Mitch Owens impressed in his return to the action. (Photo: Mark Woods)

St Kilda Development Coach and Sandringham Senior Coach Jake Batchelor runs through each AFL-listed player's performance from Sandringham's 51-point loss to Port Melbourne on Sunday.

On the game:

We came up against a team whose results weren't reflective of the way they've been playing. They're well coached and have really good players. I think it was a good game in terms of system versus system, but they were just cleaner in the critical contests and built momentum off that. We were ill-disciplined and selfish in some aspects, especially in the last quarter, and just threw the game away, which was really disappointing given our work in the first two-and-a-half quarters.

Zak Jones

22 disposals, six tackles, six clearances

'Jonesy' got a really hard tag. At times he dealt with it really well, and at other times it got the best of him emotionally. He probably didn't get enough help from his teammates, which was disappointing, but he was really good around the ball with his drive, fight in the tackle, and manic pressure. He had a good balance of contested and uncontested (possessions), but had a few ill-disciplined acts in the last quarter which hurt us.

Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera

15 disposals, six marks

It was first game back at VFL. He played on the wing, and Trevor Barker Beach Oval isn't the best ground for a winger historically, but he had good moments of class and flash, particularly in the last quarter where it opened up a little bit. His focus is his contest work, particularly in the air, and he had a couple of opportunities and impacted well but some inconsistency at other times when there were some free hits in aerial contests.

Dan Hannebery

25 disposals, eight clearances

It was his second game back and he moved up to 80 minutes from 65 last week. He brings leadership, direction and guidance in spades to the younger players. His contest work is really pleasing, and when the game was up in the air in the last quarter and Port Melbourne rose, 'Hanners' was the main one who rose with that and thrived off physical contact. It was pleasing to see him get through and he's progressing physically.

Dan Hannebery was impressive again in his second game back. (Photo: Mark Woods, Sandringham Zebras)

Jack Bytel

20 disposals, seven tackles, three clearances

Like Hannebery, it was his second game back. He was really clean around the contest and had a good balance of quick kicking under pressure and driving his legs and taking the tackle on, which is a big focus for him. He actually got a fair bit of outside ball, had five tackles and led well. He hasn't played a lot of footy this year, but it's almost like he hasn't missed a beat. 

Jack Bytel applies one of his seven tackles. (Photo: Mark Woods, Sandringham Zebras)

Mitch Owens

Two goals, 24 disposals, seven clearances, five tackles

It was his first game back in five or six weeks with those interruptions he's had. He played 50 per cent forward and 50 per cent midfield, playing as a key forward and an inside bull, and adapted well to both roles. His stats playing as an inside midfielder for just half a game were really pleasing. He's going to be a really good player in the future, purely based off his desire to just compete. I love watching him play.

Dean Kent

Two goals, 11 disposals, four tackles

Dean came back from a couple of weeks off with a back injury and COVID. He started at quarter-time, so for him to have the impact he did across three quarters as a small forward was really pleasing. Coming back from injury, it was an OK game from him.

Oscar Adams

Five disposals, two marks

Oscar had a really quiet day. He got caught between aerial contests and ground balls a little bit too much, and didn't impact in the air how he would have liked. He was rushed with ball in hand, so we're looking for more impact from him going forward.

Matt Allison

Three disposals, two marks

Matt was in the same boat as Oscar in not having enough impact. The ball movement wasn't great for him, but as a key forward, you can't always rely on what the team's doing and need to fight, scrap and bring the ball to ground. 

Tom Highmore

29 disposals, 10 marks, four tackles

Tom had a sound game. He had good defensive efforts where he helped us keep the ball in our front half, but it's just about keeping that consistent. He can work on his decision-making with ball in hand, so we've spoken to him about looking at the play and seeing what's unfolding before he calls for the footy. Overall, he was solid and led well from the backline.

Tom Highmore was Sandringham's highest ball-winner with 29 touches. (Photo: Mark Woods, Sandringham Zebras)

Darragh Joyce

21 disposals, six marks

Darragh got the job done more often than not, but a couple of times he got caught between contests and beaten by his direct opponent. Outside of that, his contest work was pleasing and he made really good decisions with the ball in hand and was composed for us. 

Jack Peris

13 disposals, four marks, three tackles

Jack had a mixture of time on the wing and as an inside midfielder. His chasing and pressure are real traits of his game and he had another great chase-down tackle. He's continuing to learn, but like Mitchito (Owens), he's got the ability to make it as a footballer because his attitude, intent and effort are unquestionable. He'll tidy up some things around our game-plan and build confidence to make decisions a bit quicker.\

On the bye this week:

It's disappointing because there's nothing worse than finishing with a poor game and then having to wait 14 days to rectify it. Hopefully there's a sour taste in the boys' mouths because we're disappointed in how we finished the game as a team. We'll get to work this week and get ready to finish the season strongly.