The player which suprised me the most was Garland, I have been such a critic of him, but he hardly made an error, whether tagging Ablett and he moved the ball quickly when he had it, none of this stop and prop stuff and he kicked a goal!!

Colin Garland , had a poor 2014 albeit with no preseason and looked average in NAB CUp

he was superb yesterday

Edited April 5, 201510 yr by hogans_heroes

Mark Jamar.

Not getting enough kudos for his ruckwork. Turned back the clock to 2010 and i thought he was seriously huge in our stoppage work and clearence. GC tried to overwork jamar with Smith and Gorringe but he stood up to the task and beat them both hands down.

A lion hearted effort.

Howe due to limited preparation

Def Garland. I had completely written him off.

Mark Jamar.

Not getting enough kudos for his ruckwork. Turned back the clock to 2010 and i thought he was seriously huge in our stoppage work and clearence. GC tried to overwork jamar with Smith and Gorringe but he stood up to the task and beat them both hands down.

A lion hearted effort.

Yep, he had a really strong pre-season. Should be good this year.

Edited April 5, 201510 yr by Moneider96

Frost - I didn't expect he would have such ferocity and courage and thought he would stink it up as the second string ruck. Definitely proved me wrong.

Leigh Matthews was impressed by Hogan and Brayshaw - bit different to his initial observations on Jack Watts

Yeah Howe and Garland for me.

Garland wound back the clock outta nowhere.
I didn't even expect to see Howe any time soon and if I did I expected a couple of his nothing games.
Howe and Garland were having a laugh down back, easy as [censored].

Edited April 5, 201510 yr by Deestroy All

Garland's 2013 was amazing. Too bad football watchers only remember what happened last year (if that).

Howe, didn't think he would play that well in limited prep.

Brayshaw a bit as I thought his tackling was immense for a first gamer.

Garland and Howe played very well. Howe with limited prep, but the one that stood out for me ......

T.Mac. took his game to another level. I can't recall him ever been named BOG. It's not hard to forget he is still only 22yrs old.

He lead the defence, along with the 2 mentioned. Too bad he missed that goal, that would have otherwise topped off perhaps his best game thus far.

Jamar and Garland. Both have been ordinary recently, both had great games, impacted the scoreboard and didn't make mistakes. Dead heat.

T Mac amazing thing confidence...

Watts. He must be under so much pressure everytime he takes to the field and finally it looks like it may be starting to click for him. He went in much harder than I have seen in the past, his kicking was assured, he forced himself to get involved in contests and he came out on top with a bag of 3 goals. Really happy for the kid.

Edited April 5, 201510 yr by hardtack

Watts was awesome, but I was expecting a breakout from him. The Russian on the other hand absolutely exceeded my expectations

Agree with many other posters. But, also maybe Kent for me. He kinda teased us previously, and we hoped he would become an elite flanker. But, yesterday, he really seemed to impose himself on occasions, and gave us an inkling of what we have been hoping for. Just hoping he can continue to step up. Could be a very important part of our future.

Agree with many other posters. But, also maybe Kent for me. He kinda teased us previously, and we hoped he would become an elite flanker. But, yesterday, he really seemed to impose himself on occasions, and gave us an inkling of what we have been hoping for. Just hoping he can continue to step up. Could be a very important part of our future.

A very selfless game from Dean yesterday, playing as a defensive forward on Malceski.

I loved players being team-orientated and playing roles that helped the side.

Mark Jamar.

Not getting enough kudos for his ruckwork. Turned back the clock to 2010 and i thought he was seriously huge in our stoppage work and clearence. GC tried to overwork jamar with Smith and Gorringe but he stood up to the task and beat them both hands down.

A lion hearted effort.

You bet!

And he put in all around the ground. A most satisfying effort.

I'd also mention Jack Watts, maybe his best game for us!

Watts. Looked confident and in control. The tap back to Garlett was inspired, as was the mark on the line that he went back and turned into a goal. He's always been a kind of "I see what's going on here" type player, but he hasn't always been the "I"ll do what's needed here" player to go with that.

Agree with the others listed above as well, great to see Garland back up to speed. Also impressed with Viney, he was a bit so-so in the NAB cup series.

Yeah Viney really surprised me too, his game was a step above what I've seen from him in his first two seasons. He really added another dimension to his game.

The entire team, but I'ii single out Ben Newton for an excellent debut. He reminds me of Dom Tyson, which is praise in itself.

Howe definitely. I had the golden ticket ready.

No surprises regarding Garland at all here. It was fun arguing with so many about this over the pre-season, though

Howe definitely. I had the golden ticket ready.

No surprises regarding Garland at all here. It was fun arguing with so many about this over the pre-season, though

But if he plays a stinker next week you'll be wrong!

The thing that really surprised me was the attacking game plan and dare. We didn't see that in the preseason games.

Garland did surprise me. I hadn't written him off but he was less than convincing in the NAB. He showed he can return to his 2013 form which would be a huge boost to the back six.