Geraldton Demon Judd ‘Silky’ McVee receives high praise after his performance against Adelaide

Former Rover Judd McVee has received high praise from the AFL world following his performance in Melbourne’s win against Adelaide on Thursday. With all eyes watching on the opening clash of gather round, the Mid West product put on a show, leading the match to start the game with 11 disposals in the first quarter. The young back man finished the game with 20 disposals, four marks, 10 intercepts and four score involvements, cementing himself as one of the premier defenders in the league. The Geraldton-born-and-raised player said he was glad to get the win over the home side in gather round. “It’s obviously a huge win, we came here on a mission and to get two in a row is obviously great so we’re stoked,” McVee told Demons media. “We tried to thrive off that and go from there, we didn’t have much crowd but shout out to the Demons fans for coming out, we appreciate it.” Following his big performance, McVee praised his teammates. “We talk about the role a lot, I feel like a lot of young guys stepped up, especially Blake Howes, he came in and fit in well, obviously doing his job, so it’s great having him there,” he said. “It’s great, I think we’re a very close group, to have May again tonight is something special to come back that quick. “We’ve seen how good he was out there, and obviously how good (Tom McDonald) and Jake Lever were, so our bigs were great tonight.” Fellow Melbourne defender Steven May had high praise for the 20-year-old. “We actually call him “Silky”, after (Shaun Burgoyne). He came in as a rookie (and) he looks like he’s played 300 games,” May told Seven. “He’s so good to play with, you forget how young he is. He’s super composed, and a competitor.” Other Mid West talent across the league faced off against each other, starting with the Eagles putting up their best performance of the year against Sydney. Northampton’s Jamie Cripps and Coorow/Latham’s Logan McDonald both slotted two goals in the Sydney win. Following that game was the controversial match between Fremantle and Carlton that saw the Blues remain undefeated with a last-minute win. Patrick Cripps had 20 disposals, four marks, two hit-outs, six tackles and kicked 1.1, with the skipper doing a rocking-the-baby celebration after kicking his goal following the birth of his daughter Koda Sophie Cripps earlier in the week. Geraldton’s Jack Carroll continued to prove his worth in the win, as he tallied 20 disposals, three marks, two tackles and kicked one behind. For the third game in a row, Dongara’s Jaeger O’Meara was the sub and he was brought into the game late in the third for Matthew Johnson. In his limited game time, O’Meara recorded six disposal and four marks.