VFL senior coach Dan Jordan assesses the 12 senior-listed Bombers who featured in the 42-point win over Geelong on Sunday.

Josh Begley

Stats: 11 disposals, three tackles

From the coach: I thought Josh’s work rate was really good. He spent some time in the midfield and also some time forward – he probably didn’t get the reward in terms of possessions like he had last week, but the pleasing thing was that his work rate was still there. He transitioned hard up and down the ground and was physical in the contest for us.

Irving Mosquito

Stats: 11 disposals, six tackles, three inside-50s, one goal

From the coach: ‘Mozzie’ was good - he was a bit more consistent than the previous couple of weeks in terms of laying some pressure and being able to reset. We know how dangerous he is with ball in hand – he hit the scoreboard again with a really nice goal and we’d love to see him do that more but he’s doing a lot right and is progressing really nicely.

Jordan Houlahan

Stats: 10 disposals (eight kicks), six marks, two tackles

From the coach: ‘Houlas’ played a bit of forward and a bit of wing time again. He got up the ground and transitioned well. He took a couple of big marks too. He probably didn’t capitalise on his opportunities (finishing with three behinds) but if he can turn them into two or three goals, then it becomes a pretty solid game from a small-medium forward.

Brandon Zerk-Thatcher

Stats: 15 disposals (seven kicks), two marks

From the coach: Brandon’s game was better than his previous two coming back from injury. He looked a lot more assertive, and was strong in our key defensive post. He played on some good players throughout the day but he positioned himself nicely. I thought our whole back six set up well behind the ball and he was an integral part of that.

Noah Gown

Stats: 11 disposals, five marks, four inside-50s, one goal

From the coach: ‘Gowny’ again competed hard and worked his way up and down the ground as a forward. He took some really nice marks with some safe hands and his movement gave us a few outlets when we were transitioning from defence to attack. I liked his work rate in that aspect – he’s developing nicely as a key forward.

Brayden Ham

Stats: 21 disposals, 10 marks, six inside-50s, one goal

From the coach: Ham's game was excellent. He played a bit on the wing and some forward minutes. I thought he transitioned hard up and down the ground. He held his shape on the outside well, and got on the end of a bit of ball. He also got back in defence and was able to help out, and then when he was forward he got into some good spots and ran some smart patterns.

Jake Long

Stats: 19 disposals (14 kicks), six marks, four tackles

From the coach: I thought this was Long's best game since he’s come back from injury – he positioned himself really well in the back half and found himself free at times. He was aggressive at the game and got ball in hand, and then used his run and dash to bypass Geelong’s defence. He was also strong and communicated well in the back six. It was a solid game.

Michael Hartley

Stats: 17 disposals (14 kicks), four marks, six tackles, nine rebound-50s

From the coach: I thought ‘Harts’ was terrific actually. He was physical and showed that when he’s aggressive in the contest he can be an intimidating force. He backed himself in the air to take some intercept marks, which was a credit to him. He used the ball really, really well and some of his kicking was a highlight coming through. We’d love this standard to be what he can put in every week.

Dylan Clarke

Stats: 17 disposals, five marks, eight tackles

From the coach: I think they sent a (tagger) to ‘Clarkey’ in the first half, trying to negate him which is a credit to how he’s rated around the competition. He probably struggled to get his hands on the ball but was still typically strong. In the second half he went to (Charlie) Constable and did a role for us in shutting him down a bit, so a real credit to ‘Clarkey’ in terms of the selfless role he played for the side.

Sam Draper

Stats: Eight disposals, three marks, nine hit-outs

From the coach: ‘Drapes’ played the first half of footy after unfortunately rupturing his ACL. He competed hard coming up against some AFL-quality ruckmen in Zac Smith and Ryan Abbott, and gave us good targets down the line. We've been so impressed with his development and we know he'll come back bigger and better.

I’d like to thank everyone for their well wishes and support. I’m so lucky to have the amount of people who have showed care for me during this time. It’s going to be a tough 12 months ahead but I’m looking forward to the challenge - yeh boi ✌ pic.twitter.com/vqJr6aAMJl — Sam Draper (@SamDraper38) May 7, 2019

Trent Mynott

Stats: 21 disposals, two tackles, four clearances, three goals

From the coach: Trent had a mixture of mid and forward time. I thought he made some good decisions around the contest and was also aggressive with the ball in hand. He was pretty clean and held his shape well when he was playing on the outside. When he went forward he finished off really well, kicking three goals in the third quarter, which showed a lot about his finish and positioning. He’s in some solid form this year.

All's well that ends well pic.twitter.com/9X5o61RP5R — Essendon VFL (@essendonvfl) May 6, 2019

Matt Dea

Stats: 14 disposals (11 kicks), five marks

From the coach: Matty had the week off last week but this week he was really physical in the contest, competed hard both on the air and in the ground. He’s really important for our structure in setting up our back six and I thought they (the back six) positioned themselves really well all day which was largely due in part to Dea's direction. I hope he’ll build into some nice form and get some good continuity. It’s a good platform for him moving forward.

Brooke Varney is in the final year of her Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) degree at RMIT University. As part of their strategic partnership, Essendon Football Club and RMIT University are committed to providing opportunities for students, staff, players and the wider community.