{"id":190654,"date":"2025-05-28T15:01:32","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T05:01:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/?p=190654"},"modified":"2025-05-28T15:01:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T05:01:34","slug":"2025-ctl-round-8-team-of-the-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/2025\/05\/28\/2025-ctl-round-8-team-of-the-week\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 CTL | Round 8 Team of the Week"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>GIPPSLAND Power leads the way with four representatives in our Coates Talent League Team of the Week after their dominant win in Round 8. The ladder leaders kept Oakleigh goalless for three quarters on Saturday, though every side contributed a player in this week&#8217;s squad. See who made the cut!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&gt;&gt; <strong>CTL Round 8:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/2025\/05\/26\/snapshot-2025-coates-talent-league-round-8\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Snapshot<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/2025\/05\/27\/2025-ctl-round-8-player-of-the-week-charlie-mckinnon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Player of the Week<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-defence\">DEFENCE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>B:<\/strong> Jonah Walker (GP) &#8211; Adrian Cole (DS) &#8211; Harry Dean (MB)<br><strong>HB:<\/strong> Gus Papal (CC) &#8211; Josh Shepherd (OC) &#8211; Thomas Burton (WJ)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A tall defence features five players over 191cm, with Western&#8217;s <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"134641\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/thomas-burton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Thomas Burton<\/a> the only genuine rebounder among a raft of key backs and interceptors. The prolific Jet racked up 30 touches in his side&#8217;s loss to Greater Western Victoria (GWV), showcasing plenty of running power through the middle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Carlton father-son prospect <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"154273\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/harry-dean\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Harry Dean<\/a> (22 disposals, 10 marks) and Gippsland utility <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"167939\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/jonah-walker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jonah Walker<\/a> (20 and 12) were steadfast in their respective victories, while over-agers <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"153794\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/josh-shepherd\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Josh Shepherd<\/a> (25 disposals, nine marks) and <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"154329\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/gus-papal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gus Papal<\/a> (29 and 11) stood tall despite Oakleigh and Calder suffering defeats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-midfield\">MIDFIELD<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>FOL:<\/strong> Zac Harding (MB) &#8211; Willem Duursma (GP) &#8211; Thomas McGuane (WJ)<br><strong>C:<\/strong> JayDe Varlet (DS) &#8211; Cody Walker (BP) &#8211; Angus Ford (GF)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A star-studded on-ball group is headlined by pick one contender <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"134549\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/willem-duursma\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Willem Duursma<\/a>, who was among Gippsland&#8217;s highest quality performers with 25 touches and a goal. He&#8217;s joined by a pair of father-son candidates in <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"134554\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/thomas-mcguane\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Thomas McGuane<\/a> (29 disposals) and <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"164983\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/cody-walker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cody Walker<\/a> (27), who were prolific in defeats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Murray Bushrangers over-ager <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"131317\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/zac-harding\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Zac Harding<\/a> imposed himself with a whopping 55 hitouts to occupy the starting ruck role. On the outside, Dandenong powerhouse <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"153867\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/jay-de-varlet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">JayDe Varlet<\/a> provided constant drive in attacking phases, and Geelong&#8217;s <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"167937\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/angus-ford\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Angus Ford<\/a> was arguably best afield as the Falcons beat Calder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-forward\">FORWARD<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>HF:<\/strong> Tyson Gresham (NK) &#8211; Sam Buck (SD) &#8211; Luke Cheffers (GP)<br><strong>F:<\/strong> Taj Robinson (CC) &#8211; Charlie McKinnon (GWV) &#8211; Thomas Hose (DS)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Player of the Week <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"134628\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/charlie-mckinnon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Charlie McKinnon<\/a> spearheads this week&#8217;s attack as a 190cm full forward after booting eight goals to move atop the competition&#8217;s charts. Dynamic talls <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"153899\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/thomas-hose\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Thomas Hose<\/a> (Dandenong) and <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"183946\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/taj-robinson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Taj Robinson<\/a> (Calder) were among several players to boot four majors, joining McKinnon close to goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Northern Knights co-captain <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"134639\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/tyson-gresham\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tyson Gresham<\/a> was among them with four goals from 27 disposals in an upset win over Sandringham. Dragons ruck-forward <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"138755\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/sam-buck\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sam Buck<\/a> bolsters the over-age stocks at centre-half forward, while Gippsland&#8217;s <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"184104\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/luke-cheffers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Luke Cheffers<\/a> earned his spot on the back of 28 touches and two goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-interchange\">INTERCHANGE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>INT:<\/strong> Brodie Atkins (GP), Nicholas Driscoll (NK), Thomas Handley (GF), Seb Murphy (NK), Flynn Penry (GWV), Lucas Wootton (TD)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gresham&#8217;s co-captain <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"153793\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/sebastian-murphy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Seb Murphy<\/a> earned consecutive Team of the Week berths after his second-straight 30-plus disposal performance, slotting onto the interchange alongside Northern teammate <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"154560\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/nicholas-driscoll\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nicholas Driscoll<\/a>. The latter booted three goals from 21 disposals in an energetic outing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gippsland&#8217;s <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"143485\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/brodie-atkins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Brodie Atkins<\/a> was hard to overlook after racking up a monster 35 touches in the Power&#8217;s one-sided win, and same goes for Geelong forward <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"190354\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/thomas-handley\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Thomas Handley<\/a> (four goals). Elsewhere, Tasmanian <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"154778\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/lucas-wootton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lucas Wootton<\/a> contributed going both ways with 20 disposals and 11 tackles, while Rebels ruck <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"114309\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/flynn-penry\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Flynn Penry<\/a> notched up 27 hitouts and six clearances to slot in as reserve for Harding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-dc-block-dc-mention _dc_mention\"><div class=\"section-heading_wrap\"><span class=\"section-heading is-small\">Mentions<\/span><span class=\"hor-border\"><\/span><\/div><ul class=\"js-overflow-list overflow-list\"><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/thomas-burton\/\">Thomas Burton<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/harry-dean\/\">Harry Dean<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/jonah-walker\/\">Jonah Walker<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/josh-shepherd\/\">Josh Shepherd<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/gus-papal\/\">Gus Papal<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/willem-duursma\/\">Willem Duursma<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/thomas-mcguane\/\">Thomas McGuane<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/cody-walker\/\">Cody Walker<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/zac-harding\/\">Zac Harding<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/jayde-varlet\/\">JayDe Varlet<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/angus-ford\/\">Angus Ford<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/charlie-mckinnon\/\">Charlie McKinnon<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/thomas-hose\/\">Thomas Hose<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/taj-robinson\/\">Taj Robinson<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/tyson-gresham\/\">Tyson Gresham<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/sam-buck\/\">Sam Buck<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/luke-cheffers\/\">Luke Cheffers<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/sebastian-murphy\/\">Sebastian Murphy<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/nicholas-driscoll\/\">Nicholas Driscoll<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/brodie-atkins\/\">Brodie Atkins<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/thomas-handley\/\">Thomas Handley<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/lucas-wootton\/\">Lucas Wootton<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/flynn-penry\/\">Flynn Penry<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"js-dropdown dropdown overflowed\"><button class=\"btn btn-icon-only\"><span class=\"icon btn-icon\">\n                    <!-- icon - plus circle - 20px-->\n                    <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 20 20\">\n                        <path d=\"M15,9.28h-4.3V5h0A.72.72,0,1,0,9.28,5h0V9.28H5a.72.72,0,0,0,0,1.43H9.28V15a.72.72,0,0,0,1.43,0h0V10.71H15a.72.72,0,0,0,0-1.43Z\"\/>\n                        <path d=\"M10,0A10,10,0,1,0,20,10,10,10,0,0,0,10,0Zm0,18.57A8.57,8.57,0,0,1,10,1.43h0a8.57,8.57,0,0,1,0,17.14Z\"\/>\n                    <\/svg>\n                <\/span><\/button><div class=\"popover\"><div class=\"popover-content\"><ul class=\"popover-menu\"><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GIPPSLAND Power leads the way with four representatives in our Coates Talent League Team of the Week after their dominant win in Round 8. The ladder leaders kept Oakleigh goalless for three quarters on Saturday, though every side contributed a player in this week&#8217;s squad. See who made the cut! &gt;&gt; CTL Round 8: Snapshot [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":190661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18050,11586,11587,11588,11589,11590,11591,11592,11593,8,11594,11595,11596,20172,11597,18529,3134,11598],"tags":[22491,21460,20922,21045,20047,22264,22096,22280,22305,22637,20959,22490,22624,21079,21661,22610,19735,22723,21759,20806,19670,18458,21245],"class_list":["post-190654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-afl-draft","category-bendigo-pioneers","category-calder-cannons","category-dandenong-stingrays","category-eastern-ranges","category-geelong-falcons","category-gippsland-power","category-gwv-rebels","category-murray-bushrangers","category-news","category-northern-knights","category-oakleigh-chargers","category-sandringham-dragons","category-talent-league","category-tasmania-devils","category-team-of-the-week","category-victoria","category-western-jets","tag-angus-ford","tag-brodie-atkins","tag-charlie-mckinnon","tag-cody-walker","tag-flynn-penry","tag-gus-papal","tag-harry-dean","tag-jay-de-varlet","tag-jonah-walker","tag-josh-shepherd","tag-lucas-wootton","tag-luke-cheffers","tag-nicholas-driscoll","tag-sam-buck","tag-sebastian-murphy","tag-taj-robinson","tag-thomas-burton","tag-thomas-handley","tag-thomas-hose","tag-thomas-mcguane","tag-tyson-gresham","tag-willem-duursma","tag-zac-harding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190654"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":190682,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190654\/revisions\/190682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/190661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}