Footy Tragic

A review at all eight games from an AFL Dream Team and SuperCoach perspective, running through all the heroes and villains of each game.

 

Western Bulldogs vs Melbourne:

Western Bulldogs:

• Daniel Giansiracusa has had a great past month and continued the form on here, booting 4.2 in a great half-forward display. Ever since the ever-irrelevant Akermanis bagged Gia out a month or so ago, his form has been red-hot, averaging over 105 DT points from his past five games (including a 51). He has typically been an inconsistent scorer, despite his role being one capable of producing high scores. He is pretty unique this year, so you could do much worse than bringing him in.
• Adam Cooney looks well and truly back at his best after a year of constant injuries and poor form. One of the positives from his poor scoring this season is his current price – now sitting at just over $300k, he looks a bargain in both Dream Team and SuperCoach. For those coaches with ample trades and looking for some potent bench-cover, Cooney could well be your man.
• Matthew Boyd has a poor recent history against the Dees and he backed it up, with his second sub-100 score in the past three weeks. Fortunately for those who made him captain, it wasn’t disastrous, but considering some of the other scores notched up this weekend, you would have cause for lament. He was still decent, but finishing on just 26 touches, he was well down on what we know he is capable of… Geez we have high standards!
• Lukey Dahlhaus was again really exciting, playing predominantly in the forward line and with the occasional stint through the midfield. His tenacity at the contests is second to none, so you know he will give your side his all if given the chance. He has had a couple of price-rises now, but those coaches who did pounce on him when he was at his bargain rookie price will now be laughing – he looks certain to be a permanent fixture for the Dogs for the remaining rounds.

Melbourne:

• Ricky Petterd was again very good for the Dees in the forward line, playing the team role again as a high-pressure tackling forward. After laying 14 tackles last week, he laid a still-impressive 7 tackles, whilst also booting 2.1. Petterd has shown over the past few years that he is a genuine talent – we just haven’t seen it consistently – hopefully the time has finally come to see this trait added to his game.
• Jack Watts is becoming a real favourite of mine – his workrate around the ground, picking up plenty of marks and disposals, is fantastic. Several good games in a row has clearly effected him greatly between the ears, with him playing with a new level of confidence and skill that we have never consistently seen from him before. With an average of over 95 DT points from his past month, he has now also become a genuine Dream Team and SuperCoach option.
• Tom Scully was a little disappointing for me – whilst he still worked hard, he is beginning to feel the wrath of opposition taggers, with Picken sitting on him all game in this instance. He still laid 10 tackles for the game, which is a sign he was still attempting to influence the game, despite not winning much of the ball, but still he was soundly beaten by Picken. Not a word of this is doubting his skill, but he will need to learn how to deal with taggers before he can be a genuine DT or SC option.
• Colin Sylvia continues to play mostly in the forward line, which is simply not helping his Dream Team or SuperCoach output. My assumption is that he is still feeling the effects of the corkie from a month ago, so is perhaps struggling to run out games in the midfield. The Dees have the bye this week, so he will have a chance to rest, so hopefully he will come back rejuvenated and ready to start scoring us some respectable points!

 

Richmond vs Carlton:

Richmond:

• Robin Nahas did his owners proud, scoring his first ton in over a month. That said, it wasn’t particularly emphatic, with the majority of his points being scored in the last quarter when the game was well and truly over. He was the Tigers’ leading disposal winner with 29 touches and also kicked a goal.
• Jack Riewoldt was another Tiger to score a bit higher than he probably deserved, but that said, he was expected to dominate this game, considering there was really no suitable match-up for him in a weakened Blues backline. In the end, he was actually pretty well held by Henderson, only booting four goals, including two late in the last quarter. His owners will be questioning his average form this year and it may even be time to store him on the bench as your 8^th forward if you have the ability – his scoring just seems way too up and down to be trusted.
• Andrew Browne was probably the most thoroughly beaten Tiger, on a day where very few players wearing yellow and black won their one-on-one battles. He was absolutely smashed in the ruck by a Warnock/Kruezer duo, and whilst he is still relatively young, it may make Richmond think twice about how keen they are on him leading their ruck division this year. He finished with 9 disposals and 18 hitouts (compared to the 67 hitouts that Carlton won).
• Jakey King has gone from being a shut-down forward, to being shut down himself. Unfortunately he was kept very quiet by the Irishman, Tuohy and managed just 9 possessions and 1.1 for the game.

Carlton:

• Chris Judd, 3 Votes. It was pretty clear he took home the votes in this game, even if he had sat out the last quarter. He simply dominated Richmond through the midfield, pulling out one of the biggest SuperCoach scores seen in a while (180). He racked up 31 touches and 10 tackles and frankly looked unstoppable. He can smell finals and he wants it bad – and finally it looks like he has some mates around him who feel the same!
• Mitch Robinson had another outstanding game, becoming Carlton’s next-best contested ball winner behind Judd. He has spent plenty of his year across HFF, but is now spending much more time through the midfield (hopefully he is DPP eligible next year though!) and his DT and SC scoring potential has already become pretty clear with 3 games over 130 DT points in his last five games. He is still young and getting better, so pencil him in for a spot in your 2012 team now!
• Matthew Warnock had clearly one of his best games for Carlton, winning 40 hitouts and 18 possessions. He has always shown some promise, but games like this certainly show why he is rated so highly. It wasn’t just the number of hitouts that was impressive, but his hitouts to advantage – so often he found a teammate in a good spot and so had a big hand (literally) in plenty of scoring chains. He’s probably not what you are after for this year, but again showed what he could offer in seasons ahead.
• Heath Scotland was a surprising receiver of the tag this week, especially considering Jackson typically goes straight to Murphy. I guess it just goes to show how highly rated Scotland is this year. He still had some effect on the game, but not as much as has been the case this past month or so. He managed just the 21 disposals, but I would be pretty confident that he will come back to his recent form next week.

 

Fremantle vs Gold Coast:

Fremantle:

• Jonathon Griffin was exceptional for Fremantle (who needs Sandilands), simply dominating all three of Gold Coast’s big men in the air, around the ground and in the hitouts. The games he has played this year have all been very good, suggesting to those with Sandilands sitting on their bench, that he could actually be a viable trade option for the big guy. He has a great mark and is also very good at finding the ball around the ground. Finished with 26 touches, 9 marks, 2 goals and 30 hitouts.
• Matthew Pavlich was always destined for a big game this week, being the fact it was his 250^th and also against the Suns, who typically leak points to players of his ilk. He started really strong and continued that form into a good four-quarter performance, finishing with 25 touches, 9 marks and 3.3. He has now had a few big games in a row, suggesting he is now well past his early-season form lapse.
• Greg Broughton is finally repaying all those owners who stuck fat with him, averaging 144 points from his past fortnight. He has moved to the midfield and it is paying dividends, with him clearly winning plenty more disposals, but also adding things like tackling to his stat sheet, racking up 11 tackles in this game alone. He is floating around $350k in dream team, and considering his recent form he looks mighty tempting. But if you are tempted, you must pounce now as he has a negative breakeven!
• Chris Mayne continues on his highly underwhelming season, despite the amount of talent he apparently has. To preface, he did appear to be carrying an injury, but considering he played out the game I’m going to assume it wasn’t too bad. He just lacks any real meaningful attack on the ball – he rarely wins many one-on-ones and most of his ventures up the field seem almost pointless. He has stacks of talent, as shown in some games earlier in his career, but seems to be a player destined for nothing if he doesn’t increase his workrate.

Gold Coast:

• Gary Ablett’s game would have either made your weekend an amazing one, or totally killed you… or perhaps you just had this empty feeling inside of you – all depending on whether you had him captain, didn’t have him at all, or perhaps you went with someone else as your captain option. Regardless, his game was insanely good as he was another player to make it to the ton-before-half-time club. He just seems to be anywhere the ball is and does such a good job at getting a hold of it – he is fantastic to watch. He finished with 34 touches, 14 tackles and 3.2.
• Trent ‘Canon’ McKenzie had a sensational game, playing through the midfield and on a HFF in a really good outside role. His massive kick is the highlight of his talents, being able to kick to huge goals from 60m out off just two kicks – he’s is almost Goddard-esque at times with how he goes about it. He notched up 24 touches, 7 tackles and 2 goals for the game.
• Zac Smith managed quite a good game, but got crunched pretty hard in the third quarter, which pretty much put him out for the rest of the game. The worry was for a fractured jaw, however, the next day he tweeted, “No damage but man that was a big hit,” which is certainly some very good news – especially for all those coaches counting on him as their second ruck.
• Joel Wilkinson played his second game and he really impressed me – he played the entire game in the backline, but looked to be one of the most confident youngsters the Suns have played there in a while – he took the game and his opponents on and usually came out with the ball or with a clean disposal. He doesn’t look like he will be a DT or SC jet, but if he keeps this form up, he really should last out the year, averaging a pretty nice 50-70 points a game.

 

Geelong vs Essendon:

Geelong:

• Paul Chapman was strong all day for the Cats and was definitely one of their best few players. We’ve seen over the years that Chappy plays a great leadership role at the Cats and has always managed to find an extra gear when things are getting tough. After being down on form this past month or so, it’s good to see him back up and firing, racking up 28 touches, 6 tackles and 2 goals.
• Steve Johnson was kept pretty quiet by Hibberd for the majority of the match, but turned it on in the last quarter when the Cats finally flicked the switch. He booted three very late goals to nearly get the Cats over the line, including one Stevie J classic whilst lying on the ground. He’d plummeted in price over this past fortnight, so if you don’t have the great man, not is the perfect time to pounce!
• Steven Motlop played his second game of the year and looked quite impressive – as seems to be the case with all the Cats youngsters, he looks skilled and very sure of himself. He played mainly through the forward line and up into the midfield on bursts and looks very lively – he will jump in price this week, so could be worth considering, but that said, he may just be keeping the seat warm for Varcoe who will return next week.
• James Podsiadly had a pretty disappointing game, booting just three behinds and getting very well held by Hurley. Unfortunately, with Geelong’s other two tall targets being youngsters, Pods doesn’t really have the leeway to have shockers – in fact, Geelong’s tall timber had a massive effect on the result, booting 1.6 between the three of them.

Essendon:

• Jake Melksham was one of several younger Bombers to really step up for the win and will be a likely recipient for the three votes. He’s certainly not the most exciting player, but he does get the job done each week and he has been putting together a pretty decent DT and SC resume this year too, suggesting he would be worth considering in years to come. Finished with 29 disposals, 7 tackles and a goal in probably the best game of his career.
• Dyson Heppell has bounced back into some very good form after plenty of coaches considered ditching him a fortnight ago (yes, I was one of them). He just looks so confident coming off half-back, and whilst he does need to add a few kilos to his frame in the off-season, he doesn’t use his size as an excuse for shirking a contest. He ended with 30 disposals and 6 marks, suggesting he has a little bit more coin to squeeze out of him yet!
• Patrick Ryder looked much better than he has all for quite some time this year, playing predominantly as the side’s main ruckman – definitely his best position from a DT/SC perspective. He competed well with Ottens and did more than break-even, winning the contest on the night. Now those owners of Ryder can have a rare celebration, but the question remains whether he will keep the form up moving forward.
• Alwyn Davey continues to disappoint this year – other than some providing some spark in the last quarter, the little man had very little influence on the overall result. He has been used as a sub many times this year – although not in this case – and has really struggled to have any sort of impact on games this year. Needs to find some form and fast, otherwise he may find himself lining up for Bendigo again sometime soon.

 

Adelaide vs Sydney:

Adelaide:

• Jared Petrenko had his best game yet for the Crows, showing what can happen to a ‘bit-part’ player like himself, when he is handed a big role and told to stick with it. He played forward all night and chased and harassed his Swans opponents all night, laying 8 tackles for the night. He has never looked like a player capable of really controlling a game, but he did this here and hopefully Craig continues to play him in this role. Also won 18 disposals and kicked 1.1.
• Sam Jacobs was great for Adelaide in the ruck, getting bonus points for how well he went about it in the rain – conditions not suited to big men. He pulled out a big score just at the right time too, just as coaches are considering what they want to do with Sandilands – he is a legitimate option, and whilst there are certainly some better ones out there, he definitely presents value for money. In this game he racked up 17 touches, 6 tackles and 36 hitouts.
• Ian Callinan had another super game, starting strong before fading away a little bit in the second half. He is playing mainly through the forward line, but drifting up field a bit too which helps him win more ball. He finished with 17 touches and a goal, but it’s worth noting that he actually did his hamstring very late in the game and whilst it is apparently just a minor one, it will likely put him out for 2-3 weeks. This will likely ruin plenty of trade plans, but at least this week was set to be his bye anyway, so hopefully he misses just one more afterwards.
• Daniel Talia played his first game and was stationed at CHB for its entirety. He actually looked very strong and clearly has a lot of promise – he has been highly rated for a couple of years now, so it’s good to finally see him get his debut game. He played on Rising Star Sam Reid and kept him to just 9 disposals and no goals, plus had 15 disposals and 5 tackles of his own. He looks to have bumped Luke Thompson out of the lineup for now, so could be another solid (without being spectacular) option for your backline on the run home.

Sydney:

• Ryan O’Keefe was the recipient of the Michael Doughty tag for the game and despite starting slowly, he worked into the game very well to be Sydney’s best player. It’s a good sign of the form he is in that he was able to work through the tag so effectively – he’s presenting himself (and has been for a while now) as a great option for your forward line, but note that he still has one more bye left.
• Jude Bolton had a very good game, although strangely his SuperCoach and Dream Team scores don’t reflect that so well. He was as strong as ever and was their best player in the first half before being pretty well tagged out of the game by Reilly (he had 68 DT points to half time). He was made to work hard for every touch too, with 18 of his 22 touches being contested – a fair stat – although it was likely his 7 clangers that drove his SC score down a bit.
• Adam Goodes still hasn’t put in a four-quarter performance for some time now, starting well before fading out of the game through the second and last quarters. He teases us with the briefest of stints in the midfield, but then goes straight back to the goal-square. What was most frustrating was that Adelaide couldn’t find anyone to compete with him through the middle in the first term, but every time he went forward he was being smashed by Rutten. To me it made no sense – just play him on the ball Horse!
• Andrejs Everitt is setting himself up to be super-cheap and likely super tempting in 2012 after another average performance as the sub. He was a late inclusion and didn’t come on until late in the third, booting 2 behinds and picking up 3 touches for his time on field. He has now averaged under 45 points this year (thanks to being the sub so often), so plenty of coaches will be keeping an eye on his pre-season next year I’d say, considering he will be dirt cheap.

 

Brisbane vs Port Adelaide:

Brisbane:

• Jack Redden made the amazing move of breaking into the top-5 ranked Dream Team players this week with another fantastic game, racking up 24 disposals, 7 marks and a huge 13 tackles. He has now probably become a bit too expensive to trade in, unless if you are looking for a point of difference, but those who did take the punt earlier in the year will now be reaping the rewards. He is a brilliant young player, yet to even play 50 games, so has a very bright future ahead of him!
• Tom Rockliff sits right behind Redden in the point-scoring stakes – they both have an amazing ability to win huge amounts of the ball on a consistent basis. Rocky racked up 31 touches, 7 marks and 5 tackles – either of these guys should be strongly considered for 2012 – whilst their prices will no doubt be massive, so is their upside!
• Jonathon Brown had one of his better games for the year, booting 4.1 in a very imposing role up forward. He has been building into form slowly, and has not been assisted by the lack of solid delivery to him each week, but games like this, where the Lions come out on top, are clearly the ones where we will see him have more influence. He did enjoy the matchup on his much smaller opponent, Trengove, and along with his goals, finished with 14 touches and 7 marks.
• Jed Adcock returned from his injury, although looked like he wasn’t quite fit enough to be playing. Whilst he had managed 51 points to half time, he struggled with fitness in the second half and was eventually mothballed late in the game. I see know reason why he won’t play next week and my assumption is he will get better, but it’s another massive points blow to all his owners, as well as a blow to their hip pockets!

Port Adelaide:

• Jay Schultz was amazingly the biggest goal-kicker for the week with 7.3, totally smashing Maguire in an undersized Brisbane backline. Rather than get excited about Shultz’s 7 goals, Dream Teamers are going to get more kick out of looking at Brisbane’s fixturing over the next few weeks and most notably next week – fingers crossed Buddy can pass his fitness test this week (rolled ankle) in lieu of a massive score vs Brisbane.
• Robbie Gray was very good for Port – in fact, he rarely has OK games, it’s either great or ordinary. Maybe that’s because we know what he is capable of – at his best he reminds us of a young Gary Ablett Jnr, and at his worst he can remind us of Daniel Motlop. In this game he was good, picking up 21 touches, 6 tackles and slotting though 1.1.
• Hamish Hartlett has played a very good season to date and has probably been on of Port’s most consistent players this season. The news though is that he needs corrective surgery to his shoulder and will be booked in for sometime over the next few weeks. If you have him, start making plans to get rid of him as he won’t be around for long – if you don’t have him, don’t even consider bringing him in.
• Troy Chaplin had a really quiet game, despite starting well. He actually racked up 24 DT points in the first quarter, before accumulating just 16 more points over the rest of the game. He ended up getting resigned to plenty of stopping duties and just didn’t get free, hence his lack of scoring.

 

Collingwood vs Hawthorn:

Collingwood:

• Dane Swan had another ripping game in his second week back from his holiday, racking up 33 touches, 7 marks and 7 tackles. He is actually playing very good Dream Team footy (lots of disposals) at the moment, although he is certainly not being the most influential player on the ground. Whilst this may hurt SuperCoach owners, his DT owners will be chuffed that it could avoid him from being tagged as heavily week to week – keep up the chip-kicks Swanny!
• Travis Cloke has put together a pretty awesome last month, averaging 122 DT points from his last four games. Against the Hawks he was definitely the Pies’ main target, considering Dawes was kept so quiet and in fact injured. His contested marking continues to be awesome, totally out-bodying Gibson at every contest. Along with his 3.3 he picked up 16 touches and had 12 marks.
• Heath Shaw again felt the wrath of a forward tag and struggled to really impose himself on the contest until late when it was already over. He still played OK and you would take the points he got, but it still makes you think twice before bringing him in over the next fortnight, if that is what you were planning. His price is currently in free-fall and could in fact make it to close to $300k in Dream Team over the next couple of weeks – so if he does find some form, he could still be worth the trade.
• Andrew Krakouer continues to play in the forward line and I believe that this is likely where he will stay for the rest of the season. Whilst Mick suggested in the pre-season that they would build Krakouer to play in the midfield, I think that with their lack of other small forwards and plethora of good midfielders, there would be very little chance of him spending much more time upfield moving forward. That means you can expect a 60-70 point average from him for the rest of the year, and if you can’t deal with that, it’s time to get rid of him.

Hawthorn:

• Sam Mitchell would be so many people’s favourite player in their teams at the moment, considering that the most popular time to trade him in was at the end of round 10 and he has averaged a whopping 127 points since. He has managed to do well against the Pies in the past and fortunately they didn’t put too much in place to quell his influence. Obviously, he did very well, but went head-to-head with Luke Ball, who was also pretty decent. Finished with 34 touches, 6 marks and 2.1. I love you Sam.
• Liam Shiels would have to be the hero of anyone who started him this year – he is now ranked in the top five players in Dream Team, has seen the most cash improvement from any player this year and has averaged over 120DT points in the past 9 weeks – incredible! Why this guy hasn’t gotten more attention this year is astounding – I think it’s because of the lack of people who are around to gloat about starting him, especially since he averaged 26 points in the pre-season!
• Lance Franklin was really disappointing – It probably wasn’t awfully surprising that he was well beaten by a dominant Collingwood, but still it would have been nice if he’d given a yelp! He ended up only gathering 17 touches and kicking 1.1 for the game, before giving his best Djokovic impersonation when he limped off the ground late in the match when he clearly wasn’t going to win. He is now under a fitness cloud this week, so fingers crossed he can make the effort to play in our already weakened forward-lines.
• Isaac Smith would have hurt many, especially those who started him ahead of Mzungu, anticipating a repeat effort of his 130-odd points from the week before. Alas, it was not to be as he struggled his was to a meagre 52, racking up nearly half those points in the first quarter. He just couldn’t compete with the high-intensity Pies (like many of his teammates) and therefore could just not get into the game.

 

North Melbourne vs St.Kilda:

North Melbourne:

• Todd Goldstein continues to really impress, dominating around the ground all night. In fact, it was a really interesting battle between him and Ben McEvoy, watching two promising young ruckman battle it out one-on-one all game (neither had a backup all night) – both have a great mark, are dangerous up forward and also pretty smart if they have to defend too. Goldstein got the honours in the ruck (with 47 hitouts), but it was a pretty close battle everywhere else.
• Daniel Wells got the Clint Jones tag from the first bounce, but battled pretty well through it for most of the game, and whilst he probably didn’t have as much effect on the game as is possible, he did just about all he could to get away from Jones – a far cry from what he would have mustered a year or two ago. He has the ability to be one of your first-picked mids in SuperCoach next year if he can take his current form into 2012. Finished with 21 touches and 6 tackles for the game.
• Leigh Adams impressed me – he’s honestly not a player a notice too much when I watch the Roos, but his game against the Saints was very good. It was not only the fact that he booted three goals to be North’s leading goal-kicker, but the fact he managed to get back up after one of the more sickening clashes of the year – he ran face first into a teammate, being left prone on the ground (right in front of me on the wing… Interestingly I was also 10m away from Selwood getting poleaxed earlier in the year….) – but he got back up and kicked a very good goal not long after, verifying his courage.
• Drew Petrie looked ominous coming into the game – he was slotting goals from every angle in the warm-up, then kicked two pretty handy goals in the first quarter. It looked likely that he was going to dominate Zac Dawson all night. But as has been the Saints’ trademark for years, their defence bandied together to ensure he didn’t kick another goal all night – he didn’t even get another shot on goal.

St.Kilda:

• Brendon Goddard’s game was the icing on the cake for plenty of DT and SC coaches who had already had a pretty awesome weekend of scores. North just let him do as he pleased in the backline, only having 6 contested possessions for the game, amongst his total 28 touches. He played the sweeping role which has made him such a good DT asset over the years, being given the ball at every possible opportunity by his teammates. Also had 11 marks and kicked a ripper goal from 60m out.
• Nick DalSanto was the best of the Saints mids, quite easily smashing Ziebell, who ran with him for the night. Like Goddard, he is a very smart and good user of the footy, so he is given the ball as much as possible. Also worth noting is that he is back playing purely midfield now after he was trialled off half-back a little while ago. Finished with 31 touches and 9 tackles.
• Nick Riewoldt finally looked like he was getting back into some form and it certainly helped that North had no real match-up for him, trialling a mix of Lachie Hansen and Cam Pederson. Pederson was OK, but Hansen was awful, allowing Nick to really open the game up in the second quarter, slamming through 3 goals (after he had already kicked a behind and two more out on the full). He played the whole game pretty much at full-forward, which actually suits him quite well, allowing Tom Lynch to play the CHF role (he did quite well actually).
• David Armitage had a brilliant start to the year, but has really quietened off over the past month as Lyon has been playing him in the forward line, rather than through the midfield. Unfortunately for Armo, he really isn’t a natural forward, but this shift has been caused by the awesome form of Jack Steven through the midfield. Whilst forward, Armo will continue to score sub-par, and honestly, I can’t see why both he and Steven can’t be played in the same midfield.

 

Footy Tragic ep 4 from Steve Greenwood on Vimeo.

WESTERN BULLDOGS V MELBOURNE

ES – Fri Jul 01, 7:40pm

Tickets | TV & Radio

Western Bulldogs

B: Robert Murphy, Lukas Markovic, Easton Wood

HB: Dale Morris, Tom L. Williams, Lindsay Gilbee

C: Daniel Cross, Matthew Boyd, Liam Picken

HF: Shaun Higgins, Liam Jones, Luke Dahlhaus

F: Jarrad Grant, Barry Hall, Daniel Giansiracusa

Foll: Ben Hudson, Ryan Griffen, Adam Cooney

I/C: Ed Barlow, Callan Ward, Sam Reid, Andrew Hooper

Emg: William Minson, Christian Howard, Jayden Schofield

In: Jarrad Grant, Sam Reid, Lukas Markovic, Andrew Hooper

Out: William Minson, Christian Howard, Justin Sherman (Suspension), Jayden Schofield

 

Melbourne

B: James Strauss, James Frawley, Daniel Nicholson

HB: Colin Garland, Jared Rivers, Nathan Jones

C: Jack Trengove, Colin Sylvia, Brad Green

HF: Tom Scully, Liam Jurrah, Cale Morton

F: Ricky Petterd, Jack Watts, Stefan Martin

Foll: Mark Jamar, Brent Moloney, Jordie McKenzie

I/C: Sam Blease, Jamie Bennell, Jordan Gysberts, Jeremy Howe

Emg: Clint Bartram, Matthew Bate, Lynden Dunn

In: Sam Blease

Out: Joel Macdonald (Knee)

New: Sam Blease (Eastern Ranges)

Milestones: Colin Garland – 50 games

RICHMOND V CARLTON

MCG – Sat Jul 02, 2:10pm

Tickets | TV & Radio

Richmond

B: Chris Newman, Alex Rance, Bachar Houli

HB: Brett Deledio, Will Thursfield, Shaun Grigg

C: Trent Cotchin, Dustin Martin, Shane Edwards

HF: Robin Nahas, Tyrone Vickery, Bradley Helbig

F: Mitchell Farmer, Jack Riewoldt, Jake King

Foll: Andrew Browne, Daniel Jackson, Nathan Foley

I/C: Jayden Post, Tom Hislop, Ben Griffiths, Jake Batchelor

Emg: Shane Tuck, Jeromey Webberley, Brad Miller

In: Will Thursfield, Jake King, Jayden Post, Ben Griffiths, Bradley Helbig

Out: Luke McGuane, David Gourdis, Jeromey Webberley, Reece Conca, Brad Miller

 

Carlton

B: Bret Thornton, Simon White, Andrew Carrazzo

HB: Bryce Gibbs, Jeremy Laidler, Jordan Russell

C: Heath Scotland, Chris Judd, Kade Simpson

HF: Andrew Walker, Jarrad Waite, Jeffrey Garlett

F: Eddie Betts, Matthew Kreuzer, Lachlan Henderson

Foll: Robert Warnock, Mitch Robinson, Marc Murphy

I/C: Ryan Houlihan, David Ellard, Christopher Yarran, Zach Tuohy

Emg: Paul Bower, Mark Austin, Aaron Joseph

In: Jarrad Waite, Mitch Robinson, Simon White, Jeremy Laidler

Out: Mark Austin, Michael Jamison (Knee), Dennis Armfield, Rhys O’Keeffe

 

FREMANTLE V GOLD COAST SUNS

PS – Sat Jul 02, 1:10pm

Tickets | TV & Radio

Fremantle

B: Michael Johnson, Luke McPharlin, Paul Duffield

HB: Alex Silvagni, Antoni Grover, Greg Broughton

C: Garrick Ibbotson, Rhys Palmer, Tendai Mzungu

HF: Ryan Crowley, Matthew Pavlich, Stephen Hill

F: Hayden Ballantyne, Christopher Mayne, Zachary Clarke

Foll: Jonathon Griffin, Nathan Fyfe, Matthew de Boer

I/C: Roger Hayden, Dylan Roberton, Josh Mellington, Nick Lower

Emg: Clayton Hinkley, Kepler Bradley, Clancee Pearce

In: Antoni Grover, Hayden Ballantyne, Tendai Mzungu, Jonathon Griffin

Out: Aaron Sandilands (Toe), Clayton Hinkley, Kepler Bradley, Clancee Pearce

Milestones: Matthew Pavlich – 250 games, Christopher Mayne – 50 games, Matthew de Boer – 50 games

Gold Coast Suns

B: Karmichael Hunt, Nathan Bock, Jack Hutchins

HB: Seb Tape, Campbell Brown, Jarrod Harbrow

C: Trent McKenzie, Jared Brennan, Joel Wilkinson

HF: Matt Shaw, Sam Day, Hayden Jolly

F: Josh Fraser, Daniel Gorringe, Luke Russell

Foll: Zac Smith, Daniel Stanley, Gary Ablett

I/C: Brandon Matera, Sam Iles, Dion Prestia, David Swallow

Emg: Joseph Daye, Charlie Dixon, Liam Patrick

In: Trent McKenzie, Brandon Matera, Sam Day, Daniel Gorringe, Seb Tape

Out: Maverick Weller, Nathan Krakouer, Charlie Dixon, Michael Rischitelli (Adductor), Tom Lynch (Rested)

 

ESSENDON V GEELONG CATS

ES – Sat Jul 02, 7:10pm

Tickets | TV & Radio

Essendon

B: Kyle Hardingham, Dustin Fletcher, Michael Hibberd

HB: Brent Stanton, Tayte Pears, Heath Hocking

C: Brent Prismall, Ben Howlett, Dyson Heppell

HF: Michael Hurley, David Hille, Leroy Jetta

F: Andrew Welsh, Stewart Crameri, Angus Monfries

Foll: Patrick Ryder, Mark McVeigh, David Zaharakis

I/C: Alwyn Davey, Kyle Reimers, Jake Melksham, Travis Colyer

Emg: Ricky Dyson, Tom Bellchambers, Jake Carlisle

In: Kyle Reimers, Travis Colyer, Kyle Hardingham, Stewart Crameri

Out: Sam Lonergan (Knee), Jobe Watson (Hamstring), David Myers (Hamstring), Tom Bellchambers

 

Geelong Cats

B: Josh Hunt, Matthew Scarlett, Tom Lonergan

HB: David Wojcinski, Harry Taylor, Corey Enright

C: Mitch Duncan, James Kelly, Andrew Mackie

HF: Paul Chapman, Nathan Vardy, Allen Christensen

F: Mathew Stokes, James Podsiadly, Steve Johnson

Foll: Brad Ottens, Cameron Ling, Jimmy Bartel

I/C: Joel Corey, Mitch Brown, Steven Motlop, Daniel Menzel

Emg: Tom Hawkins, Tom Gillies, Josh Cowan

In: Jimmy Bartel, Josh Hunt, James Kelly, Brad Ottens, Mathew Stokes, Nathan Vardy

Out: Shannon Byrnes (Hamstring), Tom Hawkins, Travis Varcoe (Soreness), Dawson Simpson, Tom Gillies, Taylor Hunt (Soreness)

 

ADELAIDE V SYDNEY SWANS

AS – Sat Jul 02, 7:10pm

Tickets | TV & Radio

Adelaide

B: Graham Johncock, Ben Rutten, Andy Otten

HB: Michael Doughty, Daniel Talia, Brad Symes

C: Matthew Jaensch, Scott Thompson, David Mackay

HF: Jared Petrenko, Patrick Dangerfield, Nathan van Berlo

F: Rory Sloane, Kurt Tippett, Ian Callinan

Foll: Sam Jacobs, Bernie Vince, Richard Douglas

I/C: Brent Reilly, Brad Moran, Matthew Wright, Richard Tambling

Emg: Chris Knights, Ivan Maric, Luke Thompson

In: David Mackay, Brad Moran, Brad Symes, Daniel Talia, Matthew Jaensch, Richard Tambling

Out: Chris Knights, Shaun McKernan, Ricky Henderson (Concussion), Christopher Schmidt (Knee), Jack Gunston, Luke Thompson

New: Daniel Talia (Calder Cannons (Vic))

Milestones: Michael Doughty – 200 games

Sydney Swans

B: Nicholas Smith, Heath Grundy, Martin Mattner

HB: Tadhg Kennelly, Lewis Roberts-Thomson, Ted Richards

C: Ben McGlynn, Jude Bolton, Jarrad McVeigh

HF: Ryan O’Keefe, Sam Reid, Adam Goodes

F: Rhyce Shaw, Jesse White, Luke Parker

Foll: Mark Seaby, Josh P. Kennedy, Daniel Hannebery

I/C: Paul Bevan, Craig Bird, Lewis Jetta, Alex Johnson

Emg: Jarred Moore, Lewis Johnston, Andrejs Everitt

In: Ted Richards, Lewis Jetta, Luke Parker, Alex Johnson

Out: Kieren Jack (Ankle), Nick Malceski (Groin), Lewis Johnston, Andrejs Everitt

 

BRISBANE LIONS V PORT ADELAIDE

G – Sun Jul 03, 1:10pm

Tickets | TV & Radio

Brisbane Lions

B: Niall McKeever, Matt Maguire, Jed Adcock

HB: Pearce Hanley, Joel Patfull, Ashley McGrath

C: Tom Rockliff, Simon Black, Cheynee Stiller

HF: Luke Power, Bryce Retzlaff, Sam Sheldon

F: Patrick Karnezis, Jonathan Brown, Andrew Raines

Foll: Matthew Leuenberger, Jack Redden, James Polkinghorne

I/C: Matt Austin, Amon Buchanan, Ryan Harwood, Jesse O’Brien, Mitchell Golby, Joshua Green, Rohan Bewick

In: Jed Adcock, Matt Austin, Amon Buchanan, Joshua Green

Out: Daniel Rich (Foot)

 

Port Adelaide

B: Tom Logan, Jackson Trengove, Cameron O’Shea

HB: Ben Jacobs, Troy Chaplin, Andrew Moore

C: Danyle Pearce, Travis Boak, Kane Cornes

HF: Matthew Broadbent, Jay Schulz, Hamish Hartlett

F: Simon Phillips, Justin Westhoff, Robert Gray

Foll: Matthew Lobbe, Domenic Cassisi, Matt Thomas

I/C: Brett Ebert, Steven Salopek, David Rodan, Nick Salter, Mitchell Banner, Daniel Stewart, Cameron Hitchcock

In: Brett Ebert, Steven Salopek, Nick Salter, Mitchell Banner, Cameron Hitchcock

Out: Alipate Carlile (Hip), Jasper Pittard (Hamstring)

 

COLLINGWOOD V HAWTHORN

MCG – Sun Jul 03, 2:10pm

Tickets | TV & Radio

Collingwood

B: Leon Davis, Ben Reid, Heritier O’Brien

HB: Alan Toovey, Nick Maxwell, Heath Shaw

C: Dane Swan, Dale Thomas, Sharrod Wellingham

HF: Chris Tarrant, Chris Dawes, Andrew Krakouer

F: Steele Sidebottom, Travis Cloke, Leigh Brown

Foll: Darren Jolly, Scott Pendlebury, Luke Ball

I/C: Tyson Goldsack, John McCarthy, Luke Rounds, Jarryd Blair, Simon Buckley, Tom Young, Alex Fasolo

In: Luke Rounds, Darren Jolly, Simon Buckley, Tom Young, Alex Fasolo

Out: Alan Didak (Calf), Cameron Wood

New: Luke Rounds (Geelong Falcons), Tom Young (Wollondilly (NSW) / Sydney University)

Milestones: Nick Maxwell – 150 games

Hawthorn

B: Brent Guerra, Josh Gibson, Thomas Murphy

HB: Shaun Burgoyne, Jordan Lisle, Grant Birchall

C: Matt Suckling, Sam Mitchell, Shane Savage

HF: Luke Breust, Lance Franklin, Isaac Smith

F: Brendan Whitecross, David Hale, Michael Osborne

Foll: Max Bailey, Luke Hodge, Liam Shiels

I/C: Chance Bateman, Clinton Young, Luke Lowden, Will Sierakowski, Riley Milne, Kyle Cheney, Paul Puopolo

In: Lance Franklin, Clinton Young, Luke Lowden, Will Sierakowski, Riley Milne, Thomas Murphy

Out: Jordan Lewis (Suspension), Brad Sewell (Knee), Cyril Rioli (Hamstring)

New: Luke Lowden (Sandringham Dragons / Caulfield Grammar), Will Sierakowski (Riverview/NSW-ACT U18)

 

NORTH MELBOURNE V ST KILDA

ES – Sun Jul 03, 4:40pm

Tickets | TV & Radio

North Melbourne

B: Scott Thompson, Cameron Pedersen, Michael Firrito

HB: Brady Rawlings, Nathan Grima, Levi Greenwood

C: Daniel Wells, Brent Harvey, Andrew Swallow

HF: Jack Ziebell, Aaron Edwards, Ben Cunnington

F: Lindsay Thomas, Drew Petrie, Ryan Bastinac

Foll: Todd Goldstein, Leigh Adams, Liam Anthony

I/C: Scott McMahon, Daniel Pratt, Lachlan Hansen, Ben McKinley, Cameron Richardson, Shaun Atley, Kieran Harper

In: Scott McMahon, Daniel Pratt, Lachlan Hansen, Ben McKinley

Out: Luke Delaney (Shoulder)

Milestones: Todd Goldstein – 50 games

St Kilda

B: James Gwilt, Zac Dawson, Farren Ray

HB: Brendon Goddard, Sam Fisher, Sean Dempster

C: Nick Dal Santo, Jack Steven, Jason Gram

HF: Brett Peake, Nick Riewoldt, Sam Gilbert

F: Stephen Milne, Ryan Gamble, Adam Schneider

Foll: Ben McEvoy, Clinton Jones, Leigh Montagna

I/C: Steven Baker, Raphael Clarke, David Armitage, Andrew McQualter, Tom Lynch, Tom Ledger, Dean Polo

In: Andrew McQualter, Tom Lynch, Tom Ledger, Dean Polo

Out: Justin Koschitzke (Suspension)

Milestones: Sam Gilbert – 100 games

Hey All,

Please see below for the video of Footy Tragic Episode 4!

We interview Western Bulldogs star, Ryan Hargrave, who is also ranked top 200 in SuperCoach (he actually made it to 55th overall a fortnight ago).

We also have Ron Shell in the studio, who is Dream Team royalty! Last week he made Dream Team history when he scored the #1 weekly score, as well as moving into #1 overall! We’ll ask him how he’s done it!

We also, as usual, run through the teams and how they will effect you, as well as discussing premium options for the forgotten position of 2011 – the defence. Plus much more!

Enjoy!

Cheers

The team at Footy Tragic

 

Footy Tragic ep 4 from Steve Greenwood on Vimeo.

Dan runs through all the kids about to play their 3rd game and rise in price – so who looks best for your AFL Dream Team & SuperCoach?

I suppose when reading this article you need to keep in mind that Ian Callinan will be set for his first price rise in Round 17 (Crows have a Round 16 bye which will delay the date of his third game). If you only require one forward or mid downgrade for the rest of the year then you’d be wise to trade him in over the next couple of weeks. For those that already have him, or might require a couple of forward downgrades, read on…(read on regardless, actually).

 

Patrick Karnezis (Brisbane, FWD)

DT: $92,500. Scores: 45*, 54^ Break even: -25

SC: $103,600. Scores: 47*, 52^ Break even: -27

Karnezis has really impressed me in his first two games. He started as the sub against Richmond in his first game and kicked two goals with his first two kicks when he was activated in the third quarter. Last week against Freo I thought he was providing an excellent second option to Jonathan Brown and was working really hard to get involved. I was a bit surprised to see him get subbed off, because structurally he looked important. My suspicion is that the high intensity of AFL might mean they’re limiting his game time early on.

Voss kind of scares me as far as keeping the kids in the team. His youth policy has been rather erratic in his few years at the helm. I rate Karnezis and think he will have done enough to convince Voss that he needs to be playing AFL. His two scores are very impressive considering he started as the sub once and was subbed off the other time.

Summary: It’s hard to get a read on which kids Voss will give an extended run to, so my concern over job security has more to do with Voss than Karnezis himself. He’ll score good enough to be a 8^th-10^th forward in the run home if he plays the season out.

 

Lewis Johnston (Sydney, FWD)

DT: $97,600. Scores: 29, 35

SC: $110,200. Scores: 26, 44

The late replacement for Ted Richards last week played his two games a month apart. He’s a pretty talented player, who I think is best suited as a third tall forward, but Sydney have been trying him as a half back in their reserves team a fair bit.

At this stage he looks to be a spare tall that they can play at either end of the ground. Despite some good form this year in the reserves he’s looking like only a back up tall for them.

Summary: This week if you’re looking for a forward rookie, Karnezis comes slightly cheaper with better scoring potential and I’d say better job security too. I’d recommend Karnezis over Johnston this week.

 

Jayden Schofield (Western Bulldogs, BAC)

DT: $92,500. Scores: 29, 45. Break even: 0

SC: $103,600. Scores: 31, 46. Break even: -5

Schofield is an angry ant, who loves getting under the skin of his opposition. His attitude was typified by the first time he ran onto the ground in an AFL game. Coming from the bench after a Crows goal he went out of his way to run past a Crow lining up at half forward and bumped him, kept running past and ran straight to Kurt Tippett and bumped him too. He’s got a bit of that Hayden Ballantyne mongrel about him, but he’s played most of his footy as a small defender.

He’s probably going to have more impact as a player than a fantasy player, in that he’ll do the little things that don’t find their way into the stats column. On top of that the Bulldogs have debuted eight players this year and apart from Liberatore and Markovic none have got the extended run of games we need as fantasy coaches.

Summary: Hasn’t shown he’s got huge scoring potential (I reckon he’d score more points as a small forward incidentally) and the Bulldogs have had a few kids in and out of the team this year.

 

Dan runs through all the action from this weekends state-league matches. Which AFL listed players are pushing for a senior game?

Unfortunately for the same reason I wasn’t on the show on Thursday night, I didn’t get out to a state league game last weekend. I’ve still put in a heap of work to bring this weeks installment of State League All-Stars.

 

ADELAIDE

After their shocking effort down at Geelong the Crows might have a few changes to make, so let’s see how they went in SANFL action on the weekend. Brad Moran had a very good game for West Adelaide in defence. He picked up 22 touches, including seven marks and was named BOG for them. With Shaun McKernan not giving much of a yelp on the weekend for the Crows, this could be one change – Moran was diabolic in his one game for the Crows this year, but he’s talented, very talented in my opinion…just needs to go harder at it.

After his poor game for South Adelaide last week Daniel Talia lifted big time this weekend. He was also playing in defence and was named second best for the Panthers with 16 disposals, three marks and three tackles. To continue the trend of tall Crows reserves doing well on the weekend, James Sellar was named in the bests for Glenelg, mainly playing in the ruck.

If anyone still has Brodie Smith, he played his first SANFL Seniors game of the season and had 16 touches, four marks and seven tackles. David Mackay made his long awaited return from injury for South Adelaide and had 15 touches. The Crows need him back badly!

 

BRISBANE

The Lions are all about playing the kids at the moment, but Amon Buchanan is screaming for a recall, collecting 47 possessions in a BOG performance for the Lions reserves in their narrow defeat to Mt. Gravatt. His clearance work was especially fantastic and while he lacks a bit of polish, on his recent form, with this game in particular he’s a worthy call up.

Xavier Clarke remains upright after four straight reserves games. He’s shown a bit of class and would be around the mark.

Tom Collier was named in the best players, along with Josh Dyson and Brad Harvey, though only Collier would be around the mark for a game. Jared Polec made a rather uninspiring return from a knee injury.

 

CARLTON

It didn’t sound like the best day for the Northern Bullants, thought Brock McLean kept up his good recent VFL form with 28 touches and eight clearances according to Bullants Twitter. I wouldn’t think it’s a good sign for his standing at the Blues that he couldn’t get a game with Curnow and Robinson out of the side on the weekend.

Wayde Twomey had a solid, consistent game, as he pretty much has all year. The mature ager is handy back up for the Blues to have on their list, but probably not much more than that.

Paul Bower was kept out as an emergency for the AFL game.

 

COLLINGWOOD

It was all about the return of Darren Jolly, Ben Johnson and Brent Macaffer for the Pies on the weekend. Realistically these three, along with Alex Fasolo are the ones likely to come back into the team any time soon.

Jolly was very good, with 23 touches, 29 hitouts and a goal to be named BOG for the Pies twos. Unfortunately Michael Gardiner was a late withdrawal, which would’ve made for a pretty high quality ruck duel in a VFL game – in the end he was up against the less experienced duo (and more key position than ruck) in Daniel Archer and Tommy Walsh. Unless the Pies think he needs more match fitness he should come in this week.

Johnson provided some outside run, which isn’t an easy thing to do considering they were playing at Sandringham – about the size of a basketball court. He kicked a couple of nice goals in the first quarter, but faded out of the game later, but was still named second best.

Macaffer looks to have slimmed down a bit and played across half forward with stints in the midfield and will add to the Pies depth, which was starting to look thin.

Fasolo kicked a couple of goals and his good foot skills were on display. He’ll be around the mark for some more games this year, but probably won’t have good enough job security to be a good DT/SC option. Luke Rounds is playing some good footy as a small defender and I can see him getting a game or two for experience this year.

 

ESSENDON

It wasn’t a brilliant day out for Essendon’s affiliate, Bendigo. With a few injuries to key Bombers there will be a few changes to make this week (Crameri and Hardingham will both return from suspension).

If Kyle Reimers doesn’t get a game, then something is clearly up. He’s put together a really good month of senior footy and was good again on the weekend, so he’s either being really made to earn it or the Bombers have a line through his name. The longer his exile remains for, the more I start to believe there’s a line through his name, but let’s see what happens this week.

Jake Carlisle had an impressive game at both ends of the ground. His contested marking was a feature and will be in the mix for selection over the next few weeks. Scott Gumbleton kicked a goal and didn’t get injured. He got on his bike and was playing up the ground a fair bit, rather than being the target inside 50.

Michael Ross was named BOG for Bendigo for his sweeping role across half back, providing a bit of run and carry for the Bombers. Interestingly the article on the Bombers site talks up Carlisle and Gumbleton, but no mention at all of Reimers.

 

FREMANTLE

With such a long injury list, Freo only had eight players in WAFL Seniors on the weekend (with two more in the reserves). Byron Schammer played another good game, but it seems Mark Harvey isn’t interested anymore. He had 29 touches and six marks.

Rookie listed Casey Sibosado kicked two crucial last quarter goals, including the match winner from outside 50. He had 15 touches and five marks to go with that pair of goals. He’d be a very long way off it, but it’s good to see him showing something.

Jay van Berlo had 22 touches and six marks, while Ben Bucovaz returned to WAFL action after his AFL debut with 17 disposals, four marks and a couple of goals.

 

GEELONG

The Cats reserves were hideously undermanned this week, with only nine of their players lining up. Simon Hogan was the stand out in his second game for the season, amassing 27 touches, with plenty of grunt work in the middle. With a bit more conditioning the Cats hard worker will add some good depth to the line up.

Cameron Mooney also had a very good game. With no other key forwards in the team he was up against, often getting double and triple teamed, but he still ended up with eight marks and four goals. There’s still life in the big hairy cat!

Jonathan Simpkin was hard at it in the midfield and picked up 28 possessions, while Cameron Guthrie and George Horlin-Smith weren’t bad off half back.

 

GOLD COAST

There’s not a lot of info from the Gold Coast reserves game unfortunately. They had three players kick four goals each – Nathan Ablett, Jack Stanley and Liam Patrick, but none got named in the best players.

Seb Tape was named BOG for his role across half back, along with Rory Thompson, who played at centre half back for a change of scenery (usually ruck/forward).

When the Suns reserves it was Joey Daye and Harley Bennell who lifted in the midfield to allow the Suns to cruise to a comfortable win. For anyone who may still be holding onto him, Daniel Harris didn’t play. I know a few people who have Tom Nicholls as ruck cover and even though he was showing up on the injury list as a few weeks away he played on the weekend.

 

HAWTHORN

The Box Hill Hawks had a bye.

 

MELBOURNE

Melbourne’s affiliate, the Casey Scorpions had a bye.

 

NORTH MELBOURNE

In his second game on return from injury Matty Campbell was lively up forward and finished with four goals. His forward pressure was good and should return to the team soon.

Daniel Pratt returned from his thumb injury and was composed in the back half, collecting 27 touches. Rookie listed Aaron Mullett was also impressive for North Ballarat, playing off the wing and drifting forward for three goals, with his third quarter being especially good. Cam Richardson was not named in the best players for the first time in over a month, owing to the fact that he finally got the call up to AFL.

As for those that played for Werribee, Hamish McIntosh made his much anticipated return from a pre-season achilles injury, spending most of the day in the forward line. He was a bit rusty early on, but played better in the second half. Hopefully he pulled up well during the week, but North aren’t exactly struggling in the ruck, so it’ll be interesting in a few weeks when his match fitness is up.

Speaking of rucks Majak Daw gave talkback callers who have probably never seen him play and have no understanding of structure, a reason to angrily call up SEN and demand to know why Daw isn’t getting a game. He was named second best for Werribee and led the ruck. He worked hard around the ground and had 24 hitouts, but as I said before, North are travelling well in the ruck.

Ben McKinley kicked five goals, among 23 disposals and six marks. It was another good game for the in form forward, who just simply needs to keep it up and wait his turn, as the Roos forwards are working well at the moment. Rookie listed Matt Scott went down in the second quarter and appears to have sustained a serious knee injury – tough luck for the young lad, who I am quite a fan of.

 

PORT ADELAIDE

All I can imagine by now is that Matthew Primus forgot that Mitch Banner is on their list. He keeps dominating for Port Adelaide Magpies and has reportedly displayed a lot of improvement in the defensive side of his game, as evidenced with four tackles on the weekend. He had another 27 disposals, probably not the cleanest, but he just keeps playing well every week.

A trio of Power listed players were named in the best players for Glenelg this weekend, though Chad Cornes already has his farewell game announced for Round 20 against Collingwood. Cam Hitchcock had a ripper with 26 touches, six marks and 4.2. His main issue in the AFL this year has been that he simply isn’t kicking goals, so it’s a good step for him to take. Steve Salopek had 23 touches, six marks and 2.1.

Rookie listed basketball convert Daniel Bass had a very promising game for South Adelaide in the ruck. It was his third game in the seniors this year (spending most of his time with South reserves) but the first time he’s looked the part at SANFL seniors level. He had 12 touches, four marks and 17 hitouts. With the career of Dean Brogan drawing to a close they’ll be hoping for a similar story to emerge with Bass – still a long way from AFL I’d imagine, but good to see the former Eltham High School student reprezenting (my old school).

Speaking of Port’s ruck stocks, considering they’re quite thin at the top end right now Jarrad Redden had his first game time since Round 1. He lined up for WWT reserves and was named second best – straight into the Eagles seniors this week I’d suggest.

Daniel Motlop kicked four goals for North Adelaide.

 

RICHMOND

Travis Tuck picked up 37 touches and showed his usual hardness at the contest in a BOG performance. Jayden Post was impressive in a key defensive role, plucking a few marks and winning 27 touches. He was matched up on Ben McKinley though, who got off the leash late in the game, however Post was still named third best for Coburg.

Rookie listed Ben Jakobi showed a bit of dash from defence and used it well the 19 times he had it. In his second game on return from personal leave Mitch Morton kicked three goals in a dangerous display. It’s not too late for him to make an impact this year and a couple more games like this should see him back in the seniors.

Ben Nason showed good work ethic in picking up his 24 touches, as illustrated by his 14 handball receives.

 

ST.KILDA

Andrew McQualter had another great game and is in ripping form in the VFL lately. Certainly on form he’s someone who deserves another go, but it may already be decided by Saints match committee that he’s too good for VFL, but not quite good enough for AFL. On exactly that topic, Raph Clarke had a very good showing for Sandringham.

Youngster Tom Ledger was industrious in the midfield and will be pressing for selection. Will Johnson kicked three goals and Tom Simpkin was named second best.

Jason Blake hurt his knee again in the second quarter and didn’t return, while Jarryn Geary made his return from a long lay off with a leg injury.

 

SYDNEY

Sydney reserves won by almost 200 points against Queanbeyan. It was such a drubbing that it’s hard to get a real read on how they went – the match was described as more of a training run than a footy match.

Trent Dennis-Lane was pretty stiff not to get named in the bests for his nine goal effort, including eight in the first half – at which point the game was presumably on the line for the first 90-120 seconds.

He wasn’t the only major goal kicker, with BOG Nathan Gordon slotting through a cool seven. He gave off a few as well and showed plenty of toughness at the contest. He got his debut the week after Kieren Jack went down with that ankle injury. He hurt it again on the weekend, but may not miss. Gordon is on the bubble too, but I wouldn’t be banging down the door to get him in.

Matt Spangher started in the back line, but after missing a bit of time with a hamstring injury it looked like the Swans wanted to get him into the action, so threw him forward, where he ended up with six goals – yep, that’s 21 goals between those three players for those not keeping count.

Luke Parker will be pressing hard for a spot along with Gordon if Jack misses any time. Jarred Moore was good around the clearances and picked up three goals, while Byron Sumner ran hard all day (an issue with his game in the past). Daniel Currie continued his great form and was named in the bests, but unfortunately for the unlucky big man (five years, no games) Mike Pyke made his return from injury and will already be ahead of Currie in the pecking order.

 

WEST COAST

Another round, another week to be jealous of West Coast’s depth. Many of the same players put in good performances in the WAFL on the weekend and will be ready to step straight in if need be.

Koby Stevens was very stiff not to be selected ahead of Tom Swift last week, but with Swift not having such a great game maybe he’ll get a chance this week. Stevens had 25 touches, six marks and a goal for East Freo.

Chris Masten picked up 27 touches, six marks and laid eight tackles in what sounded like a pretty good game. Andrew Gaff was another to impress and would have played a lot of games this year if he was at most other clubs in the league, but West Coast’s form and depth has seen him on the outer. He had 24 disposals, seven marks and a couple of goals.

Lewis Stevenson got it 24 times along with eight marks across half back, while Callum Wilson had 19 touches and a whopping 11 marks for a return of three goals. To top it all off their incredibly short injury list got even shorter with Mitch Brown returning this week and you’d imagine he’d be one they find room for in the 22 soon.

 

WESTERN BULLDOGS

Jarrad Grant had a massive game with eight goals and was named best on for Williamstown. A couple of the goals came easy, but he worked hard to earn 20 touches and eight marks.

Andrew Hooper worked hard in the forward with some of that forward pressure that saw him earn a debut in the finals last year. He also ended up with four goals and gave a couple off to be named third best. Nathan Djerrkura and Josh Hill were both good, while Jordan Roughead and Ayce Cordy had the better of Josh Jenkins and Jay Neagle in the ruck.

Brian Lake started back and moved forward to end up with three goals in a more promising display, while Mitch Wallis had 25 touches and Tom Liberatore (in his VFL debut) had 20.

 

Welcome to another week of Kristian’s Kaptains! I’m pretty sure everyone would be feeling pretty bullish about who they picked last week, unless you decided to go for someone like Steve Johnson or Jobe Watson (who I did recommend in Super Coach, woops!).

This week West Coast has the bye, so only Dean Cox is the major exclusion from this round’s article.

It’s actually going to be quite the difficult task picking a captain this week given there are so many options.

Dane Swan looked back to his brilliant best on the weekend, making himself a genuine option once again, while pretty much all of the other captaincy options for the week have solid records against their upcoming opponents.

Question marks still hang over the likes of Jimmy Bartel and Leigh Montagna, so you’re better off going with any one of the much safer options coming up, even though Bartel averages a very nice 117 DT and 123 SC in his last five games against the Bombers.

 

MATTHEW BOYD VS MELBOURNE

I’m not particularly keen on Boyd this week for some strange reason. Jordie McKenzie is a very under rated player, who does the job week in, week out on the oppisitions best midfielder. It’s hard to tell who he’ll go to, but it’ll most likely be one of Adam Cooney, Ryan Griffen, or Matthew Boyd. Boyd has started copping some attention from the opposition recently, which has me a little concerned, and we all know he didn’t cope with it too well against the Crows, of all teams. Boyd is always a solid option, but I just can’t see him getting that monster score this week that sets you apart. It really depends on your captain strategy, and what you like to achieve from them. Having talked him down for the first time in a while, watch him score 150 this week! His record against the Dees in his last five games is 109 DT and 95 SC,

 

MARC MURPHY VS RICHMOND

He’s now officially in the ‘group’. Murphy has had an outstanding season, and he was put to the true test on the weekend and succeeded with flying colours. I’ve been really wary of picking captains who play West Coast, as have been choking up teams this season, but Murphy just continued on his merry way. He scored 118 DT in a team that was convincingly out played on the day, which is a great sign, and shows just how good a form he actually is in. He comes up against the Tigers this week, which he should score well against. Daniel Jackson always goes to Chris Judd, but Murphy’s form could have a say in that match up. I can see a player like Shane Edwards getting the gig on him, whom it must be said, has done some brilliant tagging jobs recently that have gone largely unnoticed; his last scalp being Colin Sylvia. Murphy’s last five games against the Tigers have been really solid, especially in SC, averaging 104 DT and 123 SC.

 

DANE SWAN VS HAWTHORN

He’s back, and looked in ripping nick on Saturday night! With an average of 131 DT and 124 SC in his last three games against the Hawks, he’s hard to ignore in any competition. Even though the Hawks are flying, they do still leak some midfield points as they really don’t tag opposition midfielders very heavily. The fact Brad Sewell is now out, means that Swan will be on a pretty loose leash all night, and the Hawks will back their midfielders in head to head. You can’t go wrong with Swanny this week; I think he’s the best option out there hands down.

 

GARY ABLETT VS FREMANTLE

A very close second to Dane Swan, Ablett is the next best captaincy option. Fremantle are pretty hapless at the moment and couple that with the fact Sandilands is out again, and you get an Ablett picnic. His recent history against them is very good as well, averaging 122 DT and 140 SC in his last three encounters with the Dockers. Not much else more to say really, the guy’s a superstar, so why not enjoy the points he accumulates doubly?

 

OTHER OPTIONS TO CONSIDER………

Bryce Gibbs had an outstanding round one game against the Tigers, but that was played mostly through the midfield. Since then, he’s put back down in defence, so he’s not really an option anymore, even though he averages 104 DT and 107 SC in his last five against Richmond.

 

Chris Judd is definitely a Super Coach captaincy option this week, with a really solid average of 117 in his last five games against the Tigers.

 

Fremantle have the Gold Coast this week, so Matthew Pavlich, Greg Broughton and Nat Fyfe would be the main guys to consider. I still think you could do much better than those guys though.

 

Paul Chapman has an awesome recent record against the Bombers, but can we trust him anymore? He’s just not pulling out those monster scores, and even getting to the ton every week is proving to be a battle. Still, Essendon really don’t have an obvious match up for him, and you can’t ignore his last five games against them, averaging 115 DT and a whopping 129 SC.

 

Scott Pendlebury is still a guy you must seriously consider, although he looked a bit proppy on the weekend. An average of 99 DT and 107 SC against Hawthorn probably suggests you could do better though.

 

Sam Mitchell is in ripping form, but how will he go against the Pies? He has a good record against them, averaging 106 DT and 114 SC. He’s not for me this week though.

 

Brendon Goddard against North Melbourne looks good, but he was pretty terrible against the Cats, so you can’t ignore that. I’m wary of players coming off the bye, but his record against the Roos is healthy, averaging 122 DT and 134 SC in his last three games.

 

MY TOP 3 DREAM TEAM OPTIONS

1. Dane Swan

2. Gary Ablett

3. Marc Murphy

 

MY TOP 3 SUPER COACH OPTIONS

1. Gary Ablett

2. Chris Judd

3. Dane Swan