Footy Tragic

North Melbourne vs Carlton:

Looking Good:

• Lindsay Thomas: Played easily his personal best game of his career, and possibly even the best individual game of the season. He was brilliant throughout the full game, scoring himself stats across all lines; not only did he kick 7.5, he also got himself 20 touches, 8 marks and 8 tackles.
• Bryce Gibbs: Started the game again in the backline, however sense prevailed in the second term when Ratten moved him into the midfield. The move paid off with Gibbs being the best of Carlton’s mids. Hopefully this may pave the way for more midfield time in coming weeks.
• Jarrad Waite: In his second game back from suspension, Waite kicked three goals and looked reasonably dangerous as the key tall for Carlton. Looks capable of some consistent and high scoring.

Disappointing:

• Andrew Carrazzo: Once again, Carrots was given the key tagging job on Harvey, shutting down his own personal game in the process. This is now three weeks in a row where his game-style has been very negative, hurting his scoring in the process. If you have him, keep him and hope he comes good. If you are tempted by his low price, I wouldn’t risk it, as his role seems to change week to week.
• Lachlan Hansen: Up forward again and had very little effect on the game. He seems too set on annoying and sledging his opponents than actually playing the game – unfortunately this acts more negatively on him than anyone else…
• Jordan Russell: Moved onto the raging Thomas early (to little effect), but it prevented his run from defence. Should bounce back.

Blip on the Radar:

• Scott Thompson: Was a huge playmaker in defence, but his direct opponent was Waite, a player who plays much higher than Thompson’s regular opponents. This allowed him access to more ball as he played more around the half-forward line than in the square. Normally, Thompson will play on a full-forward, causing him to spend a lot of time away from ball-winning areas.

Hawthorn vs Adelaide:

Looking Delicious:

• Cyril Rioli: This was his first full game in the midfield this year and he simply dominated. Amongst his 27 touches he had 3 goals, 9 tackles and 7 marks. The fact he has finally built his tank to now play midfield is ominous to opposition teams, but simply ‘delicious’ to those looking at him for their dream team!
• Luke Hodge: It is going to be hard for the umpires to split the Brownlow votes as Hodgey was just as good as Cyril. He played the full game in the guts, racking up 32 disposals, three goals and 5 tackles. He is in incredible form at the moment and is looking like another player in the ‘untaggable’ category.
• Brad Symes: This was Symes’ first game for the season after an injury interrupted campaign to this point. He is a very capable ball-winner off the half-back line and can only get better as he builds his fitness. Keep an eye on him as a late-season smokey.

Disappointing:

• Brad Sewell: The attacking role played by Sewell last year seems to have now fallen by the wayside as he is now Hawthorn’s key tagger. He is continuing to leak points and is showing no signs of adding an attacking aspect to his game – avoid him, despite the tempting price.
• Jason Porplyzia: The Porpoise is clearly still lacking match fitness, although it does seem to be taking a long time to come to him. He managed no goals amongst his measly 8 disposals and 4 marks.
• Ivan Maric: The theme of 2010 has been that you can always trust a ruckman to chop against either of Hawthorn or Adelaide due to their lack of a key experienced ruck duo. Maric’s poor effort of just 4 disposals easily concluded that Adelaide has the unenviable title of ‘worst ruck duo’ in the AFL.

Blip on the Radar:

• Brent Reilly: We have seen Reilly play a tagging role this year, and typically he isn’t too bad at it. Unfortunately, in this game his direct opponent was Hodge, who completely dominated him. Lucky for Reilly though, Hodge paid him no attention the other way, allowing him to rack up 21 disposals for himself – don’t be expecting anything this exciting again this season.

Essendon vs Geelong:

Looking Good:

• Jimmy Bartel: Played an awesome game on the half-forward line in the absence of Mooney. His great marking ability and talent in-close helped him to 28 disposals, 8 marks and 3 goals. Should be back in the middle against the Saints next week, and just a little word of advice if you have him – make sure to make him captain; the game will be tough, in close and contested – he will eat it up!
• James Kelly: Played solely as a midfielder and was probably Geelong’s best mid for the game. He was solid across the four quarters and holds a very good work-rate. It’s a bonus that you can pick him up in the backline!
• James Podsiadly: He needs a special mention after clearly carrying a niggling groin injury into the game. In a week where several popular DT forwards couldn’t play (Brown, Sylvia, Higgins), it was great to see Pods tough it out. What’s more, he didn’t just play ok, but his fifth bag of five goals helped him again reach the ton!

Disappointing:

• Ricky Dyson: Just couldn’t provide any run from defence with Geelong’s fierce pressure. He is too outside a player to have much effect under the packs.
• Leroy Jetta: He loves it when Essendon are winning, but when they are down he seems to go missing. He is still young, so some inconsistency is acceptable.
• Paul Chapman: He didn’t do it by much – only by one point in fact! Do what? This is the first time Chappy didn’t make it to 100 DT points this season! Poor form by Chappy – I think everyone should trade him out this week! (NB: Probably worth stressing my sarcasm in the above comment before it comes back to bite me!).

Blip on the Radar:

• Alwyn Davey: He is not and never will be a dream team player. Fortunately for him in this game though, Geelong only have one true small defender and he was busy elsewhere, allowing Davey to be mismatched and kick a few goals.

Port Adelaide vs Sydney:

Looking Good:

• Nick Malceski: Was prolific off the Swans backline and set up almost all of their attacks. Kennelly’s return probably helps him as they do work well alongside each other. This score is probably a bit out of the box for him thanks to some late junk-stats, but he did earn a good percentage of his kicks by working hard, often getting two or three disposals per passage out of defence.
• Kane Cornes: Played his usual tagging job, as usual without much grandeur or excitement, but also as usual he racked up plenty of the ball. He wouldn’t have been in Port’s best three players (Hartlett, Thomas and Surjan), but just knows where to put himself to get a kick – a perfect attribute for your dream team!
• Ryan O’Keefe: O’Keefe was Sydney’s best midfielder in the first half, racking up 58 points to half time. Unfortunately, in the third and fourth quarter, Logan was moved onto him, virtually shutting him out of the game. With five minutes left on the clock, O’Keefe was on an average 72 points, before playing one of the most prolific games of kick-to-kick I have ever seen – a game which netted him (and his relieved owners) a whopping 38 points – gotta love that!

Disappointing:

• Jesse White: Was really well played by Carlile and simply couldn’t stick any marks. Got very frustrated with himself towards the end, but not nearly as frustrated as those that have him in their dream teams.
• Jackson Trengove: He needed to step up this week for all coaches playing him in the spot vacated by the injured Hille. Unfortunately he didn’t see very much of the ball – a lot of it was due to his teammates just not kicking it to him, despite the fact he was the main tall target up forward.
• Steven Salopek: Was off the field in the third quarter with a shoulder injury – unfortunately he now requires a shoulder reconstruction and will likely miss the rest of the season.

Blip on the Radar:

• Chad Cornes: His score of 77 suggests he wasn’t too bad, but those who saw the game will confirm he is still a long way off his best. He did get an OK amount of the ball, mainly playing in defence, but he generally used it poorly and gave away a couple of key free-kicks. He will continue to have his spot in the team questioned by the coaching staff, so stay away from him, regardless of how cheap he gets!

Richmond vs West Coast:

Looking Good:

• Jack Riewoldt: Jack was brilliant and the first player of the year to kick a ten goal haul, including five in the first term alone. He was brilliant all day and is really proving a consistent forward target who even the best defenders will have a hard day on. With the lack of other options, a different ‘Riewoldt’ to usual may find himself named in the All-Australian team if he keeps this form up.
• Beau Waters: Played again on the half-forward line, continuing his brilliant recent form. He plays a forward tagging role, but unlike other defensive forwards, Waters hurts his opponents through disposal – not by sitting on them. WCE will continue to play through Waters to get into the forward line in an attempt to force his opponent to man up.
• Brett Deledio: Waters’ direct opponent, and the man he was trying to shut down was Deledio. Deledio clearly ignored Waters and continued to go about his business as a rebounding defender as normal. He’s is in some good form and this role really suits him. I still worry a bit about picking premium players from teams on the bottom of the ladder, but Lids could be a good pick regardless.

Disappointing:

• Nic Naitanui: Nic-Nat is starting to slow down as the season progresses, forcing him to have more time in the forward line than on the ball (the improved fitness of Cox doesn’t help his case). Is probably in line for a rest in the coming weeks.
• Ben Griffiths: I’ll start by saying that I’m not slagging off the kid at all – but I just wanted to say that he probably isn’t a viable option for your bench at this stage of his career. His 15 points won’t be too out of place with other scores he should get this year – as he is a key forward he will take a while to adjust to the pace and ferocity of the game.
• Shannon Hurn: Was sat on by Jake King and wasn’t allowed too much influence out of the backline. These sort of scores shouldn’t be too uncommon for Hurn though as he doesn’t need too many disposals to influence a game.

Blip on the Radar:

• Bradd Dalziell: Unfortunately, Triple-D isn’t back to his ball-winning ways from Brisbane, but just played a big part in the late junk-time stats. After a great first year he has really dropped away in the DT stakes and shouldn’t be considered for your team.

Western Bulldogs vs Brisbane:

Looking Good:

• Barry Hall: Six goals on the still unfit Merrett was a good return for the big man. After talks of him being rested in coming weeks it was good to see him hit back, although he is very likely to back this up with a poor game next week as has been his form-line this year.
• Tom Rockliff: This was Rockliff’s third ton in a row and he did it running through the middle with an incredible kick to handball ratio – he kicked it 19 times to only 6 handballs – an incredible effort!
• Adam Cooney: Continuing his good recent form with another strong game – 30 disposals and 7 tackles. He still comes cheap and could be worth considering for your last midfield spot.

Disappointing:

• Brendan Fevola: Didn’t (or perhaps couldn’t) step up in Brown’s absence and was very poor, kicking just the two goals from 6 possessions.
• Travis Johnstone: After being DT’s top scorer last week, he played a much more defensive role this week on Giansiracusa. Did very little rebound work as Gia was one of the Dog’s main forward targets for the game.
• Brodie Moles: Couldn’t get into the game, despite the Dogs dominance. Many will be hoping he can keep his spot in the team, despite the sub-par performance.

Blip on the Radar:

• Mitch Hahn: Hahn is a decent player and can rack up a decent DT score, but is incredibly inconsistent. He has also been in below-average form this year, giving further reasons to why you don’t want him.

Fremantle vs St.Kilda:

Looking Good:

• Brendon Goddard: Another best-on-ground performance from Goddard. He spent the first three quarters as the loose man in defence, mopping up every Fremantle attack. He moved into the midfield in the last quarter and Freo simply couldn’t quell his influence.
• Michael Barlow: This kid won’t stop! He doesn’t just rack up stacks of the ball, but he plays the game incredibly well too – he finds space, works really hard, tackles well and uses the ball smartly.
• Sam Gilbert: His rebound from defence was amazing – he runs with such creativity, but also with incredible boldness, often taking on tackles and packs, and often getting away.

Disappointing:

• Byron Schammer: His first game for the year and chances are it’s his last too. Had very little effect on the game, being left in the forward line for large chunks. All the kids have overtaken him and would likely have much more upside than him too.
• Sam Fisher: Without Dawson (who should be back next week), Fisher was forced to a defensive role of Pavlich (and did very well, keeping him to just one goal). Unfortunately, this quelled his ability to run from defence.
• Leigh Montagna: Was heavily tagged by Crowley and didn’t handle it particularly well, although he did continue to work hard all day. Was knocked unconscious by Mundy’s knee in a marking attempt early in the fourth term and he played no further part in the game.

Blip on the Radar:

• Robert Eddy: Played his best game for the year in the forward line, and finally looked to be marking and disposing of the ball with more confidence. Unfortunately, his spot in the team is the one which is regularly rotated at the Saints between himself, Jack Steven, Nick Heyne and Tom Lynch (yet to debut). Also, with Riewoldt, Gram, Dawson and Armitage all due back within the next four weeks, spots will become very tight at the Saints.

Collingwood vs Melbourne:

Looking Good:

• Brent Moloney: Moloney was best afield in the first draw of the season, and was especially influential in the last quarter when the Dees crawled back in front, albeit momentarily. Is in red hot form at the moment and with Melbourne’s current form, he wouldn’t be such a bad option.
• Dane Swan: The disposal king racked them up again, finishing with 38 touches, plus 7 marks and 7 tackles. Unfortunately, his score could have been even better if his three shots at goal hadn’t all missed.
• Scott Pendlebury: Carried on from his BOG performance last week with another great game. Pendlebury has typically been a Supercoach specialist, however over the past few months is beginning to show more DT ability with an increase in marks and tackles.

Disappointing:

• Heath Shaw: Had only two points to his name at half time which was terrible – his inconsistency seems to be continuing. He played a defensive role on Dunn which prevented him from doing much rebound work.
• Jordan Gysberts: The most traded in player of the week was the second-lowest scorer of the game (in front of only Presti!). His low ten disposals and lack of tackles may worryingly put his place in the team under some pressure – especially with Macdonald due back soon.
• Leon Davis: Played up forward to little effect, only gaining the one goal. He does look good in bursts but it is where he is being played that is effecting him. However, with the returns of Dick and Lockyer (moreso Dick), Davis may find he does get put further up ground in the coming weeks.

Blip on the Radar:

• Tarkyn Lockyer: This was Lockyer’s fifth game of the year after being dropped for round five. Whilst Malthouse claims that Lockyer is still in his plans – and the fact he played well will help – I still would have worries about trading a player like Lockyer, who clearly has poor job security, into my team. Don’t be sucked in by his big score, as it is not necessarily his ball-winning ability that is keeping him out of the team!

Expert: Dan
Team: Hank Scorpio EDT
Current Ranking: 4,773
Round 12 Score: 2,422
Trades Remaining: 7
Team Changes This Week:
In: Jack Grimes
Out: Matt Maguire

Expert: Toby
Team: Fiora’s Hardnuts
Current Ranking: 2,106
Round 12 Score: 2,325
Trades Remaining: 8
Team Changes This Week:
In: Sam Gilbert, Trent West
Out: Ryan Hargrave, Robert Warnock

Expert: Ben
Team: The Redbacks
Current Ranking: 785
Round 12 Score: 2,160
Trades Remaining: 8
Team Changes This Week:
In: Alan Didak, Jordan Gysberts
Out: Eddie Betts, Ben Howlett

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

NORTH MELBOURNE v CARLTON

North Melbourne

B: Michael Firrito, Scott Thompson, Brady Rawlings

HB: Scott McMahon, Nathan Grima, Daniel Pratt

C: Jack Ziebell, Cruize Garlett, Ryan Bastinac

HF: Ben Cunnington, Lachlan Hansen, Brent Harvey

F: Daniel Wells, Todd Goldstein, Lindsay Thomas

Foll: Hamish McIntosh, Andrew Swallow, Levi Greenwood

I/C: Ed Lower, Matt Campbell, Ben Warren, Sam Wright

Emg: Nathan O’Keefe, Gavin Urquhart, Aaron Edwards

In: Warren

Out: David Hale (back)

• Those whose teams still have Warren sitting on the bench will be happy to see his name back on the sheet, especially in a week where several other premium forwards are either missing or in doubt.

Carlton

B: Aaron Joseph, Michael Jamison, Bret Thornton

HB: Jordan Russell, Andrew Walker, Steven Browne

C: Kade Simpson, Chris Judd, Heath Scotland

HF: Jeff Garlett, Jarrad Waite, Ryan Houlihan

F: Matthew Kreuzer, Setanta O’hAilpin, Eddie Betts

Foll: Sam Jacobs, Bryce Gibbs, Marc Murphy

I/C: Dennis Armfield, Andrew Carrazzo, Richard Hadley, Mitch Robinson

Emg: Lachie Henderson, Kane Lucas, Brock McLean

In: Armfield

Out: Joe Anderson

• No Bower or Yarran is the big news here – despite articles coming from the Blues this morning intimating they were close, clearly they didn’t make the cut. Plenty will also be disappointed with the continued absence of Warnock, not that we are surprised!
• Carlton’s two major off-season recruits, McLean and Henderson, again don’t make the grade!

HAWTHORN v ADELAIDE

Hawthorn

B: Brent Guerra, Stephen Gilham, Thomas Murphy

HB: Rick Ladson, Ben Stratton, Grant Birchall

C: Jordan Lewis, Sam Mitchell, Xavier Ellis

HF: Shaun Burgoyne, Lance Franklin, Michael Osborne

F: Carl Peterson, Jarryd Roughead, Cyril Rioli

Foll: Brent Renouf, Luke Hodge, Brad Sewell

I/C: Beau Muston, Ryan Schoenmakers, Wayde Skipper, Brendan Whitecross

Emg: Jordan Lisle, Garry Moss, Matt Suckling

In: Franklin, Muston, Schoenmakers

Out: Chance Bateman (susp), Clinton Young (quad), Liam Shiels (quad)

• Franklin is clearly the big inclusion this week – it must be frustrating for him, being in and out of the side with several suspensions this year – hopefully he can build some form towards the end of the year with a good stretch of games in a row.
• Both Young and Bateman should only miss a game each.

Adelaide

B: Graham Johncock, Ben Rutten, Brad Symes

HB: Michael Doughty, Nathan Bock, Simon Goodwin

C: Rory Sloane, Nathan van Berlo, David Mackay

HF: Jared Petrenko, Taylor Walker, Richard Douglas

F: Patrick Dangerfield, Kurt Tippett, Scott Stevens

Foll: Ivan Maric, Scott Thompson, Brent Reilly

I/C: Jonathon Griffin, Tony Armstrong, Jason Porplyzia, Ricky Henderson

Emg: Myke Cook, James Sellar, Chris Schmidt

In: Bock, Symes, Henderson

Out: Phil Davis (shoulder), Andrew McLeod (knee), Tyson Edwards (retired)

• McLeod is out with knee surgery, which could derail the rest of his season, whilst Edwards has retired from the game. Davis, who has been in good recent form, should miss a few games with a shoulder injury sustained by getting knocked out by a 211cm tree named Aaron.
• Bock is a big inclusion for the Crows, but it is the first game of 2010 for Symes that surely has a few DTers salivating. Many have been watching his progress as he returns from injury as he has in the past proven himself as a good ball-winner off half-back. A sustained run of games could finally turn his form around.

ESSENDON v GEELONG CATS

Essendon

B: Henry Slattery, Tayte Pears, David Myers

HB: Courtenay Dempsey, Dustin Fletcher, Mark McVeigh

C: Heath Hocking, Jobe Watson, Jason Winderlich

HF: Brent Stanton, Scott Gumbleton, Sam Lonergan

F: Leroy Jetta, Michael Hurley, David Zaharakis

Foll: Patrick Ryder, Andrew Welsh, Jake Melksham

I/C: Alwyn Davey, Thomas Bellchambers, Nathan Lovett-Murray, Ricky Dyson

Emg: Brent Prismall, Bachar Houli, Jarrod Atkinson

In: Bellchambers, Dyson, Stanton, Slattery, Fletcher

Out: David Hille (hamstring), Angus Monfries (hamstring), Ben Howlett, Jarrod Atkinson, Brent Prismall

• Knights loves a statement after a loss and several big names leave the side, including the injured Hille and Monfries (3 games each), Prismall (AGAIN!?!) and Howlett, all of which are huge DT blows. And unlike Prismall, Howlett is not even named as an emergency this week, so no chance of a late cal-up.
• Fortunately, Stanton is back into the team, as well as big-man Bellchambers, who will replace Hille for 2-3 weeks.

Geelong Cats

B: Josh Hunt, Tom Lonergan, Andrew Mackie

HB: Corey Enright, Harry Taylor, Darren Milburn

C: James Kelly, Cameron Ling, Jimmy Bartel

HF: Steve Johnson, James Podsiadly, Travis Varcoe

F: Mathew Stokes, Trent West, Gary Ablett

Foll: Mark Blake, Joel Selwood, Paul Chapman

I/C: Shannon Byrnes, Taylor Hunt, David Wojcinski, Simon Hogan

Emg: Ryan Gamble, Mitch Duncan, Tom Gillies

In: West, Ling

Out: Cameron Mooney (ankle), Dawson Simpson

• The big news here is that Podsiadly has kept his spot in the team, as was suggested by Bomber Thompson during the week.
• Dawson Simpson is dropped for Trent West – West has shown some good form as a forward in the Geelong VFL squad, but he is also a reasonable ruckman. He could be a good target at his price – he has played some AFL before (in 2008), so does understand how to play at this level.

PORT ADELAIDE v SYDNEY SWANS

Port Adelaide

B: Jacob Surjan, Alipate Carlile, Troy Chaplin

HB: Paul Stewart, Chad Cornes, Steven Salopek

C: Jay Nash, Domenic Cassisi, Travis Boak

HF: Matt Thomas, Jack Trengove, David Rodan

F: Brett Ebert, Daniel Motlop, Tom Logan

Foll: Dean Brogan, Danyle Pearce, Kane Cornes

I/C: Jason Davenport, Hamish Hartlett, Daniel Stewart, Cameron Hitchcock

Emg: Matthew Lobbe, Danny Meyer, Josh Carr

In: Hitchcock

Out: Matthew Broadbent

• Hitchcock is very welcome return after a one week shoulder injury, taking the spot of the disappointing Matthew Broadbent.
• Lobbe is an emergency, which is a blow for those relying on him for Hille’s spot in the team for the next couple of weeks.

Sydney Swans

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

HB: Martin Mattner, Heath Grundy, Tadhg Kennelly

C: Nick Malceski, Brett Kirk, Gary Rohan

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

F: Daniel Hannebery, Jesse White, Kieren Jack

Foll: Shane Mumford, Jude Bolton, Jarrad McVeigh

I/C: Paul Bevan, Craig Bird, Ben McGlynn, Mike Pyke

Emg: Matt O’Dwyer, Ted Richards, Patrick Veszpremi

In: Kennelly, McGlynn

Out: Henry Playfair (soreness), Lewis Jetta

• The General Soreness strikes again, this time attacking Henry Playfair and Jetta. Roos says Jetta will be back soon – he just needs a rest, whilst Playfair may find it hard to force his way back in.
• Kennelly is a great return for many teams, whilst many will be keeping an eye on McGlynn, hopeful he can recapture his early season form.

RICHMOND v WEST COAST

Richmond

B: Chris Newman, Luke McGuane, Jake King

HB: Shane Tuck, Brett Deledio, Daniel Connors

C: Ben Cousins, Daniel Jackson, Shane Edwards

HF: Matt White, Jack Riewoldt, Ben Nason

F: Richard Tambling, Ben Griffiths, David Astbury

Foll: Angus Graham, Trent Cotchin, Dustin Martin

I/C (from): Mitch Farmer, Jeromey Webberley, Will Thursfield, Andrew Collins, Tyrone Vickery, Robin Nahas, Kelvin Moore

In: Moore, Jackson, Connors, Vickery, Griffiths

Out: Mitch Morton, Troy Simmonds (retired)

• No surprises with the outs, whilst Connors leads the inclusions. After an eight week club suspension he is slotted straight back into the squad. Ben Griffiths also gets his second game after he was a late withdrawal last week against the Saints.
• Webberley named on the extended bench is worrying, especially with Connors back into the side – taking the position Webberley has been playing.

West Coast

B: Scott Selwood, Eric Mackenzie, Will Schofield

HB: Beau Waters, Beau Wilkes, Shannon Hurn

C: Andrew Embley, Matt Priddis, Bradd Dalziell

HF: Brad Sheppard, Josh Kennedy, Ben McKinley

F: Nic Naitanui, Mitchell Brown, Mark LeCras

Foll: Dean Cox, Brad Ebert, Tom Swift

I/C (from): Brett Jones, Quinten Lynch, Patrick McGinnity, Mark Nicoski, Matt Rosa, Adam Selwood, Lewis Stevenson

In: Lynch, Nicoski, Jones, McGinnity

Out: Sam Butler (foot)

• No huge news here, but the non-selection of Hams is annoying. After round 11, teams can nominate one rookie to elevate onto their list, clearly WCE have not done this with Hams after he was put back on the rookie list 3 weeks ago.

WESTERN BULLDOGS v BRISBANE LIONS

Western Bulldogs

B: Jarrod Harbrow, Dale Morris, Tom Williams

HB: Easton Wood, Brian Lake, Lindsay Gilbee

C: Ryan Griffen, Matthew Boyd, Liam Picken

HF: Brennan Stack, Mitch Hahn, Robert Murphy

F: Jarrad Grant, Barry Hall, Daniel Giansiracusa

Foll: Ben Hudson, Adam Cooney, Daniel Cross

I/C (from): Dylan Addison, Nathan Eagleton, Andrejs Everitt, Josh Hill, Will Minson, Brodie Moles, Sam Reid

In: Everitt, Reid, Wood, Murphy

Out: Shaun Higgins (ankle)

• Higgins out is an expected blow, whilst the continued absence of Hargrave is equally frustrating.
• Murphy is a good inclusion, and personally i am hoping that his inclusion will see Gia pushed more into the midfield this week – i won’t be holding my breath though.

FREMANTLE v ST KILDA

Fremantle

B: Byron Schammer, Chris Tarrant, Kepler Bradley

HB: Antoni Grover, Adam McPhee, Roger Hayden

C: Garrick Ibbotson, David Mundy, Anthony Morabito

HF: Jay van Berlo, Matthew Pavlich, Stephen Hill

F: Ryan Crowley, Alex Silvagni, Hayden Ballantyne

Foll: Aaron Sandilands, Michael Barlow, Paul Duffield

I/C (from): Nick Suban, Nathan Fyfe, Clancee Pearce, Rhys Palmer, Zac Clarke, Tim Ruffles, Matthew de Boer

In: Schammer, Ruffles, Silvagni, Pearce, Clarke

Out: Steven Dodd, Chris Mayne (ankle)

• Schammer will get his first game for the year (watch as he tags Montagna – guaranteed!), whilst Silvagni is also named on the field, confirming he will certainly play.
• Mayne is out with an expected 3 week ankle injury which is a blow for plenty of sides.

St Kilda

B: Steven Baker, Jason Blake, Sam Gilbert

HB: Raphael Clarke, Sam Fisher, James Gwilt

C: Brendon Goddard, Nick Dal Santo, Farren Ray

HF: Clinton Jones, Justin Koschitzke, Adam Schneider

F: Brett Peake, Ben McEvoy, Stephen Milne

Foll: Michael Gardiner, Lenny Hayes, Leigh Montagna

I/C (from): Robert Eddy, Jarryn Geary, Andrew McQualter, Alistair Smith, Adam Pattison, Nick Heyne, Rhys Stanley

In: Pattison, Heyne, Smith

Out: –

New: Alistair Smith (Perth)

• The Saints have named three changes and are the only side to name a possible debutant. Smith was one of the surprise packets of the 2010 NAB cup, showing his ability as a ball-winning wingman in the first three games. He can win his own ball, but also find it in space. Lyon also dropped him forward on occasions, getting him to play the defensive forward role currently held by Eddy and McQualter. McQ saved his bacon against Adelaide, whilst Eddy has shown nothing in his two games, suggesting that either Smith or Heyne will get a game. Smith has a huge engine (he clocked a beep test of over 16.0 in the WA state screenings), suggesting Subiaco could be a good debut ground for him.
• Stanley as an emergency will need to be watched, however Ross has commented he likes his two tall forwards/ two ruckman structure. Dawson’s absence is also interesting, but not DT relevant.

MELBOURNE v COLLINGWOOD

Melbourne

B: Clint Bartram, Matthew Warnock, James Frawley

HB: Cameron Bruce, Jared Rivers, Jack Grimes

C: Colin Sylvia, Jack Trengove, Tom Scully

HF: Neville Jetta, Matthew Bate, Lynden Dunn

F: Brad Green, Brad Miller, Aaron Davey

Foll: Mark Jamar, Brent Moloney, Jordie McKenzie

I/C (from): Colin Garland, Cale Morton, Jordan Gysberts, Nathan Jones, Jack Watts, Paul Johnson, Jamie Bennell

In: Johnson, Dunn, Frawley, McKenzie

Out: James McDonald (hamstring)

• Dunn, McKenzie and Frawley are all certain inclusions, meaning that at least two more will miss when the team is culled on Saturday. Watts may miss due to Dunn’s good form for Casey, however plenty will fear the security of Gysberts – he will clearly be the most targeted trade of the week, but we won’t even know for sure if he will play until Saturday arvo (due to it being a Monday game) which is very scary. McKenzie’s inclusion further clouds his selection…
• Captain McDonald will miss, hence McKenzie’s inclusion.

Collingwood

B: Heath Shaw, Simon Prestigiacomo, Leigh Brown

HB: Harry O’Brien, Nick Maxwell, Alan Toovey

C: Sharrod Wellingham, Dane Swan, Steele Sidebottom

HF: Paul Medhurst, Travis Cloke, Alan Didak

F: Dayne Beams, Brent Macaffer, Leon Davis

Foll: Darren Jolly, Scott Pendlebury, Dale Thomas

I/C (from): Jaxson Barham, Chris Dawes, Josh Fraser, Tyson Goldsack, Tarkyn Lockyer, Shane O’Bree, Ben Reid

In: Barham, Dawes, Goldsack, Lockyer, O’Bree

Out: Luke Ball (groin), Ben Johnson (ankle)

• Two big outs for Collingwood – Ball is a very popular option and the fact it is his groin that is injured is a bit concern considering he has spent many years recovering from Osteitis Pubis.
• Expect O’Bree and Goldsack to come in, whilst Dawes is surely a chance to replace Fraser.
• Once again, teams are named Saturday arvo.

Richmond, West Coast, the Western Bulldogs, the Brisbane Lions, Fremantle and St Kilda will name their final sides (22 plus three emergencies) from 5pm AEST on Friday.

Melbourne and Collingwood will name theirs at 4pm AEST on Saturday.

View Bay City Retards’ Team
Round 11 Score: 2,173
Current Overall Ranking: 42,216
Trades Left: 6
Remaining Salary Cap: $132,700

Dear Bay City Retards,

Thank you for submitting your team. I note from your e-mail to us that your main objective in 2010 is private league glory. I also note that you are currently on track for a top four finish.

I’ve mentioned many times previously the importance of finishing the home and away season inside the top four. There are two key reasons why this is so very important to your team’s ultimate success:

1. The double chance gives you two opportunities to make the preliminary final;
2. If you are good enough to win in week one of the finals, you earn the right to a one week break which means you can save your remaining trades for the preliminary final and grand final.

Regular readers of this column will be well aware that I like to preserve trades for later in the season, rather than burn them by Round 17 or 18 gunning for the major prize. As a result of this tactic, I have had a great deal of success in very competitive private leagues over the past few years.

My main objective in 2010 was to have a serious crack at winning the car, but with an overall ranking of 445 after Round 11, I’m running out of time to make my move. As each week passes by I start thinking more and more about turning my attention to private league glory. Fortunately, I’ve kept plenty of golden trades up my sleeve!

After not recommending any trades in my last two Submit Your Team articles, I thought this week would be my chance to recommend the must have mid season cash cow of 2010. However you have already bought in Jordan Gysberts so once again my recommendation is to hold fire.

Your current team has a solid core, but it is seriously lacking in on field depth. You simply cannot afford to enter a DT finals campaign with the likes of Webberley, Banfield and Hitchcock in your starting 22.

To help you with your private league finals campaign, I’m going to give you the names of the players currently in your squad of 30 who should be in your starting 22 in Round 19. These players are: Goddard, Hodge, Waters, Malceski, Fisher, Bower, Ablett, Bartel, Barlow, Thompson, Cox, Chapman, Didak, O’Keefe, Brown, Byrnes, Podsiadly and Murphy. I’ve identified 18 keepers, your job is to find at least another three keepers (your lack of trades may prevent you from finding another four) by DT finals week 1.

Mid priced players such as Kennelly, McKenzie, Banfield, Duncan, McEvoy etc. should be offloaded to free up cash which will allow you to make the required upgrades. You don’t have enough trades to dump all of these players, but at least two and possibly three of these players need to go.

If you are unsure when is the correct time to pull the trigger on some of these players, please feel free to post the question on our site.

Good luck!

Paul Duffield – Fremantle ($363,300, BAC, Break even: 86, price drop this season: $29,400)

Duffy can be a bit of a roller coaster, but I feel he is a real bargain at the moment. With so many worries regarding popular DT backs, I can see a few trades being made in back lines this week. There’s talk of Maguire being hurt, Davis got hit by “125kg of tree” in the immortal words of David “Ox” Schwarz and some may be holding onto Kennelly, Silvagni and Hargrave, who are no guarantee of a return.

What you will notice about Duffield, is that he is one of the biggest scorers in spurts. What I mean by that, is that you’re sitting there looking at live scores and Duffy hasn’t done anything for 15 minutes. You start thinking maybe he’s injured or something and then all of a sudden he’ll rack up 18 points in two minutes. It can get frustrating, but the end result usually means he’s averaging 90 this year (after averaging 89 last year).

This is where the highs and lows come into it. If he doesn’t manage too many of these scoring spurts in a game then he is liable to score the odd 70 (he’s had three sub 70′s this year and had five in 2009). However, if he’s a bit up in this regard then he has the ability to score big tons. He cracked 120 three times last year and already has one score of 135 this year, plus three more tons. You take the good with the bad and at the end of the day, you can feel pretty safe that he’ll get a 90 average, generally with a basement of 60ish, but capable of massive tons.

Jack Grimes – Melbourne ($326,600, BAC, Break even: 101, price drop this season: $65,700)

For a slightly more budget model of Duffield, have a look at one of everyone’s favourites from 2009, Jack Grimes. There’s generally a bit of a trend where popular rookies from the previous year find their way into a mass of teams the next year, possibly due to some sort of sentimentality. That doesn’t seem to have happened with Grimes this year. He’s only in 16,408 teams and is priced very reasonably.

He started the season with remarkable consistency. In the first four weeks his lowest score was 81 and his highest was 94. After that we started to see a bit more of a roller coaster with 58, 128, 79 and 112. His last three weeks haven’t been great, averaging 67 over that period, but he’s shown to also have a basement score of about 60. His lowest score is 57 and it’s really hard to picture his scoring lower than that in a game (mid game injury permitting).

Grimes is already one of the more mature football brains on the Demons team in only his third year on the list. He knows the right spots and will get plenty of cheap stuff through across half back and when moved into the midfield he’s more than capable of winning his own ball. If the news is bad on Maguire, then it’s only $40K to upgrade to Grimes. Even though he’s got a break even of 101, your situation may require immediate action, and furthermore Grimes is a chance to get that, so I’d look closely at him.

Shane Mumford – Sydney ($324,900, RUC, Break even: 17, price RISE this season: $82,000)* NOTE: I normally have guys that have dropped in price, Mumford is still looking like a bargain though…

I will preface this by saying that if you have no cover for Hille and you’ve decided to move him on and thank him for the memories, Dean Cox is an obvious option. I did already write about him a few weeks ago, so I won’t waste the column space, but Cox is putting along nicely and as NicNat is tiring a bit, Cox should be good to go in the run home and a Cox to Hille trade will only cost $7K. Gold, considering that trade was my loose plan at the start of the year.

However, if you’re looking for someone a bit cheaper, it’s worth putting the microscope on Shane Mumford’s recent form. First of all, he’s been greatly advantaged by Mark Seaby’s injury, handing him the #1 role. Since Seaby’s injury Mumford has scored 94, 113 and 114 (he also missed two weeks through suspension in this time).

The big advantage with Mumford is that even if he isn’t playing that well he’s a tackling machine (just ask Gary Ablett). He’s had 40 tackles in nine games this year, including 20 in his last three (where he has had a lot more TOG due to Seaby being out). What I like about this is that it indicates he doesn’t need to be playing particularly well to put points on the board.

He’s been filling a few other columns though, but do be wary that his last two games have been against Hawthorn and Essendon, who notoriously leak points to ruckmen. Don’t just take his past two scores on face value and consider that his opposition have been conducive to high scoring for a ruckman.

Jonathan Brown – Brisbane ($305,500, FWD, Break even: 41, price drop this season: $110,300)

It’s weird seeing forwards not traditionally associated with DT like Mitch Hahn, Tom Hawkins and Kyle Reimers priced higher than Browny, but that’s how it is right now. Some rotten form, no doubt injury related has restricted the great man this season.

He started like a house on fire with 138 and 141 in the first two rounds. I’m sure many people brought him in for Nick Riewoldt after Round 3, only to be served a fair bit of tripe since then. He has managed four scores in the 90′s since then, but no tons. It’s a little bit worrying that his ceiling seems to be set so low. When he stinks, he stinks. If he’s not scoring 90′s, he’s scored 37, 38 and 52 (also an 87).

His last couple of weeks have seen some semblance of form though. He is, no doubt, an injury risk. If Brisbane’s season continues to head south (I mean south in the context of the ladder, because obviously they’re heading south whenever they’re not playing at home) I would be very surprised if they don’t put him in for an early surgery. There’s all sorts of rumours flying around about how badly hurt he is playing, so more than anything this is a cautionary tale. I think Brown is great value and while he’s on the park, while you might have a few down games with him, at a shade over $300K you won’t find a better buy. But buyer beware! You’d want to hope Brisbane stay in the finals race this year…

Dawson Simpson – Geelong ($94,500, RUC, Break even: -16)

First two games: 56 vs. Freo (L), 31 vs. West Coast (W) = 43.5 avg.

NOTE: His first two games were in Rounds 3 and 11.

With news of Tom Hawkins developing a hot spot in his foot, Simpson could be in line to keep his spot in the team for a little while. Brad Ottens is listed as 2-3 weeks away (but wasn’t he listed as that for all of 2009?) and who knows how long Hawkins could be?

Big Daws (and I mean real big, he’s 206cm) won’t score too well. He doesn’t provide much around the ground just yet. I like his future but it might take him a while to really get there at AFL level. Furthermore, I’ve seen Geelong VFL play a couple of times this year and I wouldn’t write Trent West off from getting a couple of games to back up Mark Blake.

Jordan Gysberts – Melbourne ($117,500, MID, Break even: -92)

First two games: 103 vs. Geelong (L), 78 vs. Carlton (L) = 90.5 avg.

Is he our last great hope? When I look at the rookies yet to debut, there is not a whole heap screaming immediate impact to me, so that might make downgrade options tough to come by late in the year. Gysberts has been very impressive in his first two games against arguably the two best midfields in the league.

He’s got a good inside game and hopefully coming into the side late will mean he won’t need a rest. However, his spot wouldn’t be locked from what I see. If he had a bad game or two, he’s got the similarly inside Jordie McKenzie breathing down his neck. I think he has good job security, but put it this way, I’d be slightly uneasy in the run home with a mid bench of Gysberts and one of Howlett/Moles/Shuey.

Gysberts would be a great money maker if you’re able to keep someone like Jetta/Banfield/Martin/Trengove/Scully as your 7^th mid. I’m not saying he won’t play the full season out, but I just think we should put his first two games into perspective and not lock him in for the rest of the season (Beau Muston 2009, anyone?)

This week has been a shocking one for Dream Teamers with plenty of injuries to popular players – the worst part about this is many of these injuries are being given within the frustrating 2 – 4 week bracket; questions begin to arise – do you trade, or hang tight for a hopefully speedy recovery? To make matters worse, there are issues in all four positions; whether you have Higgins, Podsiadly, Mooney or Sylvia up forward, Hille in the Ruck, Maguire, McLeod, Davis or McGrath in defence, or Selwood, Young or Higgins in the midfield, you may be in a spot of bother in round 12. So, I have decided to take a bit of a different angle in this week’s ‘Who’d you Rather’ article, instead suggesting three players from each position; a premium, a mid-priced and a potential cheapy (NB: Midfield prices being so excessive have meant a ‘bargain’ is around $300k). I won’t go into as much detail as usual (as I am looking at 12 players), but hopefully this could help you more than the standard two-player comparison.

Defence:

Premium:

Brendon Goddard – $458,500, Avg. 111.18: Goddard has been sensational all year, but has really picked up his form over the past three weeks (he has averaged 128 over the past three weeks). He was completely dominant against the Tigers on Friday on his way to 138 points – his highest score of the year, and eighth score over 100. Goddard biggest asset is his versatility on field – he can be switched between the midfield, forward line and in defence – but wherever he is played, it is ALWAYS in an attacking role. He is great at winning his own ball, but works very hard to space to receive the ball from his teammates – as he is the best kick in the team he is regularly on the end of passes from his teammates. He is one of the most consistent performers in the competition and could even be relied upon as a captain choice.

Mid-Priced:

Andrew Carrazzo – $365,600, Avg. 95: Thanks to a game last week where he was employed as a tagger, Carrazzo’s score is looking much lower than what his form suggests would be appropriate (it was his only game under 80 points for the season). Carrazzo has played 2010 predominantly as a midfielder, often given jobs on the opposition’s better players – however, unlike many other taggers of the competition, Carrazzo is given license to work off his man and get his own ball. He has proven to have a high ceiling with two scores over 120, however he seems more to be a consistent performer between 80 and 100 points – in fact, seven of his 11 games have been in this score-bracket. Whilst he seems to only crack the big scores on occasion, consistent defenders are very hard to come by, so this is a great trait to have.

Budget:

Nick Suban – $217,500, Avg. 55.83: Suban has only played the six games this year after injuring himself in round three – he returned to the team in round nine. This is his second year on the Freo list and he was always expected to improve this year after a fantastic first season last year where he came home with gusto. Since returning from injury, he has played only three games, and honestly only one particularly impressed, however I am basing this pick on previous promises – I really enjoyed watching him last year and so far this year he doesn’t look to have really found his feet or fitness yet. But give him a few weeks and I believe that he should be able to average 70 – 80 points in the straight home to the finals. He is a penetrating, accurate left kick and his teammates want it in his hands – I would be very surprised if he didn’t come good soon!

Midfield:

Premium:

Gary Ablett – $491,000, Avg. 125.9: I think I said it all in last week’s article, but to reiterate, Ablett is the most prolific scorer of DT season 2010 and is seemingly becoming a must-have player if he can keep his body right for the remainder of the season. He has taken a nice little price drop over the past couple of weeks thanks to some scores only a little bit over 100 and is now priced under the $500k mark, still making him one of the most expensive players in the competition. He has an amazing fitness base and an incredible ability through traffic – not only do his quick hands have the ability to grab any ball thrown to him, but his strong hips allow him to break free from almost any tackle. Has been added to the ‘untaggable’ list this year with his continued ability to break free from any opponent put on him. The complete package and an easy lock for captain each and every week.

Mid-Priced:

Nick Dal Santo – $396,000, Avg. 99.18:

Has only four scores below 95 to his name for this year, and one of the more recent ones (47 against Carlton) has really dragged his price down, despite a very good average of 99.18. Over the past two years, Dal has taken his game to much greater heights – he has worked hard on his pack work and is now one of the bigger contested ball winners at the Saints. He also now averages 3.5 tackles a game – a stat we would never associated with him two years ago. With his newfound ambition in the game has also seen him working much harder to break tags. No longer will he just give up, but continues to work very hard, especially around the centre bounces where he is becoming a clearance king – only once this year has he lost his battle with a tagger, and twice he has broken even (including against arch-nemesis Kane Cornes). A really consistent option now and very capable of pulling some big scores!

Budget:

Andrew Walker – $337,400, Avg. 81.14: Walker’s season had a massive turnaround in round 4 when Ratten stuck him behind the ball against Adelaide. It was a great DT game, but unfortunately, just the following week he injured his arm against Geelong. The 52 points he scored has helped level his price out to be very appetising. Since returning from the injury last week he has already scored a 108 and an 87 after being put back in the same sweeper position in which he racked up 134 points in round four. I think at the moment Walker is at a very appealing price and almost too hard to ignore. He has the potential to average close to 100 points in a team who looks in some good form. Ratten seems set to keeping him in this position which is a real positive.

Ruck:

Premium:

Aaron Sandilands – $383,900, Avg. 99.36: Sandi has been in great form this year and is easily the most dominant ruckman in the competition and there is no reason to suggest he won’t be for the rest of the season. Up until round eight he averaged a fantastic 107 points – scores that would even be very good for a midfielder. Unfortunately, in the past three weeks his scoring has dropped off somewhat and he has averaged only 79 points – this is mainly a reflection of Mark Harvey dropping his time of ground. Fremantle have made a conscious effort to rest the big guy so he doesn’t tire for the business end of the season. I expect that his ground time will ramp back up after the mid-season break, suggesting you will be able to get him for a pretty good price up until then. He has worked very hard this year to be clean around the ground and is averaging 17 disposals a game – very handy for a guy of his size. Add this to the 36 hitouts he should average and the one goal and you are looking at a ton almost every week.

Mid-Priced:

Shane Mumford – $324,900, Avg. 78.33: Big Mummy has really become a viable option over the past couple of weeks after two very strong games against decent sides in Hawthorn and Essendon. Over these two games he has really asserted his presence in the game, not only by winning his own ball, but also at the bounces where he has racked up over 40 hitouts in each game – huge numbers for even the best rucks in the competition (Sandi has only cracked 40 twice this season in his 11 games). Mummy’s scoring has been helped by the fact he is clearly the side’s number ruckman – fellow off-season tradee Seaby is on the sidelines until late in the year and Mike Pyke is still learning the game. The signs shown by Mumford in the past couple of games are enough to suggest consistency and not just a flash in the pan. Could be a really big improver in the second half of the year.

Budget:

Kurt Tippett – $238,400, Avg. 55: Whilst there would be plenty of upset people who would want to dispute the validity of Tippitt as a ‘bargain,’ but watching his past few games closely I believe that his expected form isn’t far away. Against the Saints he was taking huge leaps and out-bodying his opponents as well as his did in 2009 – He was well held by Tarrant against Freo, but I still thought he showed signs of improvement. Adelaide also seem to be on the improve from their shocking start to the season which will only help – whilst he’s not going to average 100 – he could become consistent enough to be pulling in scores around the 80-mark a little more frequently.

Forward:

Premium:

Paul Chapman – $477,200, Avg. 119.36: Nothing much has changed with Chappy since the article I wrote about him last week – he still has two hamstrings in tact and has still not scored below 100 points after his 112 on the weekend. After years of injury plagued seasons, 2010 is optimistically looking like it could be his first without any major setbacks. When in form – and he certainly is at the moment – Chappy is an incredible DTer – he can tackle, loves to kick and often finishes with a couple of goals. Also, amongst such a star-studded midfield as Geelong’s, he often goes through the match without much opposition attention. With his injury history he is still a huge risk, but a risk that could surely pay huge dividends if he can stay on the park.

Mid-Priced:

Ryan O’Keefe – $331,800, Avg. 93: O’Keefe suffered heavy concussion a few weeks ago and hasn’t looked very good since (until this weekend that is!). He obviously hasn’t been feeling his best as Sydney have been playing back in the forward line for a couple of weeks – obviously to help him regain touch and fitness. But his last game saw him thrown back into the midfield mix, and like a duck to water he didn’t even flinch. When in form through the midfield, O’Keefe is an awesome DTer and right now his price is very much a bargain. He could easily average 100 points for the remaining rounds without much challenge. He is great at winning his own ball, and he is excellent around the goals. If you don’t already have him, he is certainly one to consider very highly.

Budget:

Brendon Fevola – $252,100, Avg. 67: This could be bang or bust with Fevola; so far this year he has been quite poor, in fact he has leaked the second most amount of cash of anyone in the competition. Some of his scoring decrease has been to do with his slight change of roles and responsibility at Brisbane – whilst Fevola is very much a focus, Brown is still getting more of the delivery. I do however believe that a lot of his poor scoring has been to do with his groin injury, which is clearly hampering him. It has been a few weeks since it flared and then began to ease and we are starting to see a slightly more mobile Fevola in the past couple of weeks. I give him until the mid-season break, but I think some better form isn’t far off. Don’t be expecting a turnaround to his Carlton days, but an average of around 80 with occasional scores between 110 and 120 would be enough to satisfy you as your 7^th forward.