Young Hawk dominates, Demon duo shine in VFL Round 2 wrap-up

Round 2 of VFL action has come and gone with plenty of young AFL talent on display across a series of Saturday fixtures.

Leading all headlines is Hawthorn youngster Henry Hustwaite, putting his name up for selection after collecting a whopping 38 disposals with six tackles in Box Hill’s come-from-behind win over North Melbourne.

For North, 27th overall pick Matt Whitlock put his talent on show, collecting an impressive 25 disposals, while the former No.1 mid-season draftee Geordie Payne slotted two majors to go with seven tackles.

Around the grounds, the Casey Demons followed up last week’s draw with their first win of the season, holding on to take down the Gold Coast Suns Reserves 90-88.

Daniel Turner dominated in his return to the level, taking 14 marks and booting five goals, while midfielder Bailey Laurie pushes for his return to the senior side with 30 disposals, nine tackles and a goal.

Suns backup ruckman Ned Moyle was once again a force, managing 17 disposals to go with a commanding 41 hit-outs.

Richmond’s Kane McAuliffe had himself a game (25 disposals, eight tackles) as the Tigers clawed back from 23 points down at 3QT to win over Sandringham, with VFL listed Joel Garner sealing the victory with this kick after the siren.

Despite the Bombers’ 23-point loss to Werribee, 18-year-old Zak Johnson continues to cement his case as the biggest steal of the national draft.

The young midfielder, taken by Essendon with the 70th overall pick, collected 25 disposals in the contest against the reigning premiers, 17 of which came off the boot.

This backs up his strong performance in Round 1, sourcing the footy 19 times in the Bombers’ 11-point win over Williamstown.

Across the league, other senior listed standouts included GWS’ Harry Rowston (26 disposals, four tackles) and Max Gruzewski (four goals), St Kilda’s Hugh Boxshall (18 disposals, 12 tackles), Geelong’s George Stevens (34 disposals) and Shaun Mannagh (22 disposals, three goals).

Round 3 kicks off on Friday afternoon with Geelong VFL taking on the Casey Demons in a bid to remain undefeated in 2025.