Hidden Gems | Round 22 v Port Adelaide
Written by Zac Assouni
Well that certainly wasn’t a good late birthday present for me, It all looked positive when Josh Honey slotted a goal from the goal square to put the blues in front the by 23 points however a 12 goal turnaround was eventually what sunk the blues in Marc Murphy’s 300th and final game. Nevertheless here are three players who had an underrated performance against the power.
COREY DURDIN
It was already a crazy week when it came to injuries for the blues. Liam Jones and Coleman leader Harry McKay were both out of the side to face port and ruled out go face the giants in the blues last game of the season due to injury. On top of that we also had news that both Jack Martin, Jack Silvagni and captain Patrick Cripps would all be out as well. That paved the way for former pick 37 in the 2020 draft, the debutant by the name of Corey Durdin. Despite the fact that he only had the 5 possessions to his name he still managed 1 goal, 3 score involvements, 3 tackles and not to mention the pressure and speed that he possesses. Throughout the season we’ve seen the small forward position change with the inclusions of Matthew Owies , Josh Honey and now Corey Durdin. These inclusions of three emerging small forwards in Carlton’s forward line can certainly hold us in good stead for the future especially with the retirement of club legend Eddie Betts imminent at seasons end.
NIC NEWMAN
It’s safe to say that defensive stability is certainly hard to come by this season at the blues however over the last few weeks we’ve definitely seen the new found composure of Nic Newman. Another problem for the blues this season has been kicking efficiency especially going inside 50 which gives opposition defenders easy intercept marks to hurt our scoring chances. That hasn’t been a problem for Nic Newman though with a season average of 80 % kicking efficiency which certainly helps with our ball movement. Newman collected 17 disposals at 88% efficiency, 4 score involvements, 4 tackles, 5 intercept possessions and 270 metres gained. It’s clear to see the that our defensive game has probably been our weakest area as a football team and our players are usually running back to try to get back into position. This was on display against the likes of Dixon , Georgiades and Rozee. However going into 2022 with most a likely a better coach defensively we should be able to see not only a better defensive system but an even better Nic Newman.
LOCHIE O’BRIEN
Since his inclusion back into the senior side a few weeks ago against St Kilda we’ve certainly seen a more determined and a more eager Lochie O’Brien. Throughout season 2021 we’ve seen the blues have a few problems with finding a true winger to play in the side however the emergence of Lochie O Brien it seems that we might have found it. After playing most of his football this year coming through the interrupted VFL season and scratch matches it’s been nice to see how he’s integrated back into the first team to try and cement his spot in the side next season. He ranked up 19 disposals at 84% efficiency, 6 score involvements and 6 marks along with 223 metres gained. It is extremely important that we are seeing consistency on a weekly basis not only from the team in genral but also our youngsters like O’brien who need consistency to keep their spot in the senior side. O'Brien simply took his opportunity and while he wasn’t exactly everywhere during the game we can certainly see effort and as I've said before, eagerness to want to contribute and not only better himself but better the side in general.
