Saturday practice games recap: Standouts, roles, CBAs & kick-ins

The final official AFL pre-season practice games took place on Saturday, with some key info coming from the likes of Max Gawn, Tom Green, Finn Callaghan, Stephen Coniglio, Sam Flanders, Will Phillips and Jackson Macrae.

GWS Giants v Gold Coast Suns

• Josh Kelly reminded us all of his quality with a game-high 36 disposals, while Tom Green attended 25 of 34 CBs, managing 34 touches with 23 of those being handballs. Green also had no marks.
• Stephen Coniglio attended 21 of the 34 CBs, grabbing 24 disposals for 77/85 (AF/SC) points and shrugged off a second-quarter knee knock restricting him to 61% time on ground (TOG).
• Finn Callaghan won over plenty of coaches with 22 disposals, albeit without any CBAs, for 88/111 (AF/SC) points.
• Lachie Whitfield took three of GWS’s five kick-ins, relegating Isaac Cumming to only one, yet he had 25 touches with nine marks for 106/118 (AF/SC) points.
• Sam Flanders locked himself in for plenty of coaches for Round 1 with 30 disposals for 102/103 (AF/SC) points starting at half-forward with some mid-time, in the absence of Touk Miller.
• Charlie Constable took two of Gold Coast’s eight kick-ins, scoring 76/73 (AF/SC) from 19 disposals.
• Ben King kicked the first goal and only played the first half for 42% TOG, for four disposals and three marks.

Western Bulldogs v North Melbourne

• Tom Liberatore dominated with 33 disposals and eight tackles, while the under-priced Jackson Macrae produced a timely reminder of his quality with 33 touches for 121/118 (AF/SC) points. Macrae attended 23 of 39 CBs. Caleb Daniel attended none but took four of their six kick-ins.
• Liam Jones impressed with his intercepts, taking 11 marks for 88/101 (AF/SC) points, while Oskar Baker firmed up a Round 1 spot, rotating through the midfield with 22 touches for 92/111 (AF/SC) points.
• Toby McLean had minimal impact, rotating between the wing and forward line, with 15 touches for 54/45 (AF/SC) points.
• Will Phillips‘ role checked out, attending 24 of 39 CBs, but only managed 17 touches for 56/48 (AF/SC) points.
• Harry Sheezel looked a gun, playing half-forward and also eventually off half-back, for 21 touches and 75/72 (AF/SC) points. Sheezel even took one of North’s 11 kick-ins. Jack Ziebell took four, scoring 58/86 (AF/SC) points.

Melbourne v Richmond

• Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy split the CBAs 16-15, with Gawn dominating with 17 disposals and eight marks, totaling 111/153 (AFL Fantasy/SuperCoach points). Grundy had his game-time managed, playing only 69% time on ground (TOG).
• James Harmes had 20 of the 31 CBAs, with Christian Petracca down to 15, but the latter still managed 32 disposals.
• New recruit Jacob Hopper attended 25 of the 31 CBAs for Richmond, gathering 23 disposals including 15 handballs, totaling 64/93 (AF/SC) points. Fellow addition Tim Taranto had 33 touches and a goal, attending 20 CBs.
• Dion Prestia suffered a pectoral injury.

Read Friday’s practice games recap

Read Thursday’s practice games recap

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