Integral Impacts | Line by Line | Round 3, 2021
Written by Nathan Sepe
Defence: Liam Jones
Jones highlighted his impressive lockdown abilities last weekend, with his use of body and positioning a key to locking down Freo’s key forward in Ryan throughout the duration of the match. Jones was impressive with ball in hand, ranking third in disposal efficiency and brought together the dominance of the defensive group throughout the match.
Jones totalled 20 disposals on the afternoon, going at 85% disposal efficiency, more importantly his kicking efficiency at 94%, 15 from 16 kicks, a standout stat, with only SPS close with 93% kicking efficiency. Jones was prominent front and centre during the afternoon, totalling 16 intercept marks around the ground, stopping Freo from making effective progress down the ground. Jones’ work proved proficient all around the ground, with his work to push up the ground and gather intercepts a key to our high amount of scores throughout the match with five score involvements coming off the work of Jones. Jones finished the game with 605 metres gained, best for the Baggers on the afternoon, displaying his dominance to shutdown key forwards and take them out of the game. Jones was best on ground with his contested aerial ball, taking three contested marks throughout the game. Jones played a hard, gritty style of defensive work that proved a versatile difference with the pressure the group put on the Dockers, with Jones’ efforts contributing to all four quarters with the same intensity and effort. Jones totalled 11 one percenters alongside Weitering with 12 one percenters, a real display of the cohesiveness of the defensive group but also the visual act to the fans that these guys will week in, week out give you their everything for the jumper and the club.
Midfield: Sam Walsh
Three weeks in a row, this kid has proved yet again that his dominance will control any game or player he wants to, the versatility and physique of Walsh proving an extremely tough task for any opposition to take down. Our win on Sunday afternoon set a new career best performance for Walsh, with 37 disposals to end the match, a performance truly appreciated by the fans and another performance to make our jaw drop in awe.
Walsh piled up 37 disposals throughout the match, with his lowest amount of touches during a quarter, six, still consistently dominating around the contest all game. Walsh was prominent with his ball work more in the offensive half with 57% of his touches within the centre of the ground and right half of the forward 50’s. The running machined totalled 14.6km finishing third for the Baggers come the end of the match. With that 14.6km, he gained 333m, extremely impressive work for a midfielder who is now being watched and heavily targeted more by opposition teams. Walsh was hard at the ball with eight ground ball gets, dominating that statistic column for the Baggers come the end of the game. Along with midfielders Newnes and Cripps, Walsh had nine scoring involvements, a benefit for the forward line that at times this season has seen a struggle in effectiveness going inside 50. The Baggers totalled 43 clearances, five of which coming from Walsh with three centre clearances and two stoppage clearances. Whilst the whole side had a fantastic day with their pressure, Walsh was no exception with 10 of his own pressure acts, an attribute he brings to field every time he plays. The grit and effectiveness around the ball Walsh carries around at still, such a young age is a scary proposition for opposition midfields.
Forward: Harry McKay
An obvious choice for this round’s best forward, McKay kicking seven goals in what was a superb and dominant performance from the big forward, a game seemingly bound to happen where McKay has a proper field day, and he did not disappoint at the slightest. A quick shout out must also go to Fogarty who has stood out tremendously throughout his start in navy blue. Fogarty had a stellar impact on the game and was unlucky to be featured as this week’s best forward.
McKay totalled 12 scoring shots throughout the afternoon, two thirds of Freo’s total scoring shots. McKay finished with seven goals and five behinds, a dominant display that could have been a bag of 10 if McKay went at a better shooting accuracy finishing at 54%. Harry found little issue beating his opponents to the ball front and centre, with eight uncontested marks and two contested marks, nine marks coming from inside 50. Of McKay’s seven goals, six came from shots not with the traditional approach run up, five of these coming from his favoured around the body snaps. Whilst this may work for Harry most of the time, the big forward’s run up set shots may come as a problem when challenged on the right side of his body, which may be predictable for opposition teams. McKay totalled 17 disposals with seven contested possessions going at 65% disposal efficiency. Harry ticked all the boxes for Baggers fans with his performance, highlighting the dominance and impact big forwards can have when provided with good delivery inside 50. Harry is a sight to look forward to each week for the fans and with the improvement of set shot accuracy for Harry, who’s to say the 100-goal season isn’t right around the corner?
