Latest news with #VigoVisentini
Daily Telegraph
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Telegraph
AFL 2025: Justin Longmuir OK with Shai Bolton's scoreboard taunt
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News. Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir says star Shai Bolton plays on the 'edge' but has no issue with his on-field attitude after he taunted Essendon players by pointing to the scoreboard after a goal during Thursday night's romp. Tensions boiled over in the second quarter when Bolton pointed to the scoreboard during a scuffle, letting the severely undermanned Bombers outfit, littered with first-year players including debutant ruckman Vigo Visentini, know exactly who was in control. The margin was 23 points. The former Richmond star then slotted a goal of his own a minute later and had words with Bomber Jaxon Prior, who had given away the free kick that allowed him the shot on goal. Shai Bolton got under the Bombers' skin. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images That only further stoked the fire as tempers flared again but Longmuir, who said he didn't see the scoreboard gesture, had no issue with Bolton's approach. 'I didn't see that, but I like the edge he plays with,' he said. 'I think largely Shai valued the right things tonight. I thought his pressure and contests were really strong from the get-go. 'He plays with flair and isn't afraid and likes to get in the opposition's face. 'So I didn't see the pointing at the scoreboard, but I don't mind the way he played.' Bolton finished with two goals from 15 disposals. The Dockers' fifth consecutive win takes their season record to 9-5, with a game against St Kilda next week, again in Perth. Bolton likes to get in the opposition's face. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images Longmuir praised his team's commitment to the contest, calling out Nathan O'Driscoll's bravery as a standout moment. The young midfielder crashed into Bomber Will Setterfield in the third quarter, setting up a goal from the next play. 'I mentioned it after the game,' he said. 'I asked the players for a really strong trademark game. I thought we were just a little bit off with that last week. 'Not necessarily the physicality aspect of it, more probably the communication and the connection between our roles and having each other's backs. 'I probably thought that was a little bit off last week. I thought that was tremendous today. 'And I mentioned squaring the ball up inside forward 50 and none of our forwards looked to kick goals with U-turns, they all fed it back to players in better positions. 'Then we had guys going back and putting their body on the line for the team. That moment was fantastic, along with a lot of different trademark moments throughout the night. 'It's one of many.' Originally published as Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir didn't see Shai Bolton's scoreboard taunt against Essendon but was OK with it anyway
News.com.au
13 hours ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Essendon could get up to six first-choice players back following bye to stem run of four losses
Essendon could get as many as six players back immediately after the bye but 'balance' will drive coach Brad Scott's decision despite the battling Bombers coping a 41-point hiding from Fremantle on Thursday night. Scott unleashed another debutant, his team's 11th amid an injury crisis, with teenage ruckman Vigo Visentini added to an outfit that has now lost four games in a row, including a 95-point mauling by Geelong. But as Scott declared young Archie Perkins was 'doubting himself' after a few questionable moments coming on as the sub for the second week in a row despite being one of the more senior players available to him, the coach stopped short of declaring he throw everyone available back in for the round 17 clash with Gold Coast. 'We might get some players back after the break,' Scott said. 'We'll definitely get (Sam) Durham back, for example, from suspension, and there's probably five or six others that will be close. 'But now we've got to balance, is it a risk to bring five or six back all at once? We'll have to assess where they're at. 'Those players will have a really strong training session this weekend. 'They won't have the same bye week that all the other players will have, so we've got two weeks really now to get them ready and then make an assessment as to whether we bring some back.' Perkins, who now has 93 games under his belt, having been taken at pick 9 in the 2020 draft, had a couple of moments that he would rather have back against the Dockers, including missing an uncontested mark in attack because he took his eyes off the ball. He managed just 10 possessions in the loss to the Dockers, following seven against Geelong and 11 against Carlton. Scott said he thought it would come for the 23-year-old. 'I think that it's always about reminding players what they're really good at. And Perkins is a strong, powerful footballer who, at his best, is breaking through tackles and competing really strong,' he said. 'Right at the moment, he's doubting himself a little bit. And so my job is to remind him of what he's really good at. 'Coach those things in terms of the technical aspect but then getting to the point where he's in the frame of mind to get out and compete because he is a competitor. 'But he's just making mistakes through hesitation at the moment. 'It'll come for him. We've just got to persist.' The Bombers had seven first-year players on the ground on Thursday night. One that impressed Scott was Visentini. 'We think there are some players that have come into our team that won't go out regardless of who comes back,' he said. 'So that, by definition, should make us stronger. 'From what I saw tonight, it won't be his (Visentini's) last game of AFL footy, that's for sure. 'I thought he rucked really well. I thought he competed really well. 'He's a 19-year-old playing his first game against a premiership player who was picked two or three in the draft. So, you know, there's some big challenges in footy but probably not too many bigger than that. 'I like his competitiveness. He's a great size, he's a terrific athlete, and he's got a huge opportunity to learn under one of the all-time great ruckman in Todd Goldstein. 'Knowing Goldie, like I do, Goldie's dual objective will be to get himself ready to perform when he needs to play, but he'll take a really-strong interest in getting Vigo up to speed as quickly as possible.'
News.com.au
14 hours ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir didn't see Shai Bolton's scoreboard taunt against Essendon but was OK with it anyway
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir says star Shai Bolton plays on the 'edge' but has no issue with his on-field attitude after he taunted Essendon players by pointing to the scoreboard after a goal during Thursday night's romp. Tensions boiled over in the second quarter when Bolton pointed to the scoreboard during a scuffle, letting the severely undermanned Bombers outfit, littered with first-year players including debutant ruckman Vigo Visentini, know exactly who was in control. The margin was 23 points. The former Richmond star then slotted a goal of his own a minute later and had words with Bomber Jaxon Prior, who had given away the free kick that allowed him the shot on goal. That only further stoked the fire as tempers flared again but Longmuir, who said he didn't see the scoreboard gesture, had no issue with Bolton's approach. 'I didn't see that, but I like the edge he plays with,' he said. 'I think largely Shai valued the right things tonight. I thought his pressure and contests were really strong from the get-go. 'He plays with flair and isn't afraid and likes to get in the opposition's face. 'So I didn't see the pointing at the scoreboard, but I don't mind the way he played.' Bolton finished with two goals from 15 disposals. The Dockers' fifth consecutive win takes their season record to 9-5, with a game against St Kilda next week, again in Perth. Longmuir praised his team's commitment to the contest, calling out Nathan O'Driscoll's bravery as a standout moment. The young midfielder crashed into Bomber Will Setterfield in the third quarter, setting up a goal from the next play. 'I mentioned it after the game,' he said. 'I asked the players for a really strong trademark game. I thought we were just a little bit off with that last week. 'Not necessarily the physicality aspect of it, more probably the communication and the connection between our roles and having each other's backs. 'I probably thought that was a little bit off last week. I thought that was tremendous today. 'And I mentioned squaring the ball up inside forward 50 and none of our forwards looked to kick goals with U-turns, they all fed it back to players in better positions. 'Then we had guys going back and putting their body on the line for the team. That moment was fantastic, along with a lot of different trademark moments throughout the night. 'It's one of many.'
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Big Vigo to be 11th debutant for Dons
AFL: Young ruckman Vigo Visentini will be the 11th debutant for the Bombers, following their drubbing at the hands of the Cats.
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Teenage ruckman Vigo Visentini to be Essendon's 11th debutant for 2025
The deluge of debutants at injury-hit Essendon is set to continue with ruckman Vigo Visentini called up for Thursday night's clash with Fremantle in Perth. A five-day break between games forced coach Brad Scott to find help for veteran Todd Goldstein, who has been filling the breach after season-ending injuries to Sam Draper and Nick Bryan. In last Saturday's smashing by Geelong, Lachie Blakiston and Archer May became the 9th and 10th Essendon players to make their AFL debuts this season, and now 203cm, 19-year-old Vistentini will get his chance. Visentini will be the 11th first-gamer for the Bombers in 2025, joining Isaac Kako, Tom Edwards, Saad El-Hawli, Archer Day-Wicks, Lewis Hayes, Angus Clarke, Zak Johnson, Luamon Lual, Blakiston and May. The teenage big man is the younger brother of Port Adelaide ruckman Dante Visentini. The moment 🥰 VIIIIGGGOOOOO. — Essendon FC (@essendonfc) June 16, 2025 Essendon has 13 players on its injury list and is also without midfield bull Sam Durham for one more week after copping a suspension. The Bombers are still in 12th spot despite Saturday night's 95-point shellacking from the Cats, after which Scott spoke about the challenge of trying to compete with such a young, inexperienced group. 'We're trying to educate the chess pieces where to go, and that's what we've got to get excited about as a coaching group,' he said. 'We stepped back tonight, without doubt, but the previous two weeks has shown that there's enough fight and there's enough capability within this group, and we'll never concede. 'We'll keep coaching, keep working with them. I've seen enough intestinal fortitude to suggest that there's reasons to be optimistic about the future, albeit it doesn't feel like that right now. 'The positive of that is we've exposed players to AFL footy that wouldn't have played otherwise, and there are some of those young boys that I don't think would go out of our team for a long time.'
