Andrew Walker - was very effective in shutting down Hird, showed some characteristic dash from half back along the wings and delivery by foot on the run was an improvement from last season. Defensive mark in the last quarter was fantastic. Good to see no drop off from last year. Rating: 8/10
Jordan Russell - wow, was one of my stand outs last night in terms of improvement on last year. Played a significant portion of the game in the midfield and at centre bounces. Clearance work was excellent. Ran hard and physically looks great. Has definitely taken a step forward from 2006. R: 8.5/10
Marc Murphy - do I really need to put comments? Delivery (barring one uncharacteristic error in the last quarter which shows even he can do an impression of being human) was first rate. He was probably one of our best tacklers on the night and made sure to wrap up the arms of the opponent. Leadership was exemplified in the first quarter when he showed enormous courage to back into a contest when Fev gave him a hospital pass - got crunched and got straight back up. R - 9/10
Bryce Gibbs - it was the little things from Bryce that were good to see. Didnt get large amounts of game time and I dont mind that. There were a couple of times when his clean and quick hands in close resulted in us clearing it out of defence. Disposal by foot was great. Steady as she goes for Gibbs - showed he wasn't out of place first off at AFL level. Interesting that he was played mostly on a HBF, though probably a safe choice for his first game to let the ball come to him. R 8/10
Josh Kennedy - Missssssssster Kennedy....Kennedy...definitely a dedicated guy and you've gotta remember to breathe after every time he goes to dive for one of those marks that his shoulder/knees are going to be ok. Provided a great target up forward, kicked a goal (two?) and could have potentially set up a few more with his contesting bringing the ball to ground. One thing to notice was that he has great pace off the mark considering his size. R - 8.5/10
Kade Simpson - Its a bit like Forrest Gump with this guy, whenever he gets the ball you just want to yell out RUN SIMMO RUN. Although on occasions he run himself into trouble (and still looks loathe to use his right foot), the run and carry that he provided was outstanding. Was disappointed that he missed that shot on the run in the third quarter as that was one aspect of his game that could have improved since 2006. Similar to Walker, great to see there hasn't been a post 2006 let down. R 8.5/9
Lance Whitnall - well I think first up, the big news for Lance was that he played up forward. Also think his positioning was right - played as a half forward and led up the ground. Nothing spectacular tonight, but provided a good target when he was on and kicked a goal. The noticeable aspect was that when he was on, along with Kennedy and Fevola, it really stretched the Essendon* backline. Good to see us doing that to the opposition for a change. R - 7.5/10
Jason Saddington - Wasn't sighted in the first half as I dont think he even got a run. When he came on in the second half, I thought he was more than handy. Noticeable how well he was moving and fingers crossed that he is over all those niggling injuries and that his knee is now 100%. Played as a half forward and did some nice things - missed a getable shot at goal though. Provided some great pressure in the forward line as well. R 7.5/10
Cain Ackland - Game time was limited but provided a contest at the ball up and that was the main thing. Work around the ground was limited. Rolled his ankle last week in the intra-club, so not to sure if that affected him last night. Would have liked to have seen him drift forward at some stage and see how he fared there. R - 7/10
Matthew Lappin - Had a quiet night but kicked a great goal when it was needed. Ran hard, pressured and was skilful when he got the ball. Was all over the ground - so didnt get an idea of where he will most likely play this year. Wouldn't mind him staying up forward. R - 7.5/10
Brad Fisher - Kicking for goal let him down again, but I think he was taking shots that were outside his range - tends to struggle from around 50m. The positives of Fisher were highlighted in the last quarter when his 'reckless abandon' to the contest resulted in Lappin's goal. Moved well around the ground as well and his link play through the centre will be vital with Waite playing down back. A little rusty, but good signs. R - 7.5/10
Setanta O'Hailpin - Possibly BOG. Held Lloyd extremely quiet, which is even more of an achievement when you consider some of the free flowing movement of the ball that was coming into the Essendon* forward line in the 3rd and 4th quarters. His strength in the one on one marking contests was outstanding and the contested mark against Hird was fantastic. Read the play as well to get back and mark the Stanton attempt at a Supergoal after initially covering the Lloyd lead. R - 9.5/10
Eddie Betts - Kicked the one Supergoal and in the process landed Templestowe $1000. Was lively in the first half and as always his forward pressure was fantastic. Should really work on getting himself to the feet of Kennedy because he could have a field day with the crumbs. R - 7.5/10
Nick Stevens - all positives again from Stevens (apart from giving the free kick away at the first bounce...AWWWW Stevens!). Was fantastic at the centre bounce and combined well with the other midfielders to create clearances. Often he was the provider instead of the receiver which was nice to see. Goal in the last quarter was fantastic - thats what we need to see more of this year. R - 8.5/10
Brendan Fevola - again, the Fev looked great last night. Missed a couple of goals that you'd like to see him kick, but its the first game of the year. Benefitted from the new 'in the back' rule (side note: was good to see our defenders have adjusted to this rule better than Essendon*'s). Contested, pressured and kicked goals - all in a nights work for Fev. R - 8.5/10
Cameron Cloke - another surprise packet for me along with Russell. Considering he's an undersized ruckman, thought he competed extremely well at centre bounces and got us a few clearances. Kicking for goal was obviously below par and missed a sitter - but hopefully that was nerves more than anything. Work around the ground was great and his field kicking was pretty impressive too. Hit Whitnall on the chest on a lead from 60m away in the last quarter. Definitely more positives than negatives for Cam. R 8.5/10
Heath Scotland - Again, showed there was no let down from the 2006 form. Played a similar role to last year and again played with composure and a cool head. Disposal by foot was very good and decision making was generally superb, even when it involved kicking it 40m across his body to unmarked player on the opposite flank (gulp). R - 8/10
Jarrad Waite - Hmm if you'd watched him in the first quarter, you would have wondered why on earth we wanted him to play as a defender. He looked lost, out of place and his overcommitment got him caught out on a couple of occasions. Then it was like a different player came out after quarter time. He read the play brilliantly cutting off numerous Lloyd leads and filling the hole well, as well as keeping Lucas reasonably quiet. Provided a bit of dash, backed himself. Can't afford to give a half-hearted one headed marking effort in the backline like he did in the last quarter. Decision making was a little ordinary at times. One big advantage of him as a defender is that his leap enables him to perfect the spoil without the hands in the back. Overall, one of our best. R - 9/10
Bret Thornton - well Thornton gets the third best forward FINALLY! Really like the prospect of him being freed up a little bit. He was calm and collected as always and disposal by foot was very good. Will be able to use his run and creativity more this year. Didnt have a lot to do defensively on Johns, but thought he had a good game. R 8/10
Ryan Houlihan - hmm do you judge him on the Houla of the first 3.5 quarters or the last half a quarter? Lets talk about that last half a quarter - had a bit of a brain fade and almost proved costly. Gotta learn to have a clear goal before playing on, rather than playing on and realising he has no options. Forgetting that though, for the rest of the game he ran hard and really busted a gut. His disposal by foot was outstanding as usual and provided lots of run, carry and link-up play. More of this and less of the other Houla and he is in for a big season.
Ryan Jackson - Didnt get on the ground in the first half and had limited play in the second half. Showed some signs that he is going to be a good player - quick, runs hard and disposal and decision making are quite good. Not much else can be said. R 7/10
Ross Young - Hmm....hard to judge. Saw some positive signs in that he seems to know how to get the footy and decision making is reasonable. Made one crucial mistake in the last quarter and should never kick the ball on the full under no pressure. Leg speed is a little questionable as well. Work in progress - give him time. R - 7/10
Anthony Koutoufides - Used sparingly as was to be expected. When he did get on the ground, thought he was great. Moved well, tackled extremely well, got clearances and found space around the ground and used the ball well. If we can expect that sort of output from him this year, we will be ecstatic. Bursts through the midfield in the second half of each quarter seems to be the go. R - 8/10
Andrew Carrazzo - Played through the midfield (about time) and showed that he definitely knows how to rack up the possessions. Skills seemed to have improved slightly, decision making is still a little questionable. But his performance was definitely more good than bad R 8/10
Hopefully I haven't forgotten anyone, though I probably have. Hehe preparing myself for criticism.......now
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Maybe his fractured vertabrae (?) is still in the back of his mind. 