Season 2019 - Hard Yakka VFL

From Star Weekly - WERRIBEEVFL

BY LANCE JENKINSON

WERRIBEE FORWARD JAKE RICCARDI. PHOTO BY DAMJAN JANEVSKI.

Hype is snowballing over the form of young Werribee key forward Jake Riccardi in the Victorian Football League.

The exciting 19-year-old traces his strong season back to the lengthy pre-season he undertook when it became apparent he was not in the frame for selection at last year’s AFL National Draft.

The Calder Cannons graduate narrowed his focus to what he could do in his first full season for Werribee – he played two games as a 23rd man for Werribee last year – rather than worrying about his non-selection on draft night.

“In terms of the draft, I didn’t expect much, so I was pretty quick to move on from it all and get the pre-season under way,” he said.

“It’s probably a good thing thinking back at it because I didn’t have too much to think about the draft and I just kind of went about my footy and kept trying to improve every week at training.

“I just thought I’d give myself the best chance to be playing for Werribee every week and that was my main goal at the end of last year.”

Riccardi has blossomed into Werribee’s top key forward prospect.

He is making waves in the VFL, occupying second spot on the league’s goalkickers list with 35 goals.

The strength of Riccardi’s game is his marking – be it sticking the hands out in front on his powerful leads or flying in a pack situation.

He has a great eye for goal with a fairly accurate return of 35.26 this season.

That is the flashy part of Riccardi’s game, which excites the Werribee fans and brings the attention, but he is working hard to be the full package. “The coaches want me to keep flying for marks, bringing the ball to ground – that’s their main focus for me and what they want me to do,” Riccardi said.

“It’s important remembering to bring that defensive mindset as well as attacking.

“It’s not the old school where you stand in the square and lead out, you have to push up to the wing, run back and run forward, so there’s a lot of running involved.

“It is actually enjoyable because you work hard for your possessions and you earn every one.”

Riccardi is relishing the chance to work in a Werribee forward line that is one of the most potent in the VFL.

Werribee averages 90 points per game and a teenage Riccardi is the linchpin.

“For a forward line that hadn’t played much together [before this season], we’ve come together pretty quickly and we were in sync with each other pretty early,” Riccardi said.

Riccardi credits the forward line synergy to the guidance of seasoned campaigners Matt Munro and Timm House.

Riccardi has achieved incredible consistency for a key forward in his debut VFL season. Only once has Riccardi been held goalless. “That’s something I wanted to get out of my year, just having that consistency in my games,” he said.

“You don’t have to be the star every week, it’s not about that, it’s about playing your role and doing what is asked of you and that’s the big mentality at Werribee.”

Riccardi did that in Saturday’s 25-point win over Box Hill Hawks, finishing with 15 disposals, eight marks and a goal.

Riccardi says Werribee senior coach Mark Williams and assistant coach Nick Daffy have been huge for his development since his arrival at Werribee.

He also credits his football-loving dad for his influence over his career.

For the record, Riccardi’s dad’s name is Tony, not former Geelong wingman Peter Riccardi. “It’d be good to put that one to bed right here, right now, that I’m not Peter Riccardi’s son and I’d like to apologise to him for all the times that I’ve been mentioned as his son” he said with a laugh.

“My dad’s name is Tony and he’ll be happy that he’s known as my dad instead of Peter.”

Reported by Tom MORRIS (@tommorris32)

Full article - FOX SPORTS

Craig Jennings will leave Melbourne.Source: Supplied

Melbourne’s football department overhaul will include assistant Craig Jennings, who will depart at the end of the season having decided to pursue other coaching ventures.

Foxfooty.com.au understands Jennings is keen to coach his own team at VFL level and is currently completing his Level 4 coaching accreditation. He has also undertaken a Masters of Coaching to further his skill-set.

The Demons are expected to officially announce Jennings’ exit on Tuesday. He has aspirations to be an AFL senior coach and is believed to have been in discussions with Simon Goodwin for months regarding the next step in his coaching pathway.

Goodwin and Jennings share a close bond having worked at Essendon together.

Jennings was appointed to the Demons in September 2017 as game analyst and education co-ordinator.

Jennings has vast experience across the teaching and coaching landscape, having worked at Swinburne University and presented internationally on education and learning.

He spent 10 years at Essendon before joining the Western Bulldogs as opposition analyst. Jennings is highly rated among senior players such as Jordan Lewis and Neville Jetta, and is believed to be close to former Essendon captain Jobe Watson and AFLW star Daisy Pearce.

The change is just one of many inside Demons HQ.

Roos lashes 'lazy' Dees

1:38

It’s understood Darren Burgess’ arrival from the English Premier League is just the tip of the iceberg in the high performance department.

Head physio Sam Pietsch is expected to depart after more than 10 years at the club, while Brendan McCartney — who worked alongside Jennings at Essendon before Melbourne — will also leave.

The AFL Coaches’ Association’s message to assistants around the competition was the same as it was in 2018: If you don’t have a contract for the following season by August 1, then start looking for a new job.

Jennings, who leaves the Demons on good terms and with high aspirations, was out of contract but said to be ready for the next phase of his career.

SATURDAY AUGUST 10

Footscray vs Essendon at Whitten Oval 1pm (SEN 2 Digital)

(VFLW Western Bulldogs vs Essendon at 4pm)

Port Melbourne vs Frankston at Adcon Stadium 2pm

Werribee vs Box Hill Hawks at Avalon Airport Oval 2pm (3WBC)

Williamstown vs Coburg at Downer Oval 2pm

(VFLW Williamstown vs Darebin Falcons 11:30am)

Geelong vs North Melbourne at GMHBA Stadium 3:45pm (gofooty.live)

(AFL C/R to Geelong vs Nth Melb)

SUNDAY AUGUST 11

Richmond vs Northern Blues At MCG 11:50am (Channel 7)

(AFL C/R to Richmond vs Carlton)

Collingwood vs Casey Demons at Victoria Park 12noon (Casey Radio)

BYE - Sandringham

VFL REPORT (Leader Newspapers): Eli Templeton Best Afield as Borough Bounce Coburg

From localfooty.com.au

Reported by Paul Amy

“WHAT’S that they’re singing?’’ Port Melbourne board man Les Quarrell quipped as he came down from the coaching box and heard the commotion from the changerooms.



The Borough hadn’t been able to give the club song a burst for a few weeks — since Round 10, in fact.



But they gave a full-throated rendition of it on Saturday after thrashing Coburg in the Round 17 match at North Port Oval.



A seven-goal first quarter set them up for a 68-point victory, 18.11 (119) to 7.9 (51), as they took stock after a bumpy run.



“Well, it was funny. The girls (Port’s women’s team) beat Seaford and they were singing it and I just thought to myself, ‘Wouldn’t it be bloody nice to sing that again!’’ coach Gary Ayres said.



“It’s been a long time coming. We’ve been just going for a variety of reasons but today we did things a bit longer, a bit better, a bit harder.



“The start was the key to it.’’



And it started out of the middle, with big Michael Wenn getting first hands on the ball and directing it in the path of Eli Templeton, who either darted away with it or gave it to a teammate in the clear.



They were clean touches. He made them count.



Templeton encountered little pressure from Coburg, whose coach, Leigh Adams, had announced on Thursday night that he would be stepping down at the end of the season.



Templeton opened Port’s goal tally. And then they came with a rush: from Jordie Lisle out of a ruck contest, from Tom “Junior’’ O’Sullivan after a strong mark, from Jake Gasper after a free kick, from Dylan Conway with a set-shot, from Lisle off the ground. The Borough had 6.3 on the board before Coburg had scored.



Just before quarter time the player stats on the VFL’s super-duper app showed eight Lions hadn’t had a possession.



The visitors at least managed to check the flow of Port goals in the second quarter.



That was the best that could be said about their first half. At half time Adams took his white board and headed down the race with a face as a long as Williamstown Rd.



The Lions showed more fight in the second half, Marcus Lentini ever-present around the packs (he finished with 31 possessions), key defender Harry Nolan conceding nothing in his duel with Lisle and veteran Steve Stroobants getting busy up forward.



Port co-captain Lisle kicked four goals, as did first-year player Gasper, who topped the TAC Cup goalkicking last year with Oakleigh Chargers. He knows where they are, as they say.



Templeton had 30 disposals and the Borough also had some midfield bite from Trent Crosbie (23 possessions) in his second game.



Ayres thought Crosbie was a good inclusion and praised Wenn’s work in the ruck. He had 41-hit-outs.



Ayres said Port was “starting again from scratch’’ after its run of outs.



“What happened in the last month, we want to put that to bed. It’s a mini-season within the season now,’’ he said.



Adams was aghast with his team’s poor start.



“To get done in the contested footy and in the clearances set a standard for the game,’’ he said.



“The boys fought on in the second half but it was too little, too late.’’



Asked about his decision to stand down, Adams said he had taken his players “as far as I possibly can’’.



“I don’t think I can do any more with what we’ve got,’’ he said. “It was easier to make the decision as quick as possible so they (the board) can look to get a replacement in and keep as many boys as possible knowing who their coach will be for next year.



“It’s going to be a tough year for them on the road (the Coburg City Oval is being redeveloped next year) so if they can get as much player buy-in as they can now it will help them, rather than me waiting until the end of the year to tell them.’’



He said the announcement about his future “probably affected them (the players) at some level’’.



“It was going to go one way or the other, wasn’t it? They were going to come out and play really well to start with or …. but I thought it had got to the stage where we should be honest with them and tell them what was going on.



“It’s a pretty tough thing for them to take, that their coach is moving on but he’s going to coach out the rest of the year. I’m hoping it had some sort of affect. Otherwise it was a pretty poor start by us.’’



He said Coburg’s next coach would take hold of a “really good nucleus, a good bunch of blokes who want to play for each other and the club’’.



To the suggestion he was returning to North Melbourne as an assistant, Adams laughed and said: “I wish. I’m hoping for a job. Fingers crossed. It is the aim (the join an AFL club) and hopefully something will come of that.’’

 

SATURDAY AUGUST 3

North Melbourne vs Box Hill Hawks at Arden Street 2pm (3WBC)

Essendon vs Sandringham at Windy Hill 2pm (SEN 2 Digital)

(VFLW Essendon vs Southern Saints 11:30am)

Richmond vs Casey Demons at Punt Road 2:30pm (Casey Radio)

SUNDAY AUGUST 4

Northern Blues vs Collingwood at Marvel Stadium 11:50am (Channel 7)

(C/Raiser to AFL Carlton vs West Coast)

Coburg vs Werribee at Piranha Park 12:30pm

Port Melbourne vs Geelong at Adcon Stadium 2pm (gofooty.live)

Frankston vs Footscray at SkyBus Stadium 2pm (Casey Radio)

BYE - Williamstown