Footy Tragic

Essendon vs Western Bulldogs:

Looking Good:

• Paddy Ryder: The Essendon big men are on fire at the moment, with Ryder the main beneficiary this week. Unlike plenty of other ruckmen, his ability to drop forward is a real strength of his game, leading him to not only get plenty of ball around the ground, but also kick a few goals.
• Ben Hudson: Huddo has been in some pretty good form over the past couple of weeks and has a habit of always cutting sick against the Bombers. He is really strong around the ground and in the air, meaning his teammates regularly go to him for the bail-out kick.
• Brent Stanton: After a couple of off weeks, Stanton looked back at his best with a much better game through the middle. He was tagged, yet willed himself through it – and although his disposal still isn’t anything amazing, he gets plenty of it, and at the end of the day that’s all that matters!

Disappointing:

• Jason Akermanis: Looked like he would fit in much better in an EJ Whitten tribute game than in AFL football. Looked slow and emotionally drained. His career looks suddenly headed for the gurgler, so if you have him, now is the time to offload him!
• Nathan Lovett-Murray: After playing some great attacking football through the midfield before his injury, he returned only to be played as a tagger. He was effective, but this role won’t help his dream team ability.
• Ryan Hargrave: After starting the game really well as the loose man, he disappeared from site and did very little for the second half. Inconsistency seems to be his middle name at the moment.

Blip on the Radar:

• Leroy Jetta: Jetta ventured much higher up the field to not only rack up the ball, but also drop forward for some goals. He does look very lively, but does seem very likely to be an inconsistent type. I would want to see another game like this before I brought him in.

Western Bulldogs vs Sydney:

Looking Good:

• Gary Ablett: 32 disposals and a lazy 2 goals whilst resting up forward is beginning to be a standard day at the office for Ablett. He appears to hate negative press, so the more the media slag him off about Gold Coast, the more he appears to prove them wrong.
• Jordan Gysberts: In his debut game for Melbourne he was the highest disposal winner for the club with 26 touches. He played the game beautifully and showed no signs of being star-struck by the stars at Geelong – he went about his business like he’d been doing it for years.
• James Podsiadly: Another five goals from Pods was a brilliant effort from a guy we all paid roundly $77k for only a couple of months ago. I think we just wish he had been playing the game for longer!

Disappointing:

• Jack Watts: After all the big press the kid has gotten this week it was a shame to see him fade away against the Cats. In his defence, he was competing against a very strong Cats backline and therefore had very few chances to score. There is little chance he won’t bounce back.
• Jimmy Bartel: When you look at your team on Friday night and see Geelong vs Melbourne at Skilled Stadium in the wet, there is little hesitation in making Bartel captain, expecting a lazy 130 points from the good man. Unfortunately this was not to be as he was tagged out of the game by Grimes and wasn’t even allowed to junk it up in the last quarter… fair to say he was the reason behind a few eliminated teams this week!
• Austin Wonaeamirri: Still looks like he is regaining fitness from his time on the sidelines. Please remember he was never really a DT star before you get tempted and trade him in for the cash!

Blip on the Radar:

• James Frawley: Has a great knack of marking from opposition kicks, but he rarely ventures far out of his defensive-50. He will get occasional scores like this from kicking around in the backline, but he is not an attacking defender, so is not what you want.

Port Adelaide vs Richmond:

Looking Good:

• Jack Riewoldt: For those that didn’t see this game, it was played in torrential rain and hence a mud-strewn football field – an environment very anti tall players. However, I thought that Riewoldt was once again one of Richmond’s best, kicking 4 goals and laying 7 tackles – great numbers for a guy of his size in this weather!
• Angus Graham: 14 tackles from a ruckman would have to be one of the bigger numbers in a long time. He keeps trying, and looked good as the Tiger’s number one big guy.
• Matthew Broadbent: First game for the season and looked composed. He has put some muscle on his body and looks to fit in well, running out of defence. He will get better in cleaner conditions, but he would be one of the few Port positives from this game.

Disappointing:

• David Rodan: Lacked the ability to inject much magic into the match thanks to the mud that kept bogging him down.
• Jeromey Webberley: Seemed to always be one step behind the ball and appeared nowhere near it in the second half. In only his fourth game, he shouldn’t worry about his near future in the side.
• Danyle Pearce: Was again tagged out of the match, but the weather wasn’t kind to a player who relies on his pace. Has been down a couple of weeks now which is a worry.

Blip on the Radar:

• Josh Carr: He would have licked his lips when he saw the weather forecast for this game. Carr is a hard-nosed midfielder, normally assigned tagging jobs, but he seemed to be given more of an attacking license in this game due to the conditions suiting him – don’t look for too much more of this in the future.

Brisbane vs Collingwood:

Looking Good:

• Luke Power: Creamed Collingwood through the middle in his 250^th match. He doesn’t play at all like his age (in a good way) and is appearing in some pretty good form. Could be a pretty good alternative pick for your midfield.
• Dale Thomas: I think this is his highest DT score ever, further proving that 2010 is his breakout year. He finished the game with 34 disposals and 12 marks, playing exclusively as a midfielder. Possibly a bit expensive now, but is looking like a good consistent option for once!
• Ash McGrath: As predicted in my Tuesday article (blowing my own horn? Never!), McGrath’s rebounding role continued in very good fashion this week. He ran off the backline and minded Beams as he drifted forward.

Disappointing:

• Heath Shaw: STILL cannot handle a tag! Brisbane rotated men through him and he had no way of getting away. His highs can be fantastic, but Shaw is one of the most inconsistent dream teamers in the league!
• Dayne Beams: Beams has been in ripping form over the past few weeks, but was totally shut down by McGrath. Expect him to bounce back, but games like this should be expected with him playing more forward of centre.
• Brendan Fevola: Was well held by Presti in the first half, but when he moved further upfield to CHF he looked a lot better. 4 late goals saved his owners complete heartache, but his injury is clearly playing a part in his poor form.

Blip on the Radar:

• Brent Staker: Played plenty of kick-to-kick deep in the Brisbane backline, bellying his score. Brisbane love to over-possess the ball down back, but Staker is not a regular there, he is typically a forward. He has shown some good form this year, but he hasn’t enough improvement in him to be a worthwhile cash cow.

St.Kilda vs Adelaide:

Looking Good:

• Leigh Montagna: Was sublime all game, kicking five brilliant goals amongst his 38 possessions. He has an amazing ability to find space and deliver the ball into the forward line, causing him to be given so much of the ball by his teammates. He is still very cheap for what he offers, so strongly consider!
• Richard Douglas: Douglas was easily the best Crow and set up plenty of their attacks from the midfield. Seven tackles highlighted his effort. I have been very critical of Douglas over the journey, but he could prove to be the Bernie Vince of 2010.
• Sam Fisher: Ahem… As some Tuesday article suggested, Fisher’s return to the backline repaid with some great scoring. He got 12 disposals in the first term alone and went on to finish with 30. He takes plenty of marks and constantly rotates with Gilbert as the loose man.

Disappointing:

• Andrew McLeod: Shut down by Baker, a strong nemesis from years gone by. He saw very little of the ball (maybe he was emotional about the retiring of his good friend Tyson Edwards), but to his credit he did come into the game under an injury cloud.
• Justin Koschitzke: The delivery wasn’t amazing to Kosi, but he didn’t help himself by continually leading to the wrong spots and dropping marks. Looks bereft of confidence and perhaps needs a run in the ruck to wake him up.
• Taylor Walker: I actually hadn’t even realised Walker was playing until I saw his name on the goals sheet. Was well held by Blake and Gwilt, but did very little to work through this.

Blip on the Radar:

• Steven Baker: Nowadays, Baker is typically a stay-home defender, playing on the opponent’s best small forwards. However, he moved into the midfield for this game to play on McLeod – a player he has a fantastic history on. This happens VERY rarely, so these sorts of scores are not to be expected.

Hawthorn vs Sydney:

Looking Good:

• Dan Hannebery: Those who have already given the Rising Star to Naitanui have clearly not watched any Sydney games! This kid showed some great signs last year and is already following through with his promises in spades this year! Played another best-on-ground performance with 25 disposals and 3 goals.
• Jordan Lewis: One of Hawthorn’s more consistent players (They seemed to share the load very evenly) – he has really bounced back since his dropping a few weeks ago – in fact, he hasn’t scored under 100 since!
• Shane Mumford: Mummy smashed Renouf in the ruck with 42 hitouts to 16 in a dominant display. He is also working very hard around the ground, racking up 17 disposals – I’m sure Geelong would wish their time over again with him!

Disappointing:

• Jarryd Roughead: Kicked no goals, again looking very uninterested. Hawthorn are just lucky that Buddy was able to step up in his place!
• Matt O’Dwyer: O’Dwyer was recalled to the seniors after a whopping 54 disposals last week in the reserves. Unfortunately, 11 touches was a little below par.
• Ryan O’Keefe: Played the entire game as a forward – a very worrying sign. Whilst O’Keefe used to be a good dream teamer as a forward, his days as a midfielder are much much better! Whether this is permanent, or he is just resting an injury will be a hotly discussed question this week!

Blip on the Radar:

• ?: I looked through this list and couldn’t find one high score where I thought “yeah… that’s not gonna happen again.” Let me know if you think otherwise!

Carlton vs West Coast:

Looking Good:

• Bryce Gibbs: Dominated off half-back with a whopping 45 possessions and 12 marks! This is what we want to see from Gibbs more often – his disposal was amazing, so it is no wonder Carlton are playing him behind the ball – he just needs to consistently deliver now!
• Chris Judd: Once again Judd proved untaggable and also a very good DT prospect in the process. He does enjoy beating up of his old side and this game was no exception. Various players were rotated through him, yet none seemed capable of slowing him down.
• Marc Murphy: 36 disposals seemed like nothing compared to Gibbs, but Murphy was just as impressive – despite an attempted tag, he still got the ball at will and laid 5 tackles in the process. The Blue boys are all looking like very good prospects at the moment.

Disappointing:

• Andrew Carrazzo: As the worry tends to be with Carrazzo, he was moved into the forward line for a tagging role and it in turn killed his scoring output. Whilst I’d like to say this is a one off, he does seem to be a player regularly thrown into different positions – some great of DT, and others just rubbish.
• Brad Ebert: Has been in super form this year, but just couldn’t get into this game, finishing with a measly 13 disposals.
• Scott Selwood: Was running though the midfield as a tagger, but didn’t bother trying to get it himself. He is apparently capable as a ball-winner, although we are yet to see it at AFL level.

Blip on the Radar:

• Jeff Garlett: Small forwards like Garlett are notoriously inconsistent. In free-flowing open games like this one, he will dominate. But put him into an ugly slog of a game and he will be lucky to make 50 points.

Fremantle vs North Melbourne:

Looking Good:

• Paul Duffield: Started slow, but as usual plenty of passages involving 4 or 5 disposals saw him become the highest scorer on the ground. He does know how to get into space beautifully, often seeing him part of Freo’s kick-to-kick sessions.
• Nathan Fyfe: This kid is unreal – he looks like a 15 year old boy, but plays with incredible maturity and flair! He was everywhere in the third quarter and ended up racking up 27 disposals and 3 goals for the game.
• Kepler Bradley: Maybe, just maybe this could be Bradley’s year. He has played three games so far and all have been impressive, although none as much as this one. He booted four goals as a forward and floated though the midfield as the second ruckman in parts too. As odd as it sounds – consider him.

Disappointing:

• Brent Harvey: He did get injured, however it wasn’t until ¾ time that he was off the field. Was well tagged by Van Berlo and had no effect on the game.
• Chris Mayne: He seemed to spend the game just floating around the packs, not actually touching the ball himself. Kicked a couple of goals, but it didn’t get much more exciting than that for the man with the giant schnoz.
• Michael Barlow: His late withdrawal saw over 160,000 dream team coaches seeing red. But let’s be honest – being the most un-unique player in the competition, it didn’t have too much effect anyway.

Blip on the Radar:

• Nathan Grima: Played a key defensive role on Pavlich, but was able to zone off thanks to Pav’s time in the middle. It meant for plenty of cheap ball he wouldn’t really get otherwise.

Expert: Dan
Team: Hank Scorpio EDT
Current Ranking: 4,900
Round 10 Score: 1,886
Trades Remaining: 8
Team Changes This Week:
In: Corey Enright, Wade Skipper
Out: Greg Broughton, Robert Warnock

Expert: Toby
Team: Fiora’s Hardnuts
Current Ranking: 1,765
Round 10 Score: 1,974
Trades Remaining: 10
Team Changes This Week: None

Expert: Ben
Team: The Redbacks
Current Ranking: 389
Round 10 Score: 2,117
Trades Remaining: 10
Team Changes This Week:
In: Colin Sylvia, Brad Sheppard
Out: Hayden Ballantyne, Tadhg Kennelly

Don’t forget to check out Ben’s ‘Submit Your Team‘ article from this morning!

ESSENDON v WESTERN BULLDOGS

Essendon

B: Heath Hocking, Dustin Fletcher, Courtenay Dempsey

HB: Mark McVeigh, Tayte Pears, David Myers

C: Leroy Jetta, Jobe Watson, Jason Winderlich

HF: Angus Monfries, Scott Gumbleton, Sam Lonergan

F: David Hille, Michael Hurley, Alwyn Davey

Foll: Patrick Ryder, Brent Stanton, Ben Howlett

I/C: David Zaharakis, Nathan Lovett-Murray, Jarrod Atkinson, Brent Prismall

Emg: Travis Colyer, Mark Williams, Kyle Hardingham

In: Lovett-Murray

Out: Jake Melksham (foot)

• Melksham is out with a foot injury, however it didn’t look too severe and he should be back in a couple of weeks.
• Lovett-Murray is a good inclusion – he has looked very good this year with plenty more time through the midfield.
• Howlett keeps his spot after some strong performances!

Western Bulldogs

B: Jarrod Harbrow, Brian Lake, Dale Morris

HB: Ryan Hargrave, Tom Williams, Lindsay Gilbee

C: Dylan Addison, Matthew Boyd, Daniel Cross

HF: Brennan Stack, Mitch Hahn, Josh Hill

F: Jarrad Grant, Barry Hall, Daniel Giansiracusa

Foll: Ben Hudson, Adam Cooney, Ryan Griffen

I/C: Will Minson, Liam Picken, Jason Akermanis, Shaun Higgins

Emg: Brodie Moles, Andrejs Everitt, Nathan Eagleton

In: Higgins

Out: Nathan Eagleton

• Great to see Higgins back after he was rested with general soreness. Moles is still first emergency – surely he is close to a return!

GEELONG CATS v MELBOURNE

Geelong Cats

B: Darren Milburn, Tom Lonergan, Josh Hunt

HB: Andrew Mackie, Harry Taylor, Corey Enright

C: James Kelly, Cameron Ling, Gary Ablett

HF: Mathew Stokes, Tom Hawkins, Paul Chapman

F: Travis Varcoe, Cameron Mooney, Steve Johnson

Foll: Mark Blake, Joel Selwood, Jimmy Bartel

I/C: Shannon Byrnes, Simon Hogan, James Podsiadly, David Wojcinski

Emg: Mitchell Duncan, Taylor Hunt, Dawson Simpson

In: Hogan

Out: Matthew Scarlett (hamstring)

• Scarlett will be out for month, which is a big blow for the Cats! Hogan back in his place would only be fantasy news in 2009! Bring back Duncan instead!

Melbourne

B: Clint Bartram, Jared Rivers, Colin Garland

HB: Cameron Bruce, Matthew Warnock, James Frawley

C: Brad Green, Jack Grimes, Aaron Davey

HF: Jamie Bennell, Brad Miller, Jordan Gysberts

F: Nathan Jones, Jack Watts, Neville Jetta

Foll: Mark Jamar, Brent Moloney, Colin Sylvia

I/C: Austin Wonaeamirri, Joel Macdonald, James McDonald, Cale Morton

Emg: Lynden Dunn, Jake Spencer, Addam Maric

In: Bruce, Warnock, Gysberts

Out: Jordie McKenzie, Jack Trengove (rested), Tom Scully (rested)

New: Jordan Gysberts (Eastern Ranges)

• A few big blows here! Obviously the Dees have already conceded defeat against the Cats and don’t want to throw their young guns to the Cats (so to speak…). Both Trengove and Scully are being rested, whilst it seems McKenzie has been dropped after a quiet game on the weekend.
• Gysberts is a great inclusion for the Dees midfield, and is a selection we have been praying for for a while! He was a good ball winner as a junior and came at pick 11 in last years draft. In the TAC cup he averaged 23 disposals, 4 tackles and one goal per game. He has an ability to win the hard ball but can also kick the thing pretty nicely too, as displayed in his second placing in the kicking test at draft camp. He’s well built too, so should have a good impact straight away!

PORT ADELAIDE v RICHMOND

Port Adelaide

B: Jacob Surjan, Alipate Carlile, Troy Chaplin

HB: Paul Stewart, Chad Cornes, Steven Salopek

C: Danyle Pearce, Domenic Cassisi, Travis Boak

HF: Matt Thomas, Justin Westhoff, David Rodan

F: Brett Ebert, Jackson Trengove, Tom Logan

Foll: Dean Brogan, Josh Carr, Kane Cornes

I/C: Matthew Broadbent, Cameron Hitchcock, Jay Nash, Daniel Stewart

Emg: Danny Meyer, Nick Salter, Jay Schulz

In: Broadbent, Carr, D.Stewart

Out: Jason Davenport (susp), Daniel Motlop (club susp), Jay Schulz

• Finally, Broadbent will get a run! He showed some signs in his three games last year, but it was his junior stats that made plenty of DT coaches excited, where he averaged 20 disposals across his 12 games. He is a running defender who can also swing through the midfield – keep your eyes on him!

Richmond

B: Kelvin Moore, Luke McGuane, Chris Newman

HB: Shane Tuck, Brett Deledio, Shane Edwards

C: Richard Tambling, Ben Cousins, Jeromey Webberley

HF: Dustin Martin, Jack Riewoldt, Ben Nason

F: Robin Nahas, Graham Polak, Matt White

Foll: Angus Graham, Trent Cotchin, Jake King

I/C: Mitch Farmer, Ben Griffiths, David Astbury, Andrew Collins

Emg: Tyrone Vickery, Alex Rance, Will Thursfield

In: Polak, Tambling, Collins, Griffiths

Out: Nathan Foley (leg), Will Thursfield, Alex Rance, Tyrone Vickery

New: Ben Griffiths (Eastern Ranges)

• Vickery has finally been given the rest he needed and Polak will come into his place, likely playing at FF and through the ruck.
• Foley again misses and Rance has been unsurprisingly dropped.
• Griffiths will make his debut in the Richmond forward line. He is a 199cm full-forward who may also spend some time in the ruck with Vickery’s omission. He was never a big ball winner as a junior and big guys take a while to adjust to the speed of the game, so I wouldn’t be expecting much of the kid this season.

BRISBANE LIONS v COLLINGWOOD

Brisbane Lions

B: Ashley McGrath, Matt Maguire, James Hawksley

HB: Travis Johnstone, Joel Patfull, Tom Collier

C: Justin Sherman, Simon Black, Tom Rockliff

HF: Todd Banfield, Jonathan Brown, James Polkinghorne

F: Luke Power, Brendan Fevola, Brent Staker

Foll: Mitchell Clark, Daniel Rich, Michael Rischitelli

I/C: Matthew Leuenberger, Amon Buchanan, Sam Sheldon, Jack Redden

Emg: Andrew Raines, Cheynee Stiller, Callum Bartlett

In: Collier, Sheldon, Johnstone

Out: Andrew Raines, Jed Adcock (foot), Cheynee Stiller

• Adcock is out injured and looks set to spend 8 weeks on the sidelines – a real disappointment after his good form on the weekend. Raines and Stiller have also been omitted.
• Sheldon and Collier are good young inclusions, whilst the return of Travis Johnstone may put a bit of a question mark over Ash McGrath’s role as a running defender.
• Also, very good to see Rockliff retain his spot!

Collingwood

B: Heath Shaw, Ben Reid, Ben Johnson

HB: Harry O’Brien, Simon Prestigiacomo, Nick Maxwell

C: Luke Ball, Dane Swan, Alan Toovey

HF: Shane O’Bree, Travis Cloke, Alan Didak

F: Dayne Beams, Brent Macaffer, John Anthony

Foll: Darren Jolly, Scott Pendlebury, Dale Thomas

I/C: Sharrod Wellingham, Chris Dawes, Steele Sidebottom, Cameron Wood

Emg: Tarkyn Lockyer, Jaxson Barham, Nathan Brown

In: Anthony, Prestigiacomo

Out: Leon Davis (calf), Nathan Brown

• Davis is out (just to add to the woes already experienced by his captains this year). This injury may be reason for his poor form to date, yet i still wouldn’t be trusting him once he returns.

ST KILDA v ADELAIDE

St Kilda

B: James Gwilt, Zac Dawson, Sam Gilbert

HB: Steven Baker, Sam Fisher, Jason Blake

C: Brendon Goddard, Nick Dal Santo, Farren Ray

HF: Raphael Clarke, Rhys Stanley, Adam Schneider

F: Clinton Jones, Justin Koschitzke, Stephen Milne

Foll: Michael Gardiner, Lenny Hayes, Leigh Montagna

I/C: Robert Eddy, Ben McEvoy, Andrew McQualter, Brett Peake

Emg: Nick Heyne, Alistair Smith, Jack Steven

In: Eddy

Out: Nick Heyne

• Whilst i won’t eat my shoe this week, i can’t believe McQualter is STILL in this team ahead of Steven! In fact, i have no idea why Eddy is named ahead of Steven either… Dawson is the other one lucky to remain after doing absolutely nothing amongst his 60% game time on the weekend.
• Heyne is out, which is no big surprise – he is still first emergency, but i wouldn’t be trading him into your team this week regardless.

Adelaide

B: Michael Doughty, Ben Rutten, Scott Stevens

HB: Chris Schmidt, Nathan Bock, Brent Reilly

C: Nathan van Berlo, Simon Goodwin, David Mackay

HF: Richard Douglas, Taylor Walker, Rory Sloane

F: Jason Porplyzia, Kurt Tippett, Jared Petrenko

Foll: Ivan Maric, Scott Thompson, Patrick Dangerfield

I/C: Jonathon Griffin, Phil Davis, Andrew McLeod, Tony Armstrong

Emg: Myke Cook, Jack Gunston, James Sellar

In: Griffin, Armstrong, Sloane

Out: Myke Cook, Jack Gunston, Tyson Edwards

• Sloane is a great return after showing some good early season/NAB form. He has a lot of potential to be one of the Crows bigger improvers this year.
• Just announced this afternoon is the immediate retirement of Tyson Edwards. So if you have him, get rid of him – he won’t even be playing a farewell game!
• Gunston is out after just the one game last week.

HAWTHORN v SYDNEY SWANS

Hawthorn

B: Brent Guerra, Stephen Gilham, Campbell Brown

HB: Grant Birchall, Ben Stratton, Thomas Murphy

C: Clinton Young, Sam Mitchell, Jordan Lewis

HF: Cyril Rioli, Lance Franklin, Michael Osborne

F: Shaun Burgoyne, Jarryd Roughead, Rhan Hooper

Foll: Brent Renouf, Luke Hodge, Brad Sewell

I/C (from): Xavier Ellis, Beau Muston, Carl Peterson, Ryan Schoenmakers, Liam Shiels, Wayde Skipper, Brendan Whitecross

In: Muston, Shiels, Schoenmakers

Out: -

• My gut feel says there won’t be any changes to the Hawks lineup after their big win on the weekend.

Sydney Swans

B: Rhyce Shaw, Lewis Roberts-Thomson, Nick Smith

HB: Martin Mattner, Heath Grundy, Nick Malceski

C: Daniel Hannebery, Brett Kirk, Lewis Jetta

HF: Ryan O’Keefe, Adam Goodes, Josh Kennedy

F: Gary Rohan, Henry Playfair, Jarrad McVeigh

Foll: Shane Mumford, Jude Bolton, Kieren Jack

I/C (from): Paul Bevan, Trent Dennis-Lane, Campbell Heath, Matt O’Dwyer, Mike Pyke, Ted Richards, Jesse White

In: Richards, White, O’Dwyer, Dennis-Lane, Mumford

Out: Tadhg Kennelly (knee), Daniel Bradshaw (knee)

New: Trent Dennis-Lane (Subiaco)

• A large amount of changes for the Swans this week; Mumford is a certain inclusion, whilst O’Dwyer and Dennis-Lane would be strongly under consideration to make the final team. O’Dwyer clocked up an impressive 52 disposals in the reserves on the weekend, whilst we all know the exploits shown by TDL in the pre-season when he kicked several bags of goals through the NAB cup and intra-club games. This will be his debut if he is to play.
• Kennelly is a big loss and should miss a few weeks, as will Bradshaw. The team sheet suggests White may come back in, however the rumour mill suggests he was injured on the weekend.

CARLTON v WEST COAST

Carlton

B: Aaron Joseph, Michael Jamison, Joe Anderson

HB: Steven Browne, Lachie Henderson, Jordan Russell

C: Heath Scotland, Andrew Carrazzo, Bryce Gibbs

HF: Marc Murphy, Bret Thornton, Kade Simpson

F: Jeff Garlett, Setanta O’hAilpin, Eddie Betts

Foll: Matthew Kreuzer, Mitch Robinson, Chris Judd

I/C (from): Marcus Davies, Shaun Grigg, Richard Hadley, Ryan Houlihan, Sam Jacobs, Brock McLean, Andrew Walker

In: Houlihan, Hadley, Walker, McLean, Grigg, Browne, Davies

Out: Chris Johnson (wrist), Dennis Armfield (quad), Simon White (knee), Chris Yarran (quad)

New: Marcus Davies (Tasmania U18)

• Walker is a big inclusion, especially with the losses of Johnson and Armfield. He showed quite a DT knack before his injury, so keep him in mind over the next couple of weeks if he can return to that form.
• McLean is a likely inclusion and it has been suggested that Grigg will also play.
• Davies is named for his debut (however i feel he won’t make the cut, unless if McLean or Houlihan don’t make it past fitness tests). He was a highly touted ball-winner when he arrived to the Blues in the pre-season, however some average NAB form forced a lot of coaches to re-think their backline emergencies. He is a running defender who averaged 28 disposals through the TAC cup and 20 disposals in the under 18s. As well as the ability to rack up the disposals, he has a good set of hands, averaging over one contested mark and five contested marks per game.

West Coast

B: Scott Selwood, Eric MacKenzie, Will Schofield

HB: Beau Waters, Beau Wilkes, Shannon Hurn

C: Matt Rosa, Matt Priddis, Andrew Embley

HF: Brad Sheppard, Josh Kennedy, Sam Butler

F: Ben McKinley, Quinten Lynch, Mark LeCras

Foll: Dean Cox, Adam Selwood, Brad Ebert

I/C (from): Mitchell Brown, Bradd Dalziell, Brett Jones, Patrick McGinnity, Nic Naitanui, Mark Nicoski, Tom Swift

In: Nicoski, Jones, Brown, Dalziell

Out: Ashton Hams (rookie list return)

• Hams’ return to the rookie list is a real pain, however he is eligible to be upgraded again at the end of round 11, so it is only short-term pain for those lacking a defensive emergency.

FREMANTLE v NORTH MELBOURNE

Fremantle

B: Ryan Crowley, Chris Tarrant, Kepler Bradley

HB: Antoni Grover, Adam McPhee, Roger Hayden

C: Garrick Ibbotson, David Mundy, Paul Hasleby

HF: Jay van Berlo, Matthew Pavlich, Stephen Hill

F: Nathan Fyfe, Chris Mayne, Hayden Ballantyne

Foll: Aaron Sandilands, Michael Barlow, Paul Duffield

I/C (from): Nick Suban, Rhys Palmer, Anthony Morabito, Matthew de Boer, Byron Schammer, Clancee Pearce, Dylan Roberton

In: de Boer, Pearce, Roberton, Schammer

Out: Alex Silvagni (ankle)

• Whilst Roberton returns to play his third game for the season, Silvagni is out of the side with an ankle injury. He may find it hard to push his way back into the squad with all the more senior players returning from injuries. So maybe this is the week to offload him!

North Melbourne

B: Michael Firrito, Scott Thompson, Brady Rawlings

HB: Nathan Grima, Lachlan Hansen, Daniel Pratt

C: Jack Ziebell, Ben Cunnington, Ryan Bastinac

HF: Sam Wright, David Hale, Brent Harvey

F: Nathan O’Keefe, Drew Petrie, Lindsay Thomas

Foll: Hamish McIntosh, Andrew Swallow, Levi Greenwood

I/C (from): Josh Smith, Todd Goldstein, Aaron Edwards, Matt Campbell, Leigh Harding, Scott McMahon, Brayden Norris

In: Petrie, Hale, McIntosh, Norris

Out: Daniel Wells (groin)

New: Brayden Norris (Murray Bushrangers)

• Petrie finally returns to the team at full-forward which should certainly help the Kangaroos scoring woes. McIntosh will return to the ruck, whilst Wells makes way with a reoccurrence of his groin injury – a worrying sign!
• Norris is named on the extended bench for his debut – he is an elite running athlete, used to playing on a HFF. He averaged 15 disposals and a goal per game in the TAC cup, however doesn’t really play a very strong DT game. Scott does seem to have the ability to get the best out of his kids, but i wouldn’t be holding my breath on this one.

View Smokies’ Team
Round 9 Score: 2,041
Current Overall Ranking: 18,583
Trades Left: 8
Remaining Salary Cap: $221,000

Dear Smokies,

Thank you for submitting your team. Firstly, I must congratulate you for selecting Jordan Russell prior to Round 1. Clearly an inspired selection that has paid off with handsome dividends! On the negative side of the equation, I’m very concerned that you have only eight trades remaining with 13 rounds still to be played. Ideally, you should aim to have one trade remaining for every round remaining.

After looking closely at your 2010 trading history, I am also concerned about some of the players you bought into your team through trades. You have clearly jumped on the bandwagon with certain players such as Mark Seaby prior to Round 3 and Kyle Reimers prior to Round 4. While you were not to know that these two players would get injured shortly after selecting them, these two players should never have been bought in at all. Seaby played one brilliant game in Round 2 and did little else, while Reimers is simply not a viable dreamteam option due to his chronic inconsistency. Neither of these two players lasted for more than four weeks in your team, which effectively means you wasted four trades (two to get them in and two to get them out).

Your team now is very solid with a complete midfield and ruck division. Ideally you would make another four upgrades (two in defence and two in the forward line), but you may have to settle for two more upgrades because of your lack of remaining trades. The chances of you running out of trades early are very high, so you must use your remaining trades very wisely. Unfortunately injuries are inevitable, so you must retain at least six trades to cover for injuries.

With no quality cash cow options priced under $120,000 set to soar in price after two games this weekend, this week is a good opportunity to hold fire and save your valuable trades. Furthermore, you have quality emergency cover in Webberley, Bastinac and Gumbleton (Dangerfield should be in your starting seven in the forward line).

I note in your e-mail to us that you are considering trading out Gumbleton for Pavlich this week. My fear is that this move could potentially end up being another case of shutting the gate after the horse has bolted. Given the fact you are out of contention for the car and I assume gunning for private league glory, I believe it would be best to wait three weeks and then make a decision on inserting another premium forward. Pavlich has been brilliant thus far in 2010, but you need the player who will dominate from Rounds 19 – 22, not Rounds 1 – 9. Waiting three weeks will allow you to assess other quality forward options you may not have yet considered.

My message is don’t just lock in a player simply because he scored well last week. You don’t get points retrospectively for players you trade into your side.

Good luck!

Adam Goodes – Sydney ($362,600, MID/FWD, Break even: 67, price drop this season: $72,200)

Adam Goodes has surely bottomed out by now. While he has generally been considered more of a SC specialist in the past, consider him strongly for your team this year.

The one constant with Goodes over the years is that he comes home with some absolute belters. Take 2008 out, because he was playing hurt late in the year and his record in the run home is amazing. Last year in the first nine games of the year he averaged 88.2 compared to 106.4 in the last 13 games (including an average of 128.75 in the last four games and a low score of 117).

In 2007 his highest score was 83 until he got a 110 in Round 9. He came home with a bang, averaging nearly 100 from Round 9 onwards. Basically Goodes is typically a slow starter. He’s already averaging 91.4, has had four tons, yet has still gone down in price every single week! You can now pick up Goodes for $72,200 less than his starting price.

I wouldn’t even be adverse to starting him in the midfield. As you may have noticed, I am a fan of the DP system and think it could really be beneficial in the run home. I look at it this way, if you can get someone with the capability of averaging over 100 while you have him in your team for $360K, you’d be crazy not to take him. It just so happens that you can take him in the forward line too. If you can spend $100K less to complete your midfield, I’m yet to hear a substantial reason not to take him there, if your structure demands it. You open up DP capabilities, which can save you trades, and at the end of the day points are points – where they are coming from is immaterial, especially when Goodes can post an average as good as nearly anyone.

Another way I look at it is that you’re likely to find a forward keeper for around Goodes’ current price later on. Don’t expect a midfield keeper to be available at this price for the rest of the year though. I’m not categorically saying take Goodes in your midfield, only consider it if your structure permits it.

Wayde Skipper – Hawthorn ($95,800, RUC, Break even: -6)

First two matches: 37 vs. Richmond (W), 41 vs. Carlton (W) = 39 avg.

If you’re looking to make a bit of sneaky cash on the bench, or maybe just shore up your ruck coverage, Skipper could be a good option. First of all, he’s surely got good job security, for the simple fact he is a Hawks ruckman and he is not currently on the LTI. By virtue of standing on two feet, he seems to have a spot in the side, unless they revert to rucking Renouf alone with a chop out from Roughead.

Scores of 37 and 41 haven’t been fantastic, but depending on your situation he can help out in a couple of ways. If you’re a Warnock owner needing a bit of cash you can downgrade him. Warnock doesn’t look like getting back in any time soon, especially with Jacobs’ great form. Also, if you have no ruck coverage at the moment (maybe your bench is two of Warnock/Lobbe/Roughead he’ll at least be able to give you some coverage if one of your starters goes down.

Bear in mind that Rhys Stanley is ruck eligible and has only played one game. This time next week I might be writing about Stanley too, so Skipper might not be the last cheap ruck to present us with this opportunity.

Jack Watts – Melbourne ($145,000, FWD, Break even: -7)

First two matches: 53 vs. West Coast (L), 63 vs. Port (W) = 58 avg.

Watts comes at a pretty lofty price, but I thought I’d include him in this spiel. A lot of teams will be at the point where you are close to (or already have) a locked in top seven forwards. If you’re staring at your bench and you don’t like the look of their job security, or maybe you just want to make a bit of cash from fully matured cash cows like Gumbleton or Peterson, then Watts should be a safe option to hold his spot and give you decent scores as a back up.

I’ve got a feeling we’ll start seeing a couple of big games from Watts too, so not only might he make you a bit of money to sit on your bench, he might be able to sneak a decent score late in the year when one of your forwards is inevitably rested leading into the finals.

Nic Heyne – St.Kilda ($94,500, FWD, Break even: -4)

First two matches: 40 vs. Essendon (L), 35 vs. West Coast (W) = 37.5 avg.

Can’t see him holding a spot in St.Kilda’s team, to be honest. He’s a cheaper option than Watts, but at this stage of the game you need to get players who can help you in the long run, not just free up a bit of cash. Considering he hasn’t really looked that flash in his two games so far, it’d be a pretty desperate move to bring him in.

Henry Playfair – Sydney ($101,800, FWD, Break even: -54)

First two matches: 62 vs. Bulldogs (L), 69 vs. Fremantle (L) = 65.5 avg.

In my weekly rounds of lurking other clubs forums I came across this relevant gem from the Swans reserves match report. “Sometime in the 4th quarter White went off and had his ankle iced and at the end of the game was helped off by Vesz. Jesse couldn’t put his right ankle to the ground and was hanging onto Vesz, hopping.” Oddly White hasn’t showed up on the Swans injury list today, which is a bit weird…

Playfair hasn’t been awful in his two games this year. Keep an eye on team selection this week, because Mumford will be back. If Playfair keeps his spot with Mumford coming in, then it’s a good sign, but with that said I feel Playfair is only a temporary measure for the Swans. I have serious doubts he’ll be there at the pointy end of the season, but I would pin him for better short term job security than Heyne IF he can get named this week.

At this time of the season it is becoming pretty clear as to which players are premium and which ones are stinkers. But are there still a few players yet to hit their straps and therefore sitting at a tasty, tasty price? Well I reckon there are still a couple, and with the likes of Waters, Nason and Silvagni peaking in price and injuries to Kennelly and Adcock, I thought I’d focus myself on the backline. Currently there are two players whose price sits them well below the odds of what they can really offer you. I will be looking at players who only this week seem to have secured what now looks to be a consistent role in their teams after plenty of injuries to teammates have seen them take on other rules. This week I will be looking at Sam Fisher and Ash McGrath.

Sam Fisher:

With the Saints loss of Riewoldt in round 3, things have been far less than consistent for all of the Saints key-position players, such as Fisher. In Fisher’s case, he has been pushed forward on a few occasions to take CHF, whilst in other games he has been forced to play a more defensive role in the backline as one of Dawson, Blake or Gilbert was moved forward. Fortunately, this week things looked to be finally clicking in St.Kilda’s  forward with the inclusion of rookie forward, Rhys Stanley – this meant that all of the Saints defenders were allowed to assume their regular roles in the backline. Listening to Ross Lyon after the game, it was suggested that Stanley did enough to hold his spot in the team, and I expect he will be given every chance to stay around and develop until Riewoldt returns in about six weeks.

Due to all this mixing around, Fisher’s scoring has been very up and down (it is also worth noting that he missed the first two games with an ankle injury and was nursed through his first few games back with a lower game time), which has obviously seen him drop in price. Fortunately though, he has not been out of form – it is simply the positions he has been played in. At his best, Fisher is a strong rebounding defender for the Saints who is also capable of taking a man (and doing a good job too!), as well as stopping the opposition’s forays forward with his strong ability to read the play. Due to all these skills, the Saints are regularly in need of him in a damaging position and will therefore be very happy to be able to line him up at CHB for the rest of the year.

For the past number of seasons, Fisher has been the Saints best rebounder, which has led to several teams working hard to shut him down (and none have been better at this than Carlton, hence his round seven score of 37!), however in the latter part of last year and through the start of 2010, Gilbert’s game has gone to another level, giving the opposition a second player to focus on. Fisher has a history of good DT, averaging 87 points a game in the past three seasons, however there does seem to be a trend with his scoring every year – in each season he has had a patch of 5-7 games that have been below par, often at the start of the season. So one can hope that rounds 3 – 9 were Fisher’s slow weeks in 2010.

The quality of defenders now around Fisher always helps him with his scoring – with Blake the best defender in the Saints unit, he will always take the opposition CHF, Gwilt is now able to take another tall while Dawson (albeit, who is very out of form and confidence) takes the full-forward/ resting ruckman. Fisher will always take a medium forward or third tall whom he will then work off. But he is still not afraid to take on the big jobs – over the years he has played on, and worked off, Pavlich, Brown and Hall, amongst others. His strongest trait is his ability to cut off the opposition’s kicks into the forward line, meaning he is regularly freed up as the loose-man in defence. This will always get him plenty of kicks and marks. When in form, Fisher can score some massive numbers too – from round 21 until the Grand Final last year (five games), Fisher averaged 113 points, and not for the first time in his career.

I believe that now things are looking back on track and settled at the Saints, scoring is going to pick up for Fisher as he will finally get to play his designated role all game for the first time this year. He has the DT history to show his scoring capabilities and his only sub-70 score of the year (and the game which has dragged his price down) was against Carlton, a team he has a very poor history against. He is a very consistent player and will typically score you between 80 and 100, whilst giving you several scores over 120. Could be the biggest bargain of the defenders as of round nine.

Key Stats 2010:

Kick : handball ratio – 1.26 : 1

Average Marks per game: 7.1

Average Tackles per game: 1.6

Average Disposals per game: 20.7

Breakeven: 53

Average Dream Team Points: 82.57

Price: $321,200 (-$52,100)

Ash McGrath:
I’ll say now that Ash McGrath was strongly in my dream team calculations leading into this season after his strong finish to 2009. But so far, I have been pretty happy to not have chosen him. Up until now that it is – whilst averaging 63 points up until round 8, he came out in round 9 with a whopping 140 points. Whilst some may think it was just a blip on the radar, those who watched McGrath’s finish to 2009 will agree that it was more a game we had been waiting to see than one we were surprised to see!

In football, through injury comes opportunity – we have plenty of recent stories to attest for this, such as the examples given last year in the form of Paddy Ryder and Mitch Clark when they were each given extra responsibilities in the absence of their team’s key ruckmen. Throughout the year we are bound to see a few more good examples, but right now, McGrath is the one that is painfully obvious. After spending the first number of years of his career playing as a small defender, 2009 saw his duties change at the back-end of the year. Vossy gave him more responsibility and he often became the key playmaker out of the Lions defence. After averaging a miserly 53 points for the first 11 rounds of the season, McGrath’s year was spun on it’s head when his role changed: for the remaining 11 weeks of the year he averaged a much better 86 points, which included three scores over 110 and only three below 80!

Unfortunately, at the start of this season McGrath wasn’t placed back into the rebounding position that made him look like such a potential DT star in 2009. Yet now with the injuries to key playmakers Drummond (season), Brennan (4 weeks) and Adcock (4 weeks), McGrath has been once again required to step up into an attacking role. This weekend we saw him rack up 31 disposals, 8 marks, 5 tackles and two goals as a rebounding defender, showing exactly what he is capable of in this role.

The one worry with McGrath is that we have only seen one game so far this year where he played this role, and we only have a little previous scoring potential to base our judgement off. However, I do feel that this role (and subsequent scoring) will be consistent and will in turn deliver some reasonably high scores. He is also incredibly unique, only in just under 6,000 teams. If he does get up and running, he has already proven he has a very high DT ceiling and should be in a reasonably consistent role. He’s still a huge smokey, but definitely one to strongly consider.

Key Stats 2010:

Kick : handball ratio – 1.6 : 1

Average Marks per game: 4.4

Average Tackles per game: 3.5

Average Disposals per game: 17.2

Breakeven: 23

Average Dream Team Points: 73.25

Price: $304,700 (-$4,100)