Footy Tragic

Western Bulldogs vs Melbourne:

Looking Good:

• Daniel Giansiracusa: Despite the return of Boyd, Gia’s spot in the midfield thankfully continued, and he didn’t disappoint! He still continues to prefer his boot and lays plenty of tackles, leading to some very nice DT scores! I’m really enjoying his form after a slow start to the year!

• Tom Scully: Played easily his best game of the year, nearly winning the game off his own boot with 18 well-earned possessions in the last quarter alone! This kid is going to be a gun – if you don’t have him this year, it is too late, but I think there will be plenty keeping an eye on him in 2011!
• Shaun Higgins: Was one of the more composed players on the wet MCG and seemed to have plenty of space. His clean disposal and good composure were highlights, showing he is currently in good form.

Disappointing:

• Barry Hall: He is beginning to look very old – he has certainly lost some pace and cramp in the last quarter wasn’t a great sign. I will be surprised if he turns his game around much for the remainder of the year – if possible, find a way to trade him out.
• Colin Sylvia: Continues to play as a forward which is both a little surprising and worrying – despite the fact his first two games of the season (where he scored a ton in each) were in the forward line, he will always have more potential upfield. Hopefully the move is made sooner rather than later as he is currently leaking cash for his owners!
• Ryan Hargrave: Had only two disposals to half time which would have had all his new owners cursing his name. Fortunately, he was able to score 50 points in the second half, but still, 51 total points is not good enough!

Blip on the Radar:

• Josh Hill: Hill was a late inclusion and competed really well in conditions made for a player of his ilk – he laid a game-high 10 tackles which was impressive, but don’t expect him to back this up to often – Hill tends to be Mr. Inconsistency, and this is the reason he finds himself in and out of the team.

Essendon vs Port Adelaide:

Looking Good:

• Domenic Cassisi: Amassed an amazing 14 tackles and looks to be back to his best after bottoming out a few weeks ago. Like most captains, he really steps up when the games are close.
• Kane Cornes: Mr. Dependable delivered another solid performance, racking up 29 disposals, despite rolling an ankle in the third quarter. He is still cheap for what he can deliver, so definitely consider him!
• Angus Monfries: Worked hard all game for his goals and kicked a total of three. He seems to be working on his forward pressure, which is encouraging – he finished the game with 7 tackles. He does still lack a bit of consistency though.

Disappointing:

• David Hille: Was easily beaten, which was very disappointing considering his recent form and the fact he wasn’t contesting against a highly rated ruck duo. I wouldn’t be jumping to any conclusions and panic trading him out though!
• Robbie Gray: After a massive game last week, Gray didn’t even touch the ball in the first quarter. He ended with only two goals in a performance that suggested he may be an inconsistent scorer this year if he continues to play up forward.
• Michael Hurley: Like Gray, Hurley didn’t touch it in the first quarter and spent most of the game being dominated by Carlile. I hope no one jumped the gun and traded in Hurley this year as he has so far shown little of the dominant form that ended his 2009 season.

Blip on the Radar:

• Dean Brogan: Brogan played a very good game as Port’s number one ruckman, but he is not typically a high disposal ruckman, meaning he is not the solution to your rucking woes. Whilst he may play the odd good DT game like this one, typically his dominance is going to be at the bounces, rather than around the wings.

West Coast vs Hawthorn:

Looking Good:

• Josh Kennedy: This really looked like a breakout game for Kennedy – he was plucking strong marks, working very hard up the field and on leads and kicked himself 6 goals. If he can keep this form up he has the potential to become one of the best forwards in the competition. This was easily one of the more impressive individual performances of the weekend.
• Jordan Lewis: Was a late inclusion in the side and looked straight away like he wanted to make amends. He finished the game on 31 disposals, but it was his workrate that was the most impressive – as I said, he really looked like he had a point to prove. Hopefully it can continue!
• Dean Cox: Cox is still working gradually to full fitness and also working out the new rucking structure with Nic-Nat in the team. Fortunately, thanks to Cox’s big tank, he is being employed as tall winger when Naitanui is having his stints in the ruck, meaning his point-scoring is not being ruined by just being stuck in the forward line.

Disappointing:

• Rick Ladson: Could be one of the next Hawks to be cut as Clarkson tries to find a team that gives their all. He once again lacked intensity and turned the ball over with his apparently accurate boot. Now is the time to hit the trade button on Ladson.
• Adam Selwood: Selwood went back to his old methods of tagging as he tried to shut down Hodge – this method means he sacrifices his own game to shut-down the opposition, rather than just playing off them and hurting them the other way as he has done all year. I honestly doubt that this will be a regular change of method.
• Liam Shiels: Was played as a tagger on Priddis, but forgot to get the ball for himself too. He is still young, so we can let him off… But only this once.

Blip on the Radar:

• Quinten Lynch: After a shocker last week, Lynch played a much better game as a pure-forward. However, don’t expect him to start pulling out the massive scores which his earlier years became known for. I expect his role will continue to change and he may find himself in and out of the team throughout the year – two huge negatives from a DT perspective, so avoid!

Collingwood vs North Melbourne:

Looking Good:

• Dane Swan: Swan looks to be finally regaining some consistency to his dream team… uh… I mean football. He finished the game with 38 disposals – reasonable by his standard. He looks like he is moving better than earlier in the year (maybe it is his haircut!?) and I am hoping this could mean more scores consistently over 120!
• Luke Ball: This was Ball’s second good game in a row, suggesting last week was no fluke. I am surprised that his big scores have come in their two big wins, as at the Saints, Ball would always be the best in the close games and suffer a bit in a thrashing. Hopefully (for those who have kept him), this renewed form can continue on for the remainder of the season.
• Ben Cunnington: Cunnington was definitely not the best from the Roos, but this was definitely his most impressive game for the club. He seems to be gradually picking up the pace of the game, thanks a lot to Brad Scott trusting him with big tasks and giving him time to learn and develop. It may still take a few weeks, but I think we will surely see some good form from him this year.

Disappointing:

• Travis Cloke: It’s always disappointing when a CHF in a team that kicks 23 goals in a game only kicks one of them himself. He was easily thrashed by Grima, and personally I would never trust Cloke in my team due to his immense inconsistency.
• Aaron Edwards: Edwards is another inconsistent forward who looks capable of anything one week, and then the next he looks to be running around the forward line like a chook with his head cut off. Unfortunately, this game was the latter…
• Paul Medhurst: Scored only 20 points in the first half before racking up some garbage stats when the game was already won. Every week he seems to be proving that 2008 may have been a fluke after all…

Blip on the Radar:

• Sam Wright: I’m sure all Wright owners (who likely have him on the bench) may have breathed a final sigh of relief as he racked up his first score over 60 for the year. Personally, I recommend holding onto him until his price tops out, then trade him straight out – don’t be expecting 80′s consistently.

Brisbane vs Fremantle:

Looking Good:

• Matthew Pavlich: As expected, the Freo skipper had a day out in the forward line with Brisbane lacking both their half-back and full-back. He booted 3 goals, but also had plenty of impact when he moved for stints in the midfield. He looks to be the in-form forward of the competition at the moment.
• Simon Black: Was immense through the midfield, and it was his pin-pointed forward entries that nearly won it for the Lions. He isn’t getting any younger, but by that same token, he doesn’t seem to be slowing down either!
• Stephen Hill: I reckon this could have been one of his best games for his club – despite being tagged, he racked up over 30 disposals and covered the ground really well. He played with a lot of maturity and looks to be turning into a brilliant player.

Disappointing:

• Josh Drummond: Was beginning to have a real influence on the game when moved to the midfield, but unfortunately he went down with what looked like a severe knee injury which, will likely put him out of the game for the rest of the year.
• Jonathan Brown: Was very well beaten by Tarrant, but he still does not look 100%. The Brown from rounds 1-3 would have won this game off his own boot, but there was just no push from him at all when it was in the balance. Hopefully he can come good, and fast!
• Paul Duffield: This was one of those games that makes dream team frustrating – I thought that Duffield was one of Freo’s better players and really helped keep them in the game with his poise and surprising braveness in some contests. Unfortunately, DT scoring doesn’t always reflect this and his score therefore was much lower than expected. So if you have him, don’t get fed-up and trade him – there are plenty of big scores to come!

Blip on the Radar:

• Kepler Bradley: This was probably the best game I have seen the big man play, yet still I don’t think I could ever see myself putting him in my dream team… ever. He has too much of a poor DT history to trust, so don’t.

Geelong vs Sydney:

Looking Good:

• Gary Ablett Jnr: Ablett continued his dominant form against Sydney, racking up and impressive 38 disposals. But what pleased me most was the fact he lay 7 tackles – proof that he is not only working as a ball-receiver, but also working hard defensively too!
• James Podsiadly: Pods was once again the dominant tall-target in the Cats forward line, booting five goals. He doesn’t look like slowing down anytime soon, and seems to be the key target in the forward line thanks to his accurate left boot (copy and pasted from last week… Consistent, heh!?).
• Shane Mumford: With Seaby down and the lack of Ottens in the opposition, Mumford was the dominant ruckman on the ground and proved that he could be a good fantasy option for this year, however I do think he may already be a bit overpriced for the risk involved – I would prefer to see him up against a better ruck division before making my decision.

Disappointing:

• Daniel Bradshaw: After a huge game last week against his old club, Bradshaw was stood by Scarlett and was totally dominated. He took one mark, had two kicks and booted one goal for the entire game – not particularly delightful if you have him sitting in your forward line…
• Jarred Moore: Played the game as a small forward but kicked a total of NO goals…
• Cameron Mooney: With the arrival of the jPod, Mooney and Hawkins have been pushed to the side – because of their issues in front of goal (and jPod’s great left boot), they are no longer the preferred options (but that’s OK, cos we have jPod in our teams instead of them anyway!).

Blip on the Radar:

• Mark Blake: He may have been the only Cats ruckman, and therefore expected to pick up the slack left by Ottens, but he was as uninspiring as expected. Please don’t put him in your team – you will only regret it.

Richmond vs Adelaide:

Looking Good:

• Scott Thompson: Was in and out of the game for most of it, but stood up when it counted in the last quarter. Thompson is a DT star of years past, however I wouldn’t be pouncing yet – wait until the Crows can string a few games together first.
• Shane Edwards: Has always shown a bit of potential, and I thought he was one of Richmond’s better players for the first three quarters and really helped create their lead early with a couple of nice goals and some hard work around the flanks.
• Nathan Van Berlo: This is only NVB’s fourth game for the year, so his fitness is still building. I thought he worked hard for the four quarters and often dropped back behind the ball to win some cheap stats (gotta love that!). He has never been an amazing DTer, despite always threatening to be, so keep an eye on his next few games and see if he can keep it up.

Disappointing:

• Dustin Martin: We know he is a confident player, but he tries too often to break the tackles or charge through a pack, often resulting in getting pinged for holding the ball. His outside game is brilliant and he will certainly be a star, however at this stage of his career, he needs to learn his limitations at senior level.
• Phil Davis: I can’t really tell you what he was doing as I hardly saw him – he played as a defender, but Bock’s return seems to be hurting his output. A couple of poor turnovers marred his game and he may have a few worried owners as to his security in the team for next week.
• Jason Porplyzia: Competed well in the forward line and kicked a few opportunistic goals, however with his fitness where it is (nowhere), he is not the type you want in your team – despite his low price-tag, stay far away until he is fully up and running.

Blip on the Radar:

• Richard Douglas: Douglas played a good role in the Crows first win, but I cannot see him doing it regularly – he is a player who carries plenty of hype, however I have personally never seen why… He does have some pace and skill, but doesn’t particularly stand out at anything. He will keep his spot in the team, score the occasional ton, but he is far from the upgrade target you are looking for…

Richmond vs Adelaide:

Looking Good:

• Jordan Russell: Absolutely creamed McQualter, running off the half-back. His run was the most pivotal for the Blues as a game being lauded as one of the best rebounding games in history. He looks like the player capable (and likely) to step up into the spot created by the injured Bower, so has the potential to score some very big numbers.
• Lenny Hayes: Lenny was one of only four or five Saints who gave their all for the entire match. He went head-to-head with Judd and won, but it was clearly not enough to take his team over the line. Lenny’s scoring is very much on the up now, so pounce now if you are keen.
• Eddie Betts: Betts has always given the Saints grief and his five goals were proof they still have no answer for him. The Blues have now built there forward line around the likes of Betts, Garlett and Yarren, and so far it is proving successful against the top teams in both St.Kilda and Geelong.

Disappointing:

• Nick Dal Santo: Although he was heavily tagged by Carrazzo, five disposals in the first three quarters is pathetic. He just couldn’t get near the pill and looked more like the DalSanto of 2008 who would never work hard enough. The Saints are flat and giving him no support – if they turn their form around, Dal has the ability to get back to his best.
• Sam Fisher: Houlihan shut Fisher out of the game with a strong forward tag on him. Fortunately, with Gilbert in great form, opponents won’t always select Fisher as their point of attack, but the Blues have always, always played a man through Fisher, so things weren’t about to change this week.
• Justin Koschitzke: Whilst Ross Lyon won’t blame the big man, his lack of output in the forward line is deeply troubling him – he kicked a solitary behind against the Blues. He gets too easily pushed off the ball and goes to ground too easily – he needs his skipper there to feel the confidence.

Blip on the Radar:

• Dennis Armfield: The game-plan used against the Saints involved every defender working hard off their man, so clearly it meant that they each saw a bit of the pill. Armfield was also a bit further up the field as his opponent, Schneider, played stints through the midfield too. He is typically just a shut-down player and provided very little run, so he is not the player you want.

Expert: Dan
Team: Hank Scorpio EDT
Current Ranking:5,109
Round 7 Score: 2,045
Trades Remaining: 14
Team Changes This Week:
In: Dane Swan, Ryan Hargrave
Out: Jack Trengove, Nathan Krakouer

Expert: Toby
Team: Fiora’s Hardnuts
Current Ranking: 4,076
Round 7 Score: 1,962
Trades Remaining: 13
Team Changes This Week:
In: Ben Howlett, Ryan Hargrave
Out: Matt Maguire, Ryan Bastinac

Expert: Ben
Team: The Redbacks
Current Ranking: 176
Round 7 Score: 2,167
Trades Remaining: 14
Team Changes This Week:
In: Ben Cunnington, Dean Cox
Out: Nick Naitanui, Ryan Bastinac

Don’t forget to check Tuney’s first “Submit Your Team” article for this year!

MELBOURNE v WESTERN BULLDOGS
Melbourne
B: Cameron Bruce, Matthew Warnock, James Frawley
HB: James McDonald, Colin Garland, Clint Bartram
C: Jack Trengove, Jordie McKenzie, Jared Rivers
HF: Brad Green, Colin Sylvia, Lynden Dunn
F: Nathan Jones, Matthew Bate, Aaron Davey
Foll: Mark Jamar, Jack Grimes, Brent Moloney
I/C: Jamie Bennell, Paul Johnson, Tom Scully, Daniel Hughes
Emg: Joel Macdonald, Neville Jetta, Michael Newton

In: Johnson, Hughes, McKenzie
Out: Joel Macdonald, Ricky Petterd (shoulder), Stefan Martin

New: Daniel Hughes (Sandringham (VFL)/rookie list)

• Danny Hughes will make his debut for the club – he is a medium sized forward and is a mature-aged rookie (23yo). He played 12 games in the VFL last year and was named in the best for a third of them, kicking 20 goals along the way. He has a good body size, and considering he is only competing with Brad Miller and Juice Newton for spots in the 22, i would think he’d be given plenty of opportunities.
• Macdonald has been dropped from the team which is a bit of a surprise, and Petterd looks like he will miss the rest of the season with his shoulder injury. McKenzie earns his spot back after being rested last week.

Western Bulldogs
B: Jarrod Harbrow, Brian Lake, Dale Morris
HB: Ryan Hargrave, Tom Williams, Lindsay Gilbee
C: Ryan Griffen, Daniel Cross, Andrejs Everitt
HF: Robert Murphy, Mitch Hahn, Shaun Higgins
F: Daniel Giansiracusa, Barry Hall, Jason Akermanis
Foll: Ben Hudson, Matthew Boyd, Adam Cooney
I/C: Dylan Addison, Jarrad Grant, Brennan Stack, Jordan Roughead
Emg: Will Minson, Josh Hill, Easton Wood

In: Boyd, Stack
Out: Nathan Eagleton (leg), Brad Johnson (groin)

• All Boyd owners will be rapt to see him back, although those who own Gia will probably be a little more disappointed as he will now likely move back to the forward line, sacrificing the two huge scores he has had in a row.

ESSENDON v PORT ADELAIDE
Essendon
B: Courtenay Dempsey, Dustin Fletcher, Henry Slattery
HB: Brent Prismall, Cale Hooker, Mark McVeigh
C: Heath Hocking, Jobe Watson, Nathan Lovett-Murray
HF: Sam Lonergan, Scott Gumbleton, David Zaharakis
F: Patrick Ryder, Michael Hurley, Alwyn Davey
Foll: David Hille, Brent Stanton, Jason Winderlich
I/C: Angus Monfries, Ben Howlett, Jarrod Atkinson, Jake Melksham
Emg: Bachar Houli, Tyson Slattery, Mark Williams

In: Melksham, Howlett
Out: Andrew Welsh (susp), Ricky Dyson (knee)

• Finally, Howlett is included back in the Bombers team, along with Melksham. They take the places of Welsh (who is suspended for four weeks) and Dyson (who looks like missing 2 months of footy with his knee injury)

Port Adelaide
B: Jacob Surjan, Alipate Carlile, Troy Chaplin
HB: Paul Stewart, Chad Cornes, Steven Salopek
C: Danyle Pearce, Domenic Cassisi, Jason Davenport
HF: Matt Thomas, Warren Tredrea, David Rodan
F: Robbie Gray, Brett Ebert, Justin Westhoff
Foll: Dean Brogan, Travis Boak, Kane Cornes
I/C: Hamish Hartlett, Daniel Motlop, Nathan Krakouer, Jackson Trengove
Emg: Matthew Broadbent, Nick Salter, Michael Pettigrew

In: D. Motlop, Krakouer, Trengove
Out: Jay Schulz, Matthew Lobbe, Josh Carr

• Both Krakouer and Trengove are good inclusions for Port – however, Motlop’s recovery from injury will probably exclude Hitchcock from many future matches, although i hope i am wrong.
• Lobbe has lost his place in the side – i expect he will be in and out of the side all year, depending on who Port are playing.

WEST COAST v HAWTHORN
West Coast
B: Will Schofield, Darren Glass, Beau Waters
HB: Scott Selwood, Eric Mackenzie, Shannon Hurn
C: Matt Rosa, Matt Priddis, Brad Ebert
HF: Brad Sheppard, Josh Kennedy, Mark Nicoski
F: Ashton Hams, Quinten Lynch, Mark LeCras
Foll: Nic Naitanui, Adam Selwood, Tom Swift
I/C: Dean Cox, Patrick McGinnity, Ben McKinley, Lewis Stevenson
Emg: Mitchell Brown, Bradd Dalziell, Ashley Hansen

In: Nicoski, Stevenson, Sheppard
Out: Brett Jones (arm), Chris Masten (knee), Andrew Embley (susp)

New: Brad Sheppard (East Fremantle)

• It is great to see Sheppard named for his debut after several good games in the WAFL. As talked about in today’s article, Sheppard is a ball-winning half-back and a first round draft pick for the Eagles in last year’s draft. Whilst he didn’t really shine in the NAB cup, he has the potential to be a real star once given a good chance.
• Chris Masten will be out for 5-6 weeks with his knee injury and Embley has been suspended for 2 games.

Hawthorn
B: Ben Stratton, Stephen Gilham, Brent Guerra
HB: Grant Birchall, Ryan Schoenmakers, Brendan Whitecross
C: Clinton Young, Luke Hodge, Matt Suckling
HF: Carl Peterson, Lance Franklin, Chance Bateman
F: Cyril Rioli, Jarryd Roughead, Campbell Brown
Foll: Brent Renouf, Brad Sewell, Liam Shiels
I/C: Xavier Ellis, Rick Ladson, Jarryd Morton, Beau Muston
Emg: Jordan Lewis, Garry Moss, Shane Savage

In: Muston, Morton, Suckling, Peterson
Out: Michael Osborne, Jordan Lewis, Thomas Murphy, Jarrod Kayler-Thomson

• The axe has swung at Hawthorn and a couple of big names have suffered the chop, including Jordan Lewis, who has started his season poorly due to sustaining concussion against the Dogs. Of the four chopped, he is the only named as an emergency, so the question is whether he will be a late inclusion or not.
• JKT also gets the chop, which was not a huge surprise to those who saw his game – will probably find himself in and out of the team through the year.
• Peterson is the only really significant inclusion for DT – i think they really lacked his forward pressure last week.
• Also, be aware that Buddy is coming into this game under an injury cloud after hurting his ankle at training. Hawks are saying he will play, but i think that if he was definitely going to play they would have given Roughead the chop too. Also, in more disappointing news, Mitchell is still not back for the Hawks, meaning this is his third week on the sidelines.

COLLINGWOOD v NORTH MELBOURNE
Collingwood
B: Heath Shaw, Ben Reid, Ben Johnson
HB: Harry O’Brien, Nick Maxwell, Alan Toovey
C: Luke Ball, Dane Swan, Steele Sidebottom
HF: Shane O’Bree, Travis Cloke, Alan Didak
F: Dayne Beams, Paul Medhurst, Leon Davis
Foll: Darren Jolly, Scott Pendlebury, Dale Thomas
I/C: Brent Macaffer, Nathan Brown, Chris Dawes, Cameron Wood
Emg: Tarkyn Lockyer, Simon Buckley, John Anthony

In: Wood, O’Bree
Out: Josh Fraser (knee), Sharrod Wellingham (calf)

• Both Fraser and Wellingham’s injuries are disappointing, but more-so the latter who looks to be in the midst of a breakout year. I would expect each of these injuries would only be a week or so.

North Melbourne
B: Michael Firrito, Scott Thompson, Brady Rawlings
HB: Nathan Grima, Lachlan Hansen, Sam Wright
C: Jack Ziebell, Ben Cunnington, Ryan Bastinac
HF: Aaron Edwards, Todd Goldstein, Brent Harvey
F: Daniel Wells, David Hale, Ben Warren
Foll: Hamish McIntosh, Andrew Swallow, Liam Anthony
I/C: Lindsay Thomas, Leigh Adams, Levi Greenwood, Scott McMahon
Emg: Josh Smith, Nathan O’Keefe, Daniel Pratt

No change

• Cunnington will play his third game for the season.

BRISBANE LIONS v FREMANTLE
Brisbane Lions
B: Jed Adcock, Joel Patfull, Ashley McGrath
HB: Pearce Hanley, Brent Staker, Josh Drummond
C: Jared Brennan, Daniel Rich, Justin Sherman
HF: Luke Power, Jonathan Brown, Jack Redden
F: James Polkinghorne, Brendan Fevola, Todd Banfield
Foll: Matthew Leuenberger, Simon Black, Michael Rischitelli
I/C: Mitchell Clark, Matt Austin, Travis Johnstone, Tom Rockliff
Emg: Amon Buchanan, Tom Collier, James Hawksley

In: Adcock, Sherman, Hanley, Rockliff
Out: Amon Buchanan, Matt Maguire (susp), Troy Selwood, Andrew Raines (calf)

• I’m sure there are many excited coaches seeing Rockliff named back into the lions side as he has plenty of money left to make us! The fact that Buchanan has been omitted shows that Vossy maybe thinks a bit higher of Rockliff’s ability in the same role.
• Maguire will come out of the side due to his one week suspension – this will be a good week to have Pavlich in your team as Brisbane are now missing both Merrett and Maguire!

Fremantle
B: Dylan Roberton, Chris Tarrant, Ryan Crowley
HB: Greg Broughton, Luke McPharlin, Roger Hayden
C: Adam McPhee, David Mundy, Paul Hasleby
HF: Michael Johnson, Matthew Pavlich, Stephen Hill
F: Matt de Boer, Chris Mayne, Hayden Ballantyne
Foll: Aaron Sandilands, Michael Barlow, Paul Duffield
I/C: Nathan Fyfe, Rhys Palmer, Anthony Morabito, Alex Silvagni
Emg: Clayton Hinkley, Byron Schammer, Kepler Bradley

No change

• All the worry about Silvagni seems to be unnecessary as he has been named to play – i also think he will keep his spot over Roberton, at least for now.

GEELONG CATS v SYDNEY SWANS
Geelong Cats
B: Josh Hunt, Matthew Scarlett, Darren Milburn
HB: Corey Enright, Harry Taylor, Andrew Mackie
C: James Kelly, Cameron Ling, David Wojcinski
HF: Tom Hawkins, James Podsiadly, Paul Chapman
F: Steve Johnson, Cameron Mooney, Gary Ablett
Foll: Mark Blake, Joel Selwood, Jimmy Bartel
I/C (from): Dawson Simpson, Shannon Byrnes, Simon Hogan, Travis Varcoe, Ryan Gamble, Mitch Duncan, Tom Lonergan

In: Ablett, Scarlett, Gamble, Simpson
Out: Brad Ottens (foot)

• Two big ins for the Cats in Scarlett and Ablett, however only Ablett is really DT relevant (unless if you have Bradshaw!). Many coaches will be very happy to see him back, especially because he has averaged a whopping 139 against them in his past three games.
• Ottens is also a big ‘out’ for the Cats and he is likely to miss at least a couple of months! Expect Dawson Simpson to make the cut in his place.

Sydney Swans
B: Rhyce Shaw, Lewis Roberts-Thomson, Tadhg Kennelly
HB: Martin Mattner, Heath Grundy, Nick Malceski
C: Jarrad McVeigh, Brett Kirk, Nick Smith
HF: Ryan O’Keefe, Adam Goodes, Josh Kennedy
F: Jesse White, Daniel Bradshaw, Jarred Moore
Foll: Shane Mumford, Jude Bolton, Kieren Jack
I/C (from): Ed Barlow, Paul Bevan, Lewis Jetta, Matt O’Dwyer, Michael Pyke, Ted Richards, Gary Rohan

In: Barlow, Bevan, O’Dwyer, Pyke, Rohan
Out: Daniel Hannebery (shoulder), Mark Seaby (ankle)

New: Gary Rohan (Geelong Falcons)

• Gary Rohan is the big news – and although he has only been named on the extended bench, Paul Roos has guaranteed he will play; “Gary’s form in the reserves has been very good, and we’re excited that he’s come along so well since he was drafted”. He is a high-intensity foward/midfielder and can be picked up in either position. He was one of the highlights of the pre-season, averaging 47 points a game – however, i believe this average will increase once he is playing senior footy.
• Hannebery is a big out for plenty of coaches who jumped on him when he presented great value and potential earlier in the year. Seaby is also out and is set to miss up to 3 months with an ankle injury.

ADELAIDE v RICHMOND
Adelaide
B: Graham Johncock, Ben Rutten, Phil Davis
HB: Andrew McLeod, Nathan Bock, Simon Goodwin
C: Michael Doughty, Brent Reilly, Nathan van Berlo
HF: Jason Porplyzia, Scott Stevens, Bernie Vince
F: Jared Petrenko, Kurt Tippett, Richard Douglas
Foll: Ivan Maric, Scott Thompson, Tyson Edwards
I/C (from): Tony Armstrong, Brett Burton, Myke Cook, Jonathon Griffin, Matthew Jaensch, Chris Schmidt, Taylor Walker

In: Griffin, Armstrong, Walker
Out: -

• Team looks very similar for the Crows, despite their poor form – unfortunately, most of the players they want to choose are injured.

Richmond
B: Kelvin Moore, Will Thursfield, Dean Polo
HB: Shane Tuck, Brett Deledio, Chris Newman
C: Shane Edwards, Daniel Jackson, Richard Tambling
HF: Dustin Martin, Jack Riewoldt, Ben Nason
F: Graham Polak, Alex Rance, David Astbury
Foll: Tyrone Vickery, Trent Cotchin, Ben Cousins
I/C (from): Luke McGuane, Robin Nahas, Mitch Morton, Mitch Farmer, Jeromey Webberley, Matt White, Andrew Collins

In: Polak, Tambling, White, Cotchin, Martin, Webberley
Out: Nathan Foley (leg), Matthew Dea, Troy Simmonds (knee)

• A few good inclusions for the Tigers – Cotchin and Martin will be welcome inclusions and Webberley will hopefully make his debut after being named only as an emergency last week. Nathan Foley is a big loss though…

ST KILDA v CARLTON
St Kilda
B: James Gwilt, Zac Dawson, Sam Gilbert
HB: Steven Baker, Sam Fisher, Raphael Clarke
C: Clinton Jones, Nick Dal Santo, David Armitage
HF: Andrew McQualter, Brendon Goddard, Adam Schneider
F: Jack Steven, Justin Koschitzke, Stephen Milne
Foll: Michael Gardiner, Lenny Hayes, Leigh Montagna
I/C (from): Jason Blake, Jarryn Geary, Jason Gram, Nick Heyne, Steven King, Farren Ray, Rhys Stanley

In: Gram, Heyne, Stanley
Out: -

New: Nick Heyne (Gippsland Power), Rhys Stanley (West Adelaide)

• This could be an exciting game for Saints fans if either of the named debutants actually get a guernsey, however i would be surprised if either do. Stanley was another highlight of the NAB cup with his huge leaps and great pace – he was drafted as a ruckman, but the Saints are training him as a forward, with Riewoldt acting as his mentor around the club.
• Heyne is a flashy medium sized forward who is very similar to either Didak or Stevie J. He does some exciting stuff, but has an ability to go missing sometimes, although the Saints have worked very hard to work on this problem and he has therefore been in quite good form at Sandy over the past few weeks.
• Jason Gram may also come back into the side, however Ross Lyon has been very coy about his injury, meaning it is very hard to guess whether he will play or not. Of the extended bench, i can only see Steven King or Geary (although unlikely) as a chance of missing.

Carlton
B: Dennis Armfield, Michael Jamison, Jarrad Waite
HB: Heath Scotland, Paul Bower, Jordan Russell
C: Kane Lucas, Aaron Joseph, Ryan Houlihan
HF: Chris Yarran, Setanta O’hAilpin, Kade Simpson
F: Matthew Kreuzer, Chris Judd, Eddie Betts
Foll: Sam Jacobs, Bryce Gibbs, Marc Murphy
I/C (from): Steven Browne, Andrew Carrazzo, Jeff Garlett, Lachie Henderson, Chris Johnson, Bret Thornton, Simon White

In: Thornton, Waite, Johnson, Browne
Out: Brock McLean (hip)

• Both Thornton and Waite are named as possible inclusions, however Waite is the only one guaranteed to play as he is named on the field. Johnson is worth keeping an eye on, but his season last year was very poor by what what expected of him.
• Brock McLean is out with injury, but i wouldn’t have been too surprised if he was out of the team regardless.
• Warnock also did not make the cut about bigger-bodied ruckman, Sam Jacobs.

Geelong, the Sydney Swans, Adelaide and Richmond will name their final sides (22 plus three emergencies) from 5pm AEST on Friday.

St Kilda and Carlton will name theirs from 4pm AEST on Saturday.

View IDDQD’s Team
Round 6 Score: 1,809
Current Overall Ranking: 37,351
Trades Left: 16
Remaining Salary Cap: $187,400

Dear IDDQD,

Thank you for submitting your team. Overall, you have put together a solid squad of 30 players with a good mix of premiums and cash cows. However, the time has come to pull the trigger on two pre season value picks who have failed to deliver the goods.

Rick Ladson looked a pre season bargain and I gladly jumped onboard. I’ve always rated Ladson as a quality AFL player and he was brilliant for the Hawks in 2007 and 2008. Ladson played just 3 games in 2009 due to injury and he was simply too good to ignore in 2010 at the attractive pre season price of $185,100. Unfortunately, an average of 52 points per game over the past 3 weeks is simply unacceptable from your 7^th defender. I pulled the trigger on Ladson last week and I recommend you do the same this week.

The other player you should offload is Jesse White from Sydney. While I do believe White is a quality AFL player with a magnificent set of hands, he is definitely not a quality dreamteamer. White has dropped in price from $215,100 to $181,900 after averaging a pathetic 42 points per game over the first six rounds. To put it bluntly, he has to go.

My recommendations this week are:

OUT: Rick Ladson ($226,300) and Jesse White ($181,900);

IN: Bradley Sheppard ($133,500) and Dean Cox ($383,500).

DISCLAIMER: If Sheppard does not debut this week, you will have no cover in your back line due to the 1 week suspension incurred by Matt Maguire. I recommend trading out Ladson rather than Maguire because Ladson is a strong chance to be lining up for the Box Hill Hawks this week. Maguire will return after 1 week whereas Ladson could be playing in the VFL for weeks. Please wait until Friday afternoon before executing any trades. Best practice is to wait until 5:30pm on a Friday, after Sunday line ups have been finalised.

Brad Sheppard was selected by the West Coast Eagles with pick 7 in the 2009 National Draft. Sheppard has been in fine form for East Fremantle in the WAFL and he is a strong chance to debut for the Eagles this week. Sheppard would most likely have already made his AFL debut, had he not suffered a fractured cheekbone playing for East Fremantle in late March. Fellow Footy Tragic writer Dan discussed Sheppard in great detail during the pre season. To read Dan’s article on Sheppard, click here:

Dan’s Draftees – Brad Sheppard

The other selection is more obvious. Cox has been a dreamteam star for years and after a slow start to the season he is dirt cheap! Cox has averaged 98 points per game over the past 3 weeks and the time to get onboard is now.

Next week, I recommend bringing in Ryan Hargrave for Ben Nason to bolster your back line,

Good luck!

Bargain player

Robert Murphy – Western Bulldogs ($298,600, FWD, Break even: 52, Price drop this season: $52,200)

The obvious target for this article would be Ryan Hargrave, but there’s already been plenty of discussion about him this week, so there’s no point in me bleating out a whole bunch of stats you probably already know about him.

Instead, I’m going to look at the other end of the ground, to his teammate Robert Murphy. At the start of the year I thought the man affectionately known as Bob was good value. He was the same price as Buddy though, so I passed on him and after Round 2 I was cursing myself as Bob netted scores of 111 and 93, but he has been a little quiet since then.

Remarkably he’s actually dipped down to a little under $300K, largely due to a score of 33 against Brisbane. He was struggling to hold marks for a couple of weeks there and this was adversely affecting his score. It should be noted that it was extremely slippery up in Brisbane though and everyone was dropping simple marks that night!

I like the look of his next month too, so it’s fair to say this will be as low as his price will get. He’s got Melbourne this week and you may look at the stats and see an ugly 36 as his last score against them, but that was 36 points in the first 20 minutes of the game before he did his hammy. He was on track for a big one that day!

After that the Dogs have Sydney, North and Essendon. He didn’t play against Sydney last year, but scored 91, 62 and 102 against them in three games in 2008 (the 102 being a final). His average against North in his last three against them is 94.7. Essendon are a young team, who famously cop a lot of criticism for not having much of a defensive game – sounds sweet for a forward, especially one that averages 98.8 against them since 2002!

In the past the concern has been his durability, but all the talk coming out of Whitten Oval in the pre-season is that his body is as good as it’s ever been. While there are never any guarantees with even the most durable player, I must say, he is moving very well and looking fit, so I’m less concerned about this than in past years with him.

On the bubble

Nat Fyfe – Fremantle ($89,500, FWD, Break even: -60)

First two games: 66 vs. Richmond (W), 60 vs. West Coast (W) = 63 avg.

I must admit I haven’t seen Freo over the last two weeks, but I have seen a bit of Fyfe before and he looks a gem. I’m a little surprised he’s having an impact in his first year, given that he’s a key forward/third tall type, but with such a skinny frame at his young age.

Contested marking is a real feature of his game and it sounds like he’s been pulling a few down. Without having seen Freo’s last fortnight, I can’t comment too closely on his job security, but all of the reports have been pretty good and it’s not like Ryan Murphy is banging down the door to take that role off him. Could be a good cash cow, but in the forward line that might not be overly necessary after I’m sure many of us just jumped on one or both of Rocky and Pods.

Ben Cunnington – North Melbourne ($141,500, MID, Break even: 21)

First two games: 48 vs. Hawthorn (W), 36 vs. Melbourne (W) = 42 avg.

The bloke that Toby has been raving about all year has been pretty disappointing in his first couple of games (to be fair to Toby, I’m pretty keen on this bloke too). He had a slightly interrupted pre-season and seems to be struggling with the pace of AFL after only having two games in the VFL before making his debut.

He’s a very tough and hard player and I believe it’s well worth the Roos persisting with him in the seniors. It’ll be a bit awkward if he is named to play this week. He’s priced quite highly, being that he was the #5 pick at last year’s National Draft and has only scored modestly so far. His exposed form isn’t really enough to pick him on, so you’d be backing him in to get it together and really break out over the next month.

With a break even of 21, even if he does look a lot better and score a 50 or so this week his price will only go up about $10K. If you’re considering him it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to let him have one price rise, just to see how he’s looking and then maybe bring him in.

Matthew Lobbe – Port Adelaide ($94,500, RUC/FWD, Break even: 14)

First two games: 28 vs. St.Kilda (W), 28 vs. Adelaide (W) = 28 avg.

He’s consistent. With two scores of 28, I’ll give him that. He’s a candidate to get games on a rather inconsistent basis to back up Brogan, but Trengove and Cloke are also lurking around that second ruck spot, plus Choco will let Brogan go it alone every now and then with support from the third worst Westhoff. As it was, he was only a late in last week against Adelaide.
He’ll get games, but how many is a big question mark. I wouldn’t be advising you downgrade Warnock to get him in just to grab a bit of cash, because I see Warnock as the one more likely to be playing games when you need him (even though he was in the VFL last week). Rookie rucks aren’t cash cows, so I’m not a fan of trading them in (and as a forward there are much better options). He’s a good one to sit around on your bench if you’ve already got him though.

Jarrad Grant – Western Bulldogs ($96,700, FWD, Break even: -77)

First two games: 58 vs. Adelaide (W), 92 vs. St.Kilda (L) = 75 avg.

The #5 draft pick from 2007 spent most of his first few years in the VFL, but some good early form this year has seen him get his chance. His 2009 debut showed that he was a fair way off it, but he’s looked much more comfortable in his two games so far in 2010.

I worry that there’s a lot of pressure for spots at the Bulldogs so it won’t take much for him to get dropped, but while he’s performing as well as he has been there is definitely a spot for him. He’s a good option and might even be a slight point of difference for your team, but what’s with all these good cash cow options coming through in the forwards?!

Jordan Roughead – Western Bulldogs ($94,500, RUC, Break even: -33)

First two games: 64 vs. Adelaide (W), 39 vs. St.Kilda (L) = 51.5 avg.

It’s hard to consider trading him in with Will Minson lurking at Williamstown. Minson has been named fourth and second best in his two games at Willy, so while Roughead has looked great so far, you get the impression he’s just keeping Minson’s seat warm for now. Would be a massive job security risk to trade him in and you can also refer to my point above with Lobbe about rucks not being great cash cows anyway.

This week I am going to look at two similarly priced defenders; with players such as Hunt, Maguire, Nason and Ladson seeming to have reached their highest prices, now is the time to consider upgrading them. The question is, do you pounce on a premium player who has had a rough start to the season and is now dirt-cheap compared to his starting price, or do you look at a younger player who looks on the verge of a breakout season? The two players I will look at are Ryan Hargrave and Paul Bower – hopefully by the end of this article the answer can appear more clearly…

Paul Bower:

Bower is still a very young player – at 22 years old, he has only played 47 career games. He has always been a player whom Carlton saw plenty of promise in, so they have spent plenty of time teaching him both the art of stopping a forward, but also running off his man. In his first three years, Bower was given somewhat of an “apprenticeship” by Carlton, being given big tasks on some of the games most dominating forwards, such as Riewoldt and Franklin. The idea of this apprenticeship is to teach him defence before teaching him attack – essentially, attack is easy for a player (such as Bower) who has always played attacking football as a junior, but it is important to teach him from early in his career how to defend. St.Kilda gave the same type of apprenticeship to Sam Gilbert over the first few years of his career and we saw the results last year when he was finally allowed to combine his two crafts – defensive and attacking football.

Last year saw Bower given some rebounding responsibilities in the absence of Waite (who went down mid-season with a knee injury), and he managed to finish the season ranked second at the club for rebound-50s and as proof he is capable of reading the play well, he was also second at the club for marks from opposition kicks. Across the year he averaged 19.5 disposals per game, 5.8 marks and 2 tackles.

So far this year, Bower has only played in two games, and this is what makes his form slightly hard to read – whilst he has been fantastic in those two games, it is a much larger risk picking up a player such as him who has no real form history to base the selection on – essentially you are basing your selection on two good games and some high potential. That potential is very high though – his form graph from previous seasons shows an average of 45 in 2006, 52 in 2007, 56 in 2008, 71 in 2009, and already he is averaging 112 in 2010.

His two early high scores are certainly not unwarranted though – whilst there are plenty of players who can have an ‘out of the box’ game, and then some really rare cases where they have two in a row, a player with as much potential, promise and expected DT rise such as Bower should not be taken simply as chance. Like he became in the second half of last year, Bower is a key rebounding target for Carlton – he still takes key forwards, but Carlton have given him a licence to run off his man, a fact that made him the second leakiest defender at Carlton last year, but I believe his high quality rebounding will mean Coach Ratten won’t get too concerned. Also, with the inevitable return of Thornton and Waite, Bower is likely to get put on less dangerous forwards, allowing for more ventures upfield.

To sum up, I think Bower is a really positive choice – he has already proven this year that he is capable of some high scores, and whilst I doubt his average will stay at 112, I think he could still comfortably average around 90 points a game – a healthy return for a player of his price. His rise in stats and form are not total surprises either – he is a nominated rebounder for Carlton and his quality is recognized by Ratten, meaning he will regularly be put in ball-winning positions. As with any defender, you must expect some bad with the good, but I feel that 2010 is a year likely to filled with plenty more good than bad for Bower and his owners.

Key Stats 2010:

Kick : handball ratio – 0.8 : 1

Average Marks per game: 11

Average Tackles per game: 2.5

Average Disposals per game: 28

Breakeven: 8

Average Dream Team Points: 111.5

Price: $313,100

Key Stats 2009:

Kick : handball ratio – 0.8 : 1

Average Marks per game: 5.8

Average Tackles per game: 1.9

Average Disposals per game: 19.5

Average Dream Team Points: 71

Ryan Hargrave:

Hargrave is a very interesting trade target – he came into the season as the second most expensive defender (behind only Goddard), but has shown his owners absolutely nothing of his 2009 form, which saw him earn this hefty starting price-tag! Now I know I often make a case for players each week, telling you why they scored poorly – I blame taggers, heavy bumps, or being played out of position, however there is no player with a bigger and easier to find reason for poor scoring than Hargrave – and that is what now makes him such a bargain! In round one he scored a poor 49 points (it was later admitted he shouldn’t have played due to suffering from a head cold), round two was 69 points (and the cold excuse was given again), then in round three he injured his ankle only a few minutes into the game, finishing him on 9 points. Round four he was eased in, given very little game time, meaning he finished with only 65 points. He then missed round five with the injury and was back on the weekend, scoring himself 108 points. Get the idea?

So it hasn’t been the most ideal start to the season for Hargrave (or his owners!), but by the looks of his game on the weekend, things may be on the improve… His 108 points did get a bit lost in the other massive Bulldogs scores from the same game, however his role was more what stood out to me than how many times he got it. Whilst Hargrave spent the first quarter manning Zac Dawson, the rest of the game he was given the role of a loose defender, meaning he was free to do as he pleased. Unlike the likes of Gia and Gilbee who got most of their disposals from backwards kicking, Hargrave won most of his ball from legitimate rebounding (plus a few cheapies which this role always comes with!) – this to me says that his scoring could become somewhat consistent again. It was positive to see Hargrave back to the role that won him plenty of the ball in the past two years – the week off seems to have done his body a deal of good and this role is always going to be one he will score well in.

Clearly we are not basing Hargrave’s future scoring predictions in one good game, but on plenty of games prior to this season – it was only in the second half of 2008 that we really saw a rise out of Hargrave’s scoring; from rounds 1 – 9 in 2008, he averaged 51 points, but from rounds 10 – 22 he was averaging a much more respectable 87 as he was given more license to attack out of the backline and was often played as a lose man. His average and price rose again in 2009, and he averaged 93 points for the year – this shows that he is capable of consistently high scoring and further proves the point that his first few weeks were just aberrations caused by injury.

I don’t think there is much doubting Hargrave’s expected turn around from this point on – he is a proven scorer and in once again being played in the position that has won him so many points in the past. Whilst it may be a bit over-zealous to expect a 90-something average, his current price is still way too low to ignore; he has so far dropped $117,000 and won’t be dropping any further with a low breakeven this week. Some may want to wait another week to see if he can replicate Friday’s score against Melbourne, but personally I think that the key ingredients are there to make him a worthwhile pick; he is now injury free, he is dirt cheap, he has previously exposed good form, and is coming off a very good game. I therefore don’t see the need to hesitate.

Key Stats 2010:

Kick : handball ratio – 1.5 : 1

Average Marks per game: 4.4

Average Tackles per game: 2.2

Average Disposals per game: 15.4

Breakeven: 42

Average Dream Team Points: 60

Price: $292,100 (-$117,400)

Key Stats 2009:

Kick : handball ratio – 1.9 : 1

Average Marks per game: 7

Average Tackles per game: 2

Average Disposals per game: 24.2

Average Dream Team Points: 93