He's rucking and playing off the bench, so he's probably only playing 50 to 55 per cent ground-time, but he's very similar to Corey. It's incredible how similar they are.
Shaun really attacks the ball in the air and launches himself at the footy. His ruck-work has been really good. He's athletic and he's a really strong lad at 196cm and 95kg. Shaun only had eight disposals, but his tackling was good and he does set his team up.
Vic Metro kicked 6.3 in the first quarter and a lot of that was due to Shaun's ruckwork and aggression in the middle. Like we saw with Corey in his hey-day, Shaun just hit the ground running. He's a bit of an ace up Metro's sleeve, because he could also play a prominent role up forward during the rest of the carnival. I don't think there would be many defenders who could go with Shaun, if Metro decided to play him in the goalsquare. There have been some really good signs for Shaun.
Michael Hurley – Another AIS boy, Michael was All-Australian at this level last year. He doesn't rack up the stats, but he plays a typical Michael Hurley game every week – playing in a key defensive post, either on talls, mediums or smalls. He's a rock in the back-half.
He's strong overhead and he uses his body really well. Michael rarely gets beaten. He's a natural defender and we haven't seen him up forward during the carnival, yet, but I know he can play forward – he has done for the Northern Knights. I see him as a natural defender, who can spoil with his left and right hand, which is really important. He also anticipates well, although he isn't naturally quick, but he reads the play well. Vic Metro also builds a lot of its rebound around him. He also has a strong body and has the ability to feed off.
