Footy Tragic

Dear Footy Tragics,

While not exactly a “kid”, another Gold Coast player worth serious consideration in 2011 is Karmichael Hunt.

Hunt was born in New Zealand on 17 November 1986, so he will be 24 years of age by Round 1 of 2011. Hunt stands at 186cms and has slimmed down to 86kgs after his six month stint playing Rugby Union in France for Biarritz Olympique.

Hunt commenced his decorated NRL career in 2004 as a 17 year old, playing for the Brisbane Broncos. Hunt was one of the stars of the NRL, representing the Queensland state of origin team and the Australian test team (which he chose over New Zealand) on numerous occasions.

Turning our attention to Aussie Rules, Karmichael Hunt has played 8 games of VFL football for the Gold Coast this year, kicking 3 goals and being named in the best twice. Hunt is best suited to playing on a half back flank or in the back pocket, which allows him to run in a straight line and best utilise his very strong tackling ability.

I don’t expect Hunt to regularly rack up 20 plus possessions for the Gold Coast Suns in 2011, but I do expect him to average 5 – 6 tackles per game. This equates to approximately 20 DT points in tackles alone, meaning Hunt needs to only pick up 10 possessions and a few marks to generate a DT score of approximately 60 points per game.

Given the fact Hunt will most likely be available to select as a dirt cheap defender and he is likely to play most games for the Suns in 2011, he is worth very serious consideration.

Good luck!

Dear Footy Tragics,

We all love a quality bargain small forward in our DT, but the problem is they are very hard to find. In recent years we have selected the likes of Hayden Ballantyne, Mitch Duncan, Tom Rockliff and Relton Roberts as small forwards, with varying degrees of success. While Ballantyne, Duncan and Rockliff have been great selections, Roberts was a massive disappointment!

In 2011, I expect Brandon Matera to be one of the first players I select in my DT as a forward. Matera is originally from South Fremantle and his bloodlines are very impressive. Brandon Matera is the son of Wally, formerly of Fitzroy and West Coast, and the nephew of Peter and Phil who both played for West Coast. The difference with young Brandon is that he is a left footer, whereas his father and uncles were all right footers.

Brandon Matera is 176cms and 69kgs and he will be 19 years of age by Round 1, 2011. Matera plays a similar brand of footy to his uncle Phil Matera who was a very classy Forward Pocket for West Coast, playing 179 AFL games and kicking 389 goals from 1996 – 2005. The bonus with Brandon Matera is that he also has the ability to play midfield, which is music to the ears of all DT coaches!

Here is a quick snapshot of Matera’s last three years of footy:

• 2008 – Represented WA at the NAB AFL Under 16 National Championships;
• 2009 – Represented WA at the NAB AFL Under 18 National Championships, being the leading goal kicker in the championships with 16 goals and being named in the Forward Pocket of the All Australian team. Matera also played senior, reserves and colts footy for South Fremantle;
• 2010 – Matera has played 15 games for the Gold Coast in the VFL; he has kicked 15 goals and has been named in the best an impressive eight times!

According to many astute judges, Brandon Matera would be playing AFL football now if he was on another AFL list. Assuming Brandon Matera remains injury free and completes at least 80% of the 2011 pre season, I expect him to be a DT lock in your 2011 forward line.

PS: For those who questioned why I stressed the importance of holding trades until later in the season, I hope you have sufficient trades to cover the potential losses of Aaron Sandilands, Jonathan Brown, James Podsiadly and Adam Cooney, all in doubt this week. I would hate to be entering a cut throat final this week with injuries to my key players, no cover and no trades left in the kitty!

Good luck in your finals this week, no second chances now!

Dear Footy Tragics,

I must start by apologising for last week, where my article went missing in action. Basically, I couldn’t access the internet for three days, hence the “technical difficulties”.

Moving on and this week I look at Josh Toy, the young man from the Aberfeldie football club in the Essendon and District Football League. Toy was regarded as a certain top three draft selection by most recruiters, before the Gold Coast swooped.

Toy is a medium sized defender (185cms, 87kgs), known for his poise across half back and his penetrating kicking. Toy turns 19 in April next year and assuming he remains injury free, I expect him to be a certain starter for the Suns in Round 1 2011.

Here is a quick snapshot of Toy’s last three years of footy:

• 2008 – Represented Vic Metro at the NAB AFL Under 16 National Championships;
• 2009 – Represented Vic Metro at the NAB AFL Under 18 National Championships, played 5 matches, averaged 21 disposals per game and made the All Australian team. Toy also played for the Calder Cannons in the TAC Cup and his school side, Pentleigh and Essendon Grammar (PEGS);
• 2010 – Toy has played three games for the Gold Coast in the VFL and has been named in the best twice. Toy is playing most of his footy with his school side PEGS, as he completes his schooling in Melbourne. Toy will move to the Gold Coast in November this year, after he has completed his Year 12 exams.

For those of you unfamiliar with the private school football competition in Melbourne, let me tell you that it is a very strong competition. The majority of Melbourne metropolitan draftees play in this competition in Years 11 and 12. Toy first played First XVIII football for PEGS when he was in Year 8, which is truly remarkable.

Having played the majority of his junior career across half back, let’s hope we can select Toy as a defender in 2011. If this is an option, I expect Toy to be inserted into over 50% off all dreamteams in 2011.

Good luck in your finals this week!

Morning Footy Tragics.

Due to technical difficulties, Ben’s ‘Gold Coast Kids’ article will be unavailable until mid afternoon.

Sorry to upset your daily routine. Please check back in later.

Cheers.

The Team @ Footy Tragic

Dear Footy Tragics,

With the Gold Coast joining the AFL in 2011, many DT coaches will be wondering which players to jump onboard from the new franchise. With this in mind, over the next six weeks I will take a look at the Gold Coast players most likely to make an impact in 2011.

The introduction of a 17^th team creates many DT questions such as: How will the Gold Coast players be priced? What happens with the bye each week? How many trades will we get if the season extends to 24 rounds? While I cannot answer these questions at this point in time, I can advise which players to select in 2011.

Barring injury or suspension, the first player to select in your 2011 DT is David Swallow. Swallow will be named as one of the Gold Coast’s first three selections in the 2010 National Draft and he is already playing VFL footy. Swallow is a hard running, goal kicking midfielder and he is the younger brother of Andrew Swallow, currently playing for North Melbourne. Swallow is also a ball magnet and an excellent kick of the football. Swallow is 186cms /83kgs and he will be 18 years of age by Round 1, 2011.

Here is a quick snapshot of Swallow’s last three years of footy:

• 2008 – Represented WA at the NAB AFL Under 16 National Championships;
• 2009 – Represented WA at the NAB AFL Under 18 National Championships, played 5 matches and averaged 21 disposals per game. Swallow was named joint winner of the Larke Medal (with Andrew Hooper from the Western Bulldogs) for the best division 1 player over the championships. Swallow also played 4 games for East Fremantle seniors in the WAFL, averaging 20 disposals per game;
• 2010 – Currently playing for the Gold Coast in the VFL. Swallow has played 12 games this year, kicking 12 goals and has being named in the best players seven times. Swallow’s best game for the year was last Saturday, where he was best on ground in the Gold Coast’s one point win over the Bendigo Bombers. Needless to say, this form is extraordinary for a 17 year old boy playing against men in a very strong VFL competition.

Swallow chose to move from Perth to the Gold Coast 12 months early to prepare himself for AFL football in 2011. As a result by Round 1, 2011 Swallow will have completed two full AFL pre seasons.

We have seen players such as Tom Scully, Jack Trengove, Dustin Martin and Anthony Morabito make an immediate impact in their first year of AFL footy this year. I fully expect Swallow to do the same in 2011.

Good luck!