With the mid-season break upon us sydneyswans.com.au sat down with NEAFL co-coach Marty Mattner to take a look at how each of the club's NEAFL players have performed throughout the first half of the season.

Aliir Aliir
Aliir started the season really well and then got injured in the first game unfortunately. He missed a few matches but he has been back for the past few weeks now. For Aliir, it’s about getting his match fitness back and getting back to the form he showed in round one.

Abaina Davis
The last month has been really good from Abe. His ability to play everywhere all over the ground has been impressive. The last few weeks he’s been playing midfield and wing but he started the season forward and then when a couple of our defenders went down, he went back, so his ability to play anywhere on the ground is a great attribute. 

Tom Derickx 
Tommy has played every game so far this season. He’s played predominantly in the ruck but has gone forward and kicked a few goals. Tommy’s just got to keep playing well and hopefully he gets an opportunity to get a senior call up. At the moment he can’t do anything more, he’s been playing really well. 

Jordan Foote 
Jordan had a slow start – he didn’t really have a pre-season due to injury – so his first couple of weeks he was just concentrating on getting his match fitness up and playing footy. He’s similar to Abe, he started as a defender as a back pocket, then moved up to half-back, and now in the last couple of weeks he’s moved into the midfield. He did a really good job on Nick Malceski a couple of weeks ago keeping him to ten possessions in a half and then we let him just be a midfielder in the second half and he ended up collecting 22 possessions for the game. Similar to Abe, to be able to play a variety of positions is really valuable to the team and he’s really improved over the year. 

George Hewett 
Last year was a development year and a learning year and this year he’s really put all of what he learned last year into practice. He’s been one of our most consistent players this year. George has just got to keep playing well. This year he’s been in really good, consistent form so he’s just got to keep that going in the second half of the season and hopefully he gets an opportunity in the second half of the year to play senior football.

Jack Hiscox 
Jack came to the club really fit and willing to learn after being drafted from the Academy system. He won the three kilometre time trial in the pre-season so we knew that fitness was never an issue there. We’ve seen in games this year that he’s able to run out games really well. His endurance and speed is really showing in games and he’s shown an ability to kick goals while playing on the wing and forward.

Jack Hiscox breaks away into open space with the ball in hand.

Brandon Jack 
It’s Brandon’s third year now and he has had a taste of playing senior footy last year and he’s one we know can play senior footy. His footy has been really good this year, he’s adding new roles to his game, playing a bit more in the midfield and still playing forward and kicking goals. He’s just got to make sure he keeps playing good football and hopefully he gets an opportunity in the second half of the season. 

Zak Jones 
It’s his second year at the club, this year he started the season really well but then got an injury. He’s played a few in a row since his injury and is really improving playing as a small defender but also in the midfield as well. He’s another one of those guys who can play multiple positions which can help his chances of getting picked in the senior team. 

Harry Marsh 
Marshy has really impressed this year. He’s done some really good shut down roles in the backline on some key opposition forwards. It has been pleasing for Marshy to be able to play shut down roles, while still giving us that run out of half back which has been really impressive. He’s just got to keep working hard, keep improving and like a couple of the other guys, it’s just waiting for an opportunity in the senior team. 

Sean McLaren
He came to the club as a key position player and started the season as a forward in the team and has really impressed kicking two bags of four goals in the first couple of weeks. In the last couple of weeks he’s been playing in a variety of positions depending on injuries and players we’ve had. His ability to be able to play forward and back gives us a tall option at either end of the ground which has been really good. His competitive side of his game has also been really impressive. 

Lewis Melican
He had a really good first couple of weeks and then got injured and hasn’t played since. It’s been disappointing because he started the season really well and it would have been good to see him develop and get some games in a row and actually get some good, consistent footy together. Hopefully we get him back really soon. 

Sam Naismith 
Sammy had a really interrupted pre-season with glandular fever and didn’t start training really until after Christmas. He started the season really well however in the NEAFL and has been kicking a fair few goals playing forward but also in the ruck with Tommy Derickx. He’s learned a lot in the last few years he’s been at the club and he’s just got to keep developing and working with the other ruckmen and learning his craft and adding new facets to his game. His ability to be able to go forward and kick goals has been really impressive and he’s done that a few times, kicking a few bags this year. 

Sam Naismith takes a strong mark against Ainslie in Round 1.

Toby Nankervis 
Toby got recruited as a ruckman but with Tommy Derickx and Sam Naismith playing a lot in the ruck, he’s been limited with his time in the ruck, but he’s really impressed up forward when he’s not in the ruck. He’s got a great ability to take contested marks both on the lead and in the air and gives us a contest up forward. He gives us 100 percent effort, 100 percent of the time. He’s been really impressive with his consistency throughout the season too and his ability to bring the small guys into the game by creating contests and bringing the ball to ground if he cannot mark it has been great. His ability to be a back-up ruckman has been really good as well.

Nic Newman 
Nic hurt his knee the day he was drafted. Similar to Sam Naismith, he had a limited pre-season and didn’t really start running until mid-January after Christmas. He has played about six games in a row now though so for Nic it’s all about building up his match fitness. He has been really impressive with his ball use across half back and his overlap run has been really good. He’s still got a lot to learn but he’s been really impressive and hopefully he can build up his match fitness and really improve in the second half of the year.

Lloyd Perris 
It’s been pretty tough for Lloydy coming back from a knee reconstruction and then having a couple of hiccups along the way. He’s a really fit guy and is really striving to come back and play footy and hopefully we’ll get him back in the next couple of weeks. He’s been able to still be involved in the team and  he’s been the runner a few times as well to keep him involved in the group. 

Xavier Richards 
He got the opportunity to play one senior game a couple of years ago. His ability to be that key defender in the NEAFL team has been really important this year. He’s played on some really good players like Charlie Dixon when we played the Suns and he was really impressive then. There are a lot of things to like about Xavier like his speed, his closing ability and the defensive side of his game. He’s another one who has tasted senior footy and wants another taste of it and hopefully he gets an opportunity in the future. 

Dan Robinson 
He’s been one of our most consistent in the first half of the season and was rewarded with a senior opportunity and really impressed in his debut game. It’s his third year at the club and he has been working on his game the last couple of years. Dan looked really composed and used the ball really well and didn’t look out of place at senior level which is a good thing and hopefully he gets more opportunities to play more games in the second half of the year. 

James Rose 
He has really impressed the last few weeks, kicking some goals and he’s a really good mark for his size – he takes good contested marks as well as on the lead. He’s been working really hard on his game as a half forward, getting up the ground and giving us run through the midfield but also getting down deep and kicking goals as well. He’s still got a lot to learn in that half forward role but he’s been really impressive and uses the ball really well. 

Dean Towers 
Deano has had a few opportunities to play senior footy, but when he does come back, he’s really impressive and plays really well and helps our younger guys with his leadership and getting structures set up. Dean would love to be playing seniors and he has to keep playing consistent good football, while keeping improving and bring his leadership to the NEAFL team each week as well.