Footy Tragic

After the success of the state league article last year and a free up in time, we’re very happy to be able to bring it back for the second half of 2012. Whether it’s as a fantasy resource, or just as a general read on how the boys are going at the level below we hope you enjoy it. Where stats are available I’ll list a few AFL Dream Team scores for each club.

ADELAIDE

Tom Lynch – 127
Brad Symes – 106
Chris Knights – 102
Tim McIntyre – 102
Jarryd Lyons – 94

It was a good week for Crows in the SANFL with six players getting named in the bests for their respective sides and four cracking a DT ton. Tom Lynch led the way with a BOG performance for Glenelg, amassing 33 touches and 11 marks on his way to 127 points.

Brad Symes and Chris Knights could provide good depth if injury strikes the Crows. Symes has been in particularly good form for Central District all year and racked up another 28 touches and 106 DT points. Knights had 27 touches and two goals for 102 DT points for WWT Eagles.

Rookie listed Tim McIntyre was named second best for Sturt and kicked five goals. He’s been pretty patchy most of the year though, so will need to build on this.

Youngster Luke Brown has attracted a few questions lately after being talked up a bit in the pre-season. He’s had a slow start to the year, but had his best game of 2012 with 20 touches and 71 points. With the Crows traveling so well he’s probably a bit back in the pack for a game, but it’s an encouraging sign. Sam Kerridge had 11 touches and only 45 DT points for Sturt.

 

BRISBANE

No specific stats available at this stage.

Patrick Karnezis was named best on ground, playing his first game as a full time midfielder and ended with 33 touches and three goals. His move to the midfield could be a very beneficial one.

First year player Sam Docherty has been putting together a good month. He’s played five games since returning from pre-season hip surgery and this was his best effort to date. He’s DEF eligible in AFL Dream Team and SuperCoach and is likely to debut in the back half of the season.

Bryce Retzlaff and Jordan Lisle were dominant up forward, kicking seven and six goals respectively. Rookie listed Steven Wrigley was a bit more quiet than recent weeks, but will still be in the frame to be upgraded to the senior list after Round 11. It’s been speculated he would’ve already made his debut if they had room on the senior list for him.

 

CARLTON

It was a pretty glum day for the Northern Blues, so bad that there were no notable DT scores. They got smashed by Casey Scorpions and only kicked six goals for the day.

Their highest DT scorer of Carlton listed players was Rhys O’Keeffe with 68, who was playing his first game in the VFL Seniors for the year after coming back from a heel injury. He’s a gutsy half back with good skills. He also played one AFL game as a sub last year, so is a little more expensive than a standard rookie.

Luke Mitchell and Blake Bray also made their return to VFL Seniors after both spent a bit of time out with shoulder injuries.

 

COLLINGWOOD

Jonathon Ceglar – 101
Jarrod Witts – 91
Jackson Paine – 87

Collingwood were another side to have a tough time of it. They fielded a pretty average VFL team due to injuries at the club seeing some of their better VFL regulars getting games in the AFL.

The ruck duo of Jonathon Ceglar and Jarrod Witts won the hitouts against Werribee’s Majak Daw and Cam Pedersen. Ceglar kicked three goals, along with 13 touches and 21 hitouts to crack the DT ton for the first time this year. Witts is a massive unit, so might take a while to get used to his body, but he had a good game with 14 touches, five marks, seven tackles and 20 hitouts.

Chris Tarrant, in his second game on return from his calf injury played the whole game in defence (his return game was as a forward). He picked up 20 touches and four marks for 79 DT points.

Jackson Paine had missed a game due to a minor ankle injury, but returned well with 13 touches, nine marks (including three contested) and three goals for 87 points.

 

ESSENDON

Kyle Reimers – 120
Brendan Lee – 97
Alex Browne – 88
Scott Gumbleton – 71

Yes, you read right, that’s Scott Gumbleton and he played a game of footy! In fact, it was his second game on return from injury. He was named BOG for Bendigo for his effort of 13 touches, five marks and three goals.

Kyle Reimers was the only other Essendon listed player to get named in the bests for his 21 touches and three goals. Alex Browne played his second game of the year and created plenty of run with his 24 touches, while mature aged rookie Brendan Lee returned from a mystery five week absence to record solid numbers across the board with 26 disposals, five marks and four tackles.

David’s Hille and Myers both made their VFL returns after seven weeks off with a calf and hamstring injury respectively. Hille played a half and had 19 hitouts and only a handful of touches. He’ll need a bit longer in the VFL to be considered for a return. Myers looked a bit more ready to go though, so could have his hand up for selection in a couple of weeks.

First year player Elliott Kavanagh was also pretty impressive with 15 touches, five marks and seven tackles. Last week on The Hangar head recruiter Adrian Dodoro was talking him up as having debut potential this year.

 

FREMANTLE

Tom Sheridan – 111
Lee Spurr – 106
Jay van Berlo – 100
Cameron Sutcliffe – 95
Haiden Schloithe – 90

There were plenty of Dockers putting their hand up for selection on the weekend, however two of the four WAFL games this weekend were on Monday (public holiday in WA). With Freo playing on Saturday you’d imagine those that played on Monday will be unlikely for selection this week off a five day break.

The positive news was the performance of Lee Spurr who picked up 23 touches and 13 marks for Peel Thunder in their upset win over Claremont. Peel teammate Tom Sheridan has put his hand up for a debut, after being the traveling emergency a couple of weeks ago for the Dockers with 25 touches, nine marks and two goals. The pair both topped a DT ton, while Peter Faulks was named BOG for his role in defence for Peel.

Anthony Morabito played his third game on return from a hamstring setback with 18 disposals and 79 points.

Of those that played on Monday Jay van Berlo and Cameron Sutcliffe were named in their sides best players. Sutcliffe is one who could be in and around the mark for a debut in the back half of the season.

 

GEELONG

Jonathan Simpkin – 131
Dawson Simpson – 106
Mitch Brown – 87
Daniel Menzel – 61
Allen Christensen – 61

I suppose the big news out of this game is already well publicised, and that’s Daniel Menzel rupturing the ACL in his “good” knee in his first game back. He was actually playing quite well until that time and was still named third best for the Cats.

Allen Christensen, returning from a two week calf injury, is another who didn’t make it through the day and finished with 14 touches and five tackles before going off with concussion.

On the positive, after making his long awaited AFL debut (6.5 years after he first made it onto an AFL list) Jonathan Simpkin returned to the VFL in dominant fashion. He picked up 28 touches and 11 tackles for 131 DT points. His last three VFL games (punctuated by his sub appearance in the AFL) have yielded 107, 144 and 131 DT points. If he got a good run at it at AFL level he could be a good option, but job security in a strong Geelong midfield is difficult to come by.

Dawson Simpson is lurking for those Orren Stephenson owners. He played his second game on return from injury and picked up 21 touches and 34 hitouts.

 

GOLD COAST

No specific stats available for NEAFL yet.

Brandon Matera made an impressive return from his four week foot injury and was named BOG for the Suns reserves in a heavy loss to Sydney.

Zac Smith, rather peculiarly making his NEAFL debut after 29 AFL appearances was named second best and kicked two goals. Another more experienced campaigner Jared Brennan kicked two goals and snuck into the best players. Josh Toy and first year player Jackson Allen also drew praise of reserves coach Shaun Hart.

 

GWS

No specific stats available for NEAFL yet.

GWS reserves copped a 100 point hiding and only kicked four goals for the day, so there’s not a hell of a lot to write about. #1 Draft Pick Jonathan Patton has already been confirmed as a debutant in Round 12 after the Giants AFL bye. He was named best on ground for the reserves and kicked ¼ of their score (one goal).

Sam Schulz was named in the best players for the third time this season and was their captain on the day. He’s an athletic midfielder who can play inside and out.

Jack Hombsch returned from a three week quad injury and will be in the mix to return after the bye after being named third best. Adam Tomlinson and Sam Frost rounded out the bests, while Kurt Aylett returned from a knee reconstruction he had in August last year.

 

HAWTHORN

Box Hill had a bye.

 

MELBOURNE

Jai Sheahan – 107
Matthew Bate – 103
Jack Fitzpatrick – 89
Lucas Cook – 83
Tom Couch – 69

OK, so I’ll get the obligatory Tom Couch watch out of the way, considering a lot of people seem to be pinning their hopes on him. He actually had his lowest output for the year with 14 touches, four marks and five tackles for a 69 in DT. His past four games have been a bit of a drop off from his start to the season. Still decent, but 85, 82, 109 and 69 are his last four scores. His kicking efficiency is 53% this year and has only had one game above 60%.

Jai Sheahan led the way in defence for Casey in their thrashing of the Northern Blues with 25 touches and eight marks in his best game of the year. Matthew Bate and Aaron Davey both played their first game of the year in the VFL and both collected 22 touches. Bate had the better fantasy game, but Davey should also be praised for his team  high nine clearances. Oddly Casey lost the clearances 50-29 but won the game by 55 points.

Up forward Lucas Cook kicked three goals from eight marks, including three contested. He’s worked his way slowly into the season and will need to consolidate on this performance.

 

NORTH MELBOURNE

Robbie Tarrant – 123
Ben Warren – 121
Cam Pedersen – 117
Lindsay Thomas – 98
Sam Gibson – 77

Of course, Sam Gibson watch is going to be an important part of this article until he (hopefully) debuts. He had 18 touches, five marks and a couple of goals for Werribee in their big win over Collingwood.

There were much bigger performances for Werribee though, with Robbie Tarrant a dominant force in the forward line kicking 5.3 from his 18 touches. He had 10 marks, remarkably five of those were contested, so it was a very promising performance and you get the feeling he’ll be a big chance for a recall.

Cam Pedersen was named BOG with 30 touches, eight marks and 16 hitouts, playing in the ruck, defence and attack. The versatile player picked a good time to have a strong game with North Melbourne’s defence probably having a few changes for their next game. Ben Warren added six goals to move up to third in the VFL for goal kicking.

For North Melbourne’s other VFL affiliate North Ballarat, the clear standout was Lindsay Thomas with 6.2 from 15 touches in a BOG performance.

 

PORT ADELAIDE

Tom Logan – 110
Daniel Stewart – 93
Matthew Lobbe – 90
Brandon Ah Chee – 86

Buoyant Jarrad Redden owners might need to keep half an eye on Matthew Lobbe, who was named fifth best for West Adelaide with a 15 touch, 15 hitout and seven clearance display.

Tom Logan was named second best for Glenelg, picking up 27 possessions and nine makrs. Port Magpies played in the Foxtel Cup and embarrassingly lost to Morningside from QLD (a side that featured no players who have ever been on an AFL list). Steven Salopek (recently transferred from Glenelg, who kept playing him in their reserves) and rookie listed Brandon Ah Chee were among the better players for the Magpies.

 

RICHMOND

Coburg had a bye.

 

ST.KILDA

Sandringham had a bye, however Sandy reserves had a game and a few Saints were in action there. Raph Clarke and Adam Schneider played to increase their match conditioning. Clarke had played two games in VFL Seniors and Schneider just the one before the weekend. Clarke was named BOG and Schneider fifth best. First year player Daniel Markworth was named second best.

 

SYDNEY

No full stats from the NEAFL yet.

Matt Spangher led the way with four goals in the first half for the Swans reserves and has probably jumped ahead of Tommy Walsh for a senior recall. Mark Seaby was named BOG and had plenty to contend with (the Suns had four different ruckmen to throw at him).

Tom Mitchell and Nick Malceski both played the first three quarters and got through fine. Malceski took some much needed confidence out of the game, while Mitchell continued his steady improvement in his fourth game of the year. Rookie listed Shane Biggs was named in the best players for the third week in a row.

 

WEST COAST

Murray Newman – 149
Andrew Strijk – 104
Koby Stevens – 78

It wasn’t a huge week for West Coast at WAFL level, but the Eagles are approaching the bye this week anyway. Murray Newman was the standout performer with 29 possessions, 12 marks and 5.1 for an impressive 149 DT points. He was close to selection 3-4 weeks ago so could be one to track in future weeks as a small forward.

Andrew Strijk has been in decent form in the past couple of games and his 17 touches and four goals were crucial in West Perth’s draw with East Perth. Koby Stevens was winning plenty of hard ball for East Freo and was handball happy, accumulating 78 DT points from his 8 kicks and 19 handballs.

Brad Dick played in his return game from last years knee reconstruction. In half a game (management) he kicked two goals from seven disposals.

 

WESTERN BULLDOGS

Brodie Moles – 144
Matthew Panos – 104
Clay Smith – 95
Christian Howard – 79

Brodie Moles just picking up a sly 33 touches, seven marks and six tackles. It was his fourth game for Williamstown seniors on return from an ankle injury.

Matthew Panos had 15 touches and eight marks, as well as 16 hitouts (at 191cm). Clay Smith was typically hard at it with his 22 touches and six tackles for 95 DT points. Christian Howard in his second game at VFL level since injuring his knee in Round 1 had 25 touches playing mostly on the wing.

Lindsay Gilbee made his return from a seven week knee injury with six touches.

Toby runs you through his thoughts for the first week of the bye rounds. Do you hold tight or trade, and if so, how many do you use?

 

Well, the time has come – the byes are finally upon us. So now we need to take a good, hard look at our teams and work out what comes next.

This was the week where many coaches would have been looking to trade out of their GWS players, and fair enough. Some of the players who started the year strong (McDonald, Bugg, Kennedy) are starting to fade away, whilst those who have come into the side later in the year are seemingly on the improve. But with GWS taking the week off with the bye this round, now is the opportune time to start clearing your side of these unreliable Giants.

At least this is what we may have been planning to do a week ago…

Unfortunately though, we have come out the back-end of round 10 with more issues than solutions. Horsley has dropped away rapidly and is at risk of not being selected this week, McDonald stalled in price after two poor games in a row, Heath Scotland is out injured for a month, Pendlebury two weeks and Waters has gotten himself suspended. So now we have a whole wrath of other issues to deal with too.

So the question is, what’s most important?

The one plus this week is that we have three trades. Three very tempting trades at that. Whilst it does feel exciting clearing out some of your underperformers, you must sit down and look at the next three weeks.

Right now, it is important to hold onto any playing players, regardless of how low their average score may be. For example, there is no point trading out Steve Morris, or Aaron Hall or Brandon Ellis, despite the fact you may need cash for other upgrades.  Whilst these guys aren’t setting the world on fire, they are at least scoring you some points at a time when points are going to be pretty hard to come by.

Right now, you are better clearing out players who will miss this week. But my suggestion is to only trade to cover donuts. I don’t mean trade in any player who is named, but aim to trade out players who will be missing this week whom you have no bench cover to replace. So this means a focus on your GWS boys, because let’s be honest, you probably have a few of them.

To note, here are some breakevens for the GWS boys:

James McDonald- DT: 67, SC: 43

Dylan Shiel- DT: 27, SC: 14

Steven Coniglio- DT: 60, SC: 83

Devon Smith- DT: 75, SC: 77

Tom Bugg- DT: 79, SC: 73

And…

Kyal Horsley- DT: 118, SC: 93

Personally, I am going to be offloading McDonald and Horsley (if not named). I will be trading him for the best premium player I can afford. In fact, I am looking at bringing in a player with a dual-position link, which will help me with negating the byes over the coming weeks. So perhaps I could bring in Beams, Chapman or Zaharakis – all are playing this week, and whilst the will miss one of the next two games, it will give me an advantage this week in my leagues. For what it’s worth, I am planning to tank in the 2^nd week of the byes, so loading up on Essendon/Collingwood/Geelong players lends itself to this strategy.

So what do you do with the three trades?

Well, it is tempting to use all three, and I daresay it will continue to be tempting over the next fortnight too. It makes it easy to make one downgrade and two upgrades at once – effectively two weeks of trading in one. I won’t however be using these trades to bring the same players in and out of my side. Some people will trade out Boyd, Thompson, Zorko this week, but I think this is exactly what the GWS players are for – the always have been trade bait. Not one (bar perhaps Giles) is a keeper. Downgrade one for a rookie if you must, then upgrade two others to premiums. Trading a premium for a premium is simply a waste – whist this move is easy for those with no cash, it is simply grabbing you a score for one week with a player who will miss a game over the next fortnight anyway, which to me is pointless.

Even if you are short on cash, premium options such as Gibbs, Mitchell and Priddis are all well underpriced and easily upgraded to from McDonald with just limited extra funds. Just don’t go chasing points and trade out premiums that will be back next week.

Another option for your three-trade weeks is actually wait until after round 12 and use them then – by that stage you will have plenty of decent premiums to choose from who don’t have any byes remaining. In the meantime, trade week to week to cover donuts (in you can), focusing on getting rid of your maxed-out rookies. Set a trade limit for yourself over the next three weeks and try to stick to it. Ideally, you won’t be using nine trades over the next three weeks!

 

 

What an amazing round of footy it was!

There is so much to talk about in fantasy footy that it is hard to know where to start….

What about Buddy’s 13 goals and AFL Dream Team record-breaking performance? A lazy 204 Dream Team points if you don’t mind. Let’s not forget he was on four points with a few seconds left in the first quarter. It was looking like a very quiet day for Buddy, until he went ‘bang’ x13. If you had him captain, well all I can say is congratulations, you would’ve surely had an epic round. It would have been a spectacle that was doubly special to watch.

What about Sir Gary’s return to form last night? An AMAZING 53 possession game equalling the world record! 53 POSSESSIONS! It is fair to say, I don’t think I’ll ever NOT have him captain ever again. ‘Kristian’s Kaptain’s’ is officially extinct. Having Pendlebury captain this week instead flushed 127 points down the drain. Instead of being ranked 628^th, I’d be 262^nd, just because of a little decision like that. The agony fantasy footy gives you….

Stevie Johnson continued his history of ‘beating up the kids’ with a lousy 146 DT, 156 SC performance. He bucked the trend of fantasy stars not performing against GWS as we all suspected he would.

It was AGAIN a week of underperforming premiums. Even if you had all of Ablett, Buddy and Stevie J, you still could’ve had a very average week….. *puts hand up*.

Joel Selwood went off injured very early in the game and it looked like he wouldn’t return, but limped around to get a 62 DT and (this is why I despise SuperCoach) 104 SC. How does that happen? I’d love someone to explain.

Scott Pendlebury also went off injured early in the game last night, but returned to have a very fine first half. That was all we saw of him after that, he was red vested with a 59 DT, 95 SC (again) game. Thanks skipper!

A lot of people would’ve made Steele Sidebottom their captain this week, only for him to collapse amidst all the expectation. 68 DT and 74 SC simply doesn’t cut it against the hapless Suns.

‘Creepy Crowley’ has become arguably the most feared tagger in the competition. He just gets the job done on opposition midfielders and his victim this week was Scott Thompson. He just couldn’t get anything easy at all.

Brett Deledio continued his streak of outstanding form, now with nine Dream Team tons in a row, and ten Super Coach tons in a row! Mr.Consistent.

I was shot down on the show when I said Ivan Maric was a decent captain option. 116 DT and 111 SC later, it’s a score I’d have taken every day of the week going by how some other premiums have scored. If he hasn’t consolidated his position as the #1 ruck in fantasy world, I think he has now.

In the run home, there could be a ruckman to have a say about that though. If you weren’t aware, I traded Jon Giles to Todd Goldstein this week on the back of the news Hamish McIntosh needed knee surgery. We all know how well Goldstein went last season when he rucked solo, so I thought, for a trade that will cost me no cash, it was a worthwhile one. Dean Brogan will be back for the Giants after the bye, and he was #1 ruck at the Giants while Giles started forward. On the other hand, North Melbourne has said McIntosh will be out for six weeks, but with the way they’re travelling on field, and McIntosh’s knee history, are they really going to rush him back this season? It’s doubtful.

Another guy I traded in this week was Sam Mitchell. It was risky considering he was a little out of form, but he’s a proven champ, and showed that on the weekend. He is still cheap as chips, so he’s a great option to bring in for an upgrade.

There’ll be backline carnage over the next few weeks. It was announced yesterday that Heath Scotland will miss at least the next three weeks with a calf injury. The calf strain is the ‘old man’s injury’ and they have a history of playing out longer than originally diagnosed.

The other popular defender that is in trouble is Beau Waters. He laid a high hip and shoulder on Jack Redden that got him in the face, and with his 90 carry over points, it looks like he’ll spend a couple of weeks on the sidelines. We’ll find out at around 4 o’clock tonight.

That’s all for KP’s Wrap this week! Make sure there’s plenty of discussion below!

 

 

What to do with an underperforming premium player? Keep them and hope they turn it around?

If you  persist with them but they continue to score poorly,  not only are you missing out on much needed points, but you also face the risk of that player dropping heavily in price. But then there’s that underlying fear; what if they do turn it around?

You’ve affectively wasted a trade. Unfortunately there is no set formula in these situations; every case is going to be different.   But with that said, there a few things I like to consider, and I think these can apply to everyone, whether that’s a Travis Cloke, Bryce Gibbs or Sam Mitchell; the same principles apply.

Has there been a change of role?
It goes without saying; the role in which a player is used is going to have an enormous impact on their ability to score fantasy points.

In the case of Travis Cloke, there has been no change to speak of. I for one take this as a positive. We know what Cloke is capable of. He’s had no trouble scoring in the role in the past. Right now he’s just down on form.  But as star player we can be optimistic that he’ll turn things around sooner rather than later.

The situation with Gibbs is different. No longer back line eligible, Gibbs was finally set to make the full time transition to the midfield with many predicting 2012 as the year he truly announced himself as an elite player of the competition. Gibbs is back to playing behind the ball, and Ratten continues to assign him tasks against the oppositions most dangerous player. As a defender this is fine, but for a player you’re paying top dollar to be a midfield premium, I don’t think it cuts the mustard.

Until Bryce is played on the ball consistency I don’t see much value in him as a premium midfielder in fantasy football.

Sam Mitchell is a different story all together. Last year Mitchell had a career year in terms of fantasy numbers, and for that reason I was hesitant about picking him. By no means has Mitchell been a disaster, he’s just not averaging the 110-15 we expected from him. Mitchell owners might be concerned about his form the last two weeks, but personally I don’t see much to worry about. Mitchell will thrive with Hodge back in the side, and will benefit greatly from a fit and firing Liam Shiels. Coming back from injury Shiels was always going to start slowly, but as the year goes on I think we’ll see the Hawthorn midfield rotation a lot more like 2011, and we know how Sammy scored then.

Generally speaking, if a players scoring has changed because of a new role, this is when I’d be most wary of keeping them.

Score Fluctuations
Most of the premium players are reliable in the sense that they score well on a week to week basis, but this isn’t always going to be the case. Players like Steve Johnson and Brian Lake are two examples of premium players that are known to fluctuate greatly in their scoring numbers week by week.

Travis Cloke is another of these players.  His incredibly low score in round 9 has been the talking point of many, but is it really that surprising?  Sure 24 is a little extreme, but even last season, Cloke had four games that resulted in dream team scores of 54 or lower. One of those, Adelaide, the team Collingwood in fact faced last week.  Like Johnson and Lake, Cloke can be up and down ride. Before you trade him out I think that is something to consider.

Last year Sam Mitchell was incredibly consistent, so much so, he had an amazing 11 weeks stretch of consecutive scores above 100 in dream team. But before that run he had wwo weeks in a row scoring 79 and 61, not unlike the past fortnight’s scoring tally’s.  Once again, I see no cause for concern in the case of Mitchell. His best is yet to come this year.

Gibbs lowest score for the whole of last season was 66,  while in 2012 he’s already gone below that total twice, scoring  50′s on both occasions. However, that’s not the main concern. Unlike in 2011, we’re yet to see Bryce absolutely dominate a game and score 135+. There is still time for Gibbs to turn it around, but with Murphy now injured and Gibbs not in the middle, the likelihood of the monster scores of 2011 isn’t great. I can’t see him getting off the hook as easy this year while Murphy’s on the sidelines.

The Draw

Last year Cloke had scores of :
107(DT) 116 (supercoach)  vs. Fremantle
119(DT) 115 (supercoach)  vs.  Gold Coast
117(DT) 138 (supercoach)  vs. Melbourne
136(DT) 154 (supercoach)  vs. Sydney
121(DT) 115 (supercoach) vs  St.Kilda

Collingwood is yet to play any of those sides. Along with the GWS the second half of the year looks a favourable draw for Cloke owners.

Like Cloke, based on past performance Gibbs has some favourable opponents in the weeks ahead: last year scoring:

144(DT) 127(supercoach) vs. Gold Coast
112(DT) 102 (supercoach)  vs. hawthorn
144(DT) 139 (supercoach)  vs. North
130(DT) 118 (supercoach)  vs. Bulldogs.

Considering Mitchell scored 100+ nearly every week last year no matter who he plays he has strong past form to go on.  But for  the sake of the argument  I’ll list them anyway:
119(DT) 125 (supercoach)  vs. Brisbane
128(DT) vs. 102 (supercoach)  Essendon
132 (DT) 143(supercoach) vs. Gold coast
129(DT) vs.  137 (supercoach) North
110, 128(DT) 108, 155(supercoach) vs. Port

As well as a game against GWS.

Whether the past is a good indication of what’s to come remains to be seen, but I think from the information we do know these are generally good factors to look at and consider being making any rash decisions.  Hope this can help a few of you out heading into the middle of the year.

 

It was another really great show last night, with heaps of content, highlighted by an exclusive interview with Lions young superstar Dayne Zorko!

As always, the entire show can be viewed below. The links beneath the video will take you straight to particular areas of discussion from the episode (this’ll work in most browsers). We’ve also uploaded the Dayne Zorko interview beneath that!

And finally, for those wanting to do the naughty at work, click here to download the complete show as a podcast!

Note: If you notice that the podcast file you have downloaded has a .MP3 extension added, remove it. The only file extension should be .M4A. This will import into iTunes. Thanks!

 

The Footy Tragic Show (Full Episode):

 

 
Winners & Wieners
Boys On The Bubble
Team Selection News
Captain Options
Travis Cloke Frustration
 
 

Dayne Zorko Interview:

 

 
 

 

ST KILDA V RICHMOND

ES – Fri Jun 01, 7:50pm

St Kilda

B: Jason Gram, Sam Gilbert, Tom Simpkin

HB: Sean Dempster, James Gwilt, Brendon Goddard

C: Nick Dal Santo, Lenny Hayes, Farren Ray

HF: Jack Steven, Nick Riewoldt, Terry Milera

F: Stephen Milne, Justin Koschitzke, Leigh Montagna

Foll: Jason Blake, David Armitage, Clinton Jones

I/C: Jamie Cripps, Arryn Siposs, Ahmed Saad, Jack Newnes

Emg: Raphael Clarke, Adam Schneider, Beau Wilkes
In: Jack Newnes

Out: Jarryn Geary (Injured)

 

Richmond

B: Steven Morris, Alex Rance, Chris Newman

HB: Bachar Houli, Ben Griffiths, Brandon Ellis

C: Shaun Grigg, Dustin Martin, Shane Edwards

HF: Brett Deledio, Tyrone Vickery, Nathan Foley

F: Reece Conca, Jack Riewoldt, Jake King

Foll: Ivan Maric, Trent Cotchin, Shane Tuck

I/C: Daniel Jackson, Robin Nahas, Jake Batchelor, Addam Maric

Emg: Matthew White, Daniel Connors, Brad Miller

 

In: Jake Batchelor

Out: Matt Dea (Leg)

Milestones: Shane Tuck – 150 games, Jack Riewoldt – 100 games

 

 

GEELONG CATS V GWS GIANTS

SS – Sat Jun 02, 1:45pm

Geelong Cats

B: Matthew Scarlett, Tom Lonergan, Josh Hunt

HB: Corey Enright, Harry Taylor, Andrew Mackie

C: Cameron Guthrie, Joel Selwood, Paul Chapman

HF: Mathew Stokes, Trent West, James Kelly

F: Mitch Duncan, James Podsiadly, Steve Johnson

Foll: Orren Stephenson, Joel Corey, Jimmy Bartel

I/C: Steven Motlop, Taylor Hunt, Jordan Schroder, Lincoln McCarthy

Emg: Tom Gillies, Jesse Stringer, Billie Smedts

 

In: James Kelly, Jordan Schroder, Lincoln McCarthy

Out: Tom Hawkins (Knee), Jonathan Simpkin, Jesse Stringer

New: Jordan Schroder (Calder U18), Lincoln McCarthy (Glenelg)

Milestones: Harry Taylor – 100 games

 

GWS Giants

B: Luke Power, Phil Davis, Sam Darley

HB: Sam Reid, Tim Mohr, Tomas Bugg

C: Tom Scully, Adam Treloar, Toby Greene

HF: Chad Cornes, Jeremy Cameron, Jacob Townsend

F: Devon Smith, Andrew Phillips, Nick Haynes

Foll: Jonathan Giles, Callan Ward, Dylan Shiel

I/C: Stephen Coniglio, Taylor Adams, James McDonald, Dom Tyson

Emg: Jack Hombsch, Gerald Ugle, Nathan Wilson

 

In: Nick Haynes, Toby Greene

Out: Curtly Hampton, Adam Kennedy (Shoulder)

New: Nick Haynes (Dandenong U18)

 

 

HAWTHORN V NORTH MELBOURNE

AU – Sat Jun 02, 2:10pm

Hawthorn

B: Brent Guerra, Josh Gibson, Shaun Burgoyne

HB: Grant Birchall, Ryan Schoenmakers, Benjamin Stratton

C: Jordan Lewis, Sam Mitchell, Clinton Young

HF: Isaac Smith, Lance Franklin, Shane Savage

F: Cyril Rioli, Jarryd Roughead, Brendan Whitecross

Foll: David Hale, Brad Sewell, Liam Shiels

I/C: Luke Breust, Matt Suckling, Paul Puopolo, Bradley Hill

Emg: Stephen Gilham, Jack Gunston, Broc McCauley

 

In: Bradley Hill

Out: Stephen Gilham

Milestones: Liam Shiels – 50 games

 

North Melbourne

B: Cameron Delaney, Scott Thompson, Luke Delaney

HB: Shaun Atley, Michael Firrito, Nathan Grima

C: Daniel Wells, Andrew Swallow, Samuel Wright

HF: Ryan Bastinac, Aaron Edwards, Leigh Adams

F: Aaron Black, Drew Petrie, Kieran Harper

Foll: Todd Goldstein, Jack Ziebell, Brent Harvey

I/C: Levi Greenwood, Cruize Garlett, Ben Cunnington, Jamie Macmillan

Emg: Lindsay Thomas, Matt Campbell, Aaron Mullett

 

Milestones: Lindsay Thomas – 100 games

 

 

FREMANTLE V ADELAIDE

PS – Sat Jun 02, 2:40pm

Fremantle

B: Paul Duffield, Zac Dawson, Greg Broughton

HB: Michael Johnson, Luke McPharlin, Stephen Hill

C: Michael Barlow, Ryan Crowley, Tendai Mzungu

HF: Matthew de Boer, Christopher Mayne, Clancee Pearce

F: Lachie Neale, Matthew Pavlich, Zachary Clarke

Foll: Aaron Sandilands, David Mundy, Hayden Ballantyne

I/C: Garrick Ibbotson, Jesse Crichton, Jack Anthony, Hayden Crozier

Emg: Nick Suban, Jonathon Griffin, Jayden Pitt

 

In: Garrick Ibbotson, Jack Anthony, Hayden Crozier

Out: Jay van Berlo, Alex Silvagni, Jonathon Griffin

New: Hayden Crozier (Eastern Ranges)

Milestones: Paul Duffield – 100 games, David Mundy – 150 games

 

Adelaide

B: Michael Doughty, Ben Rutten, Brodie Smith

HB: Matthew Jaensch, Daniel Talia, Brent Reilly

C: Nathan van Berlo, Patrick Dangerfield, Bernie Vince

HF: Jared Petrenko, Taylor Walker, Richard Douglas

F: Ian Callinan, Kurt Tippett, Jason Porplyzia

Foll: Sam Jacobs, Scott Thompson, Rory Sloane

I/C: Graham Johncock, Sam Shaw, Matthew Wright, Josh Jenkins

Emg: Chris Knights, Ricky Henderson, Tom Lynch

 

In: Taylor Walker, Sam Shaw

Out: David Mackay (Hamstring), Ricky Henderson

 

 

PORT ADELAIDE V CARLTON

AS – Sat Jun 02, 7:10pm

Port Adelaide

B: Jacob Surjan, Alipate Carlile, Jackson Trengove

HB: Danyle Pearce, Troy Chaplin, Hamish Hartlett

C: Matthew Broadbent, Bradley Ebert, Kane Cornes

HF: Matt Thomas, Justin Westhoff, John McCarthy

F: Chad Wingard, Jay Schulz, Brett Ebert

Foll: Brent Renouf, Domenic Cassisi, Travis Boak

I/C: Paul Stewart, Jarrad Redden, Ben Jacobs, Darren Pfeiffer

Emg: Daniel Stewart, Tom Logan, Andrew Moore

 

In: Jarrad Redden

Out: Daniel Stewart

Milestones: Travis Boak – 100 games, Jackson Trengove – 50 games

 

Carlton

B: Aaron Joseph, Michael Jamison, Matthew Watson

HB: Zach Tuohy, Paul Bower, Joshua Bootsma

C: Kade Simpson, Bryce Gibbs, Heath Scotland

HF: Christopher Yarran, Matthew Kreuzer, Andrew Walker

F: Eddie Betts, Shaun Hampson, Jeffrey Garlett

Foll: Robert Warnock, Mitch Robinson, Chris Judd

I/C: Dennis Armfield, David Ellard, Brock McLean, Edward Curnow

Emg: Kane Lucas, Andrew Collins, Frazer Dale

 

In: Christopher Yarran, Matthew Watson

Out: Kane Lucas, Andrew Collins

 

 

ESSENDON V MELBOURNE

MCG – Sat Jun 02, 7:40pm

Essendon

B: Cale Hooker, Dustin Fletcher, Courtenay Dempsey

HB: Ricky Dyson, Kyle Hardingham, Jake Carlisle

C: David Zaharakis, Jobe Watson, Brent Stanton

HF: Angus Monfries, Stewart Crameri, Patrick Ryder

F: Leroy Jetta, Michael Hurley, Alwyn Davey

Foll: Tom Bellchambers, Ben Howlett, Heath Hocking

I/C: Sam Lonergan, Nathan Lovett-Murray, Jake Melksham, Travis Colyer

Emg: David Hille, Henry Slattery, Tayte Pears

 

In: Dustin Fletcher, Leroy Jetta, Kyle Hardingham

Out: Mark McVeigh (Hip), Henry Slattery, Tayte Pears

 

Melbourne

B: James Frawley, Jared Rivers, Tom McDonald

HB: Jack Trengove, Jack Watts, Colin Garland

C: Jack Grimes, James Magner, Nathan Jones

HF: Rohan Bail, Mitchell Clark, Joel Macdonald

F: Jeremy Howe, Brad Green, Luke Tapscott

Foll: Mark Jamar, Brent Moloney, Jordie McKenzie

I/C: Lynden Dunn, Colin Sylvia, Sam Blease, Daniel Nicholson

Emg: Matthew Bate, Jamie Bennell, James Sellar

 

In: Colin Sylvia, Joel Macdonald

Out: Jamie Bennell, James Sellar

 

 

BRISBANE LIONS V WEST COAST EAGLES

G – Sun Jun 03, 1:10pm

Brisbane Lions

B: Ashley McGrath, Matt Maguire, Ryan Lester

HB: Mitchell Golby, Joel Patfull, Josh Drummond

C: Pearce Hanley, Daniel Rich, Jed Adcock

HF: Jack Redden, Jonathan Brown, Dayne Zorko

F: Rohan Bewick, Daniel Merrett, Aaron Cornelius

Foll: Ben Hudson, Tom Rockliff, Andrew Raines

I/C: James Polkinghorne, Niall McKeever, Claye Beams, Jared Polec, Patrick Karnezis, Joshua Green, Elliot Yeo

 

In: Niall McKeever, Claye Beams, Jared Polec, Patrick Karnezis, Ben Hudson

Out: Simon Black (Knee), Billy Longer (Back)

Milestones: Tom Rockliff – 50 games

 

West Coast Eagles

B: Patrick McGinnity, Darren Glass, Will Schofield

HB: Beau Waters, Eric Mackenzie, Shannon Hurn

C: Matthew Rosa, Matthew Priddis, Andrew Gaff

HF: Chris Masten, Jack Darling, Brad Sheppard

F: Dean Cox, Quinten Lynch, Josh Hill

Foll: Nic Naitanui, Scott Selwood, Daniel Kerr

I/C: Adam Selwood, Mitch Brown, Thomas Swift, Koby Stevens, Ashton Hams, Scott Lycett, Jacob Brennan

 

In: Mitch Brown, Thomas Swift, Koby Stevens, Ashton Hams, Scott Lycett

Out: Sam Butler (Hamstring), Luke Shuey (Suspension)

Milestones: Patrick McGinnity – 50 games

 

 

SYDNEY SWANS V WESTERN BULLDOGS

SCG – Sun Jun 03, 3:15pm

Sydney Swans

B: Alex Johnson, Ted Richards, Rhyce Shaw

HB: Jarrad McVeigh, Heath Grundy, Martin Mattner

C: Lewis Jetta, Josh P. Kennedy, Nicholas Smith

HF: Kieren Jack, Ryan O’Keefe, Daniel Hannebery

F: Sam Reid, Lewis Roberts-Thomson, Craig Bird

Foll: Mike Pyke, Jude Bolton, Ben McGlynn

I/C: Nick Malceski, Jesse White, Shane Mumford, Trent Dennis-Lane, Luke Parker, Tony Armstrong, Tommy Walsh

 

In: Jesse White, Shane Mumford, Tony Armstrong

Milestones: Heath Grundy – 100 games, Lewis Jetta – 50 games

 

Western Bulldogs

B: Dylan Addison, Brian Lake, Ryan Hargrave

HB: Robert Murphy, Mark Austin, Patrick Veszpremi

C: Daniel Cross, Matthew Boyd, Easton Wood

HF: Mitchell Wallis, Jordan Roughead, Adam Cooney

F: Daniel Giansiracusa, Ayce Cordy, Luke Dahlhaus

Foll: William Minson, Ryan Griffen, Thomas Liberatore

I/C: Shaun Higgins, Liam Jones, Liam Picken, Zephaniah Skinner, Clay Smith, Daniel Pearce, Tory Dickson

 

In: Dylan Addison, Easton Wood, Ayce Cordy, Clay Smith

Out: Justin Sherman

Milestones: Ryan Hargrave – 200 games

 

 

COLLINGWOOD V GOLD COAST SUNS

MCG – Sun Jun 03, 4:40pm

Collingwood

B: Heritier O’Brien, Nathan Brown, Marley Williams

HB: Alan Toovey, Nick Maxwell, Martin Clarke

C: Simon Buckley, Dale Thomas, Jarryd Blair

HF: Alex Fasolo, Chris Dawes, Ben Sinclair

F: Dayne Beams, Travis Cloke, Tyson Goldsack

Foll: Darren Jolly, Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom

I/C: Alan Didak, Sharrod Wellingham, Cameron Wood, Tom Young, Kirk Ugle, Paul Seedsman, Jamie Elliott

 

In: Nathan Brown, Cameron Wood, Tom Young, Kirk Ugle, Paul Seedsman

Out: Heath Shaw (Calf), Lachlan Keeffe (Knee)

 

Gold Coast Suns

B: Jeremy Taylor, Matthew Warnock, Daniel Stanley

HB: Sam Iles, Rory Thompson, Joel Wilkinson

C: Michael Rischitelli, Karmichael Hunt, Alex Sexton

HF: Harley Bennell, Tom Lynch, Andrew McQualter

F: Campbell Brown, Sam Day, Luke Russell

Foll: Tom Hickey, Dion Prestia, Gary Ablett

I/C: Alik Magin, Trent McKenzie, Matt Shaw, Josh Caddy, Seb Tape, Aaron Hall, Kyal Horsley

 

In: Luke Russell, Trent McKenzie, Tom Hickey, Aaron Hall

Out: Zac Smith

 

 

Toby has a look at the merits of bringing Matt Priddis into your midfield – is his price a bargain, or a trap?

 

Firstly, welcome to my new Thursday timeslot – in here I plan to discuss players worth targeting for your team, whether it be a bargain player, a premium, or perhaps a smokey pick that may not have been on your radar.

This week I am looking at one of the bigger bargains in Dream Team and SuperCoach at the moment – Matt Priddis.

 

Priddis is a proven DT and SC stud of years gone by, managing an average of 96, 94 and 106 (DT) and 104, 109 and 114 (SC) over the past three seasons. He started 2012 reasonably with an average of 93 DT and 104 SC points over the first five rounds, however he went down with an early injury in round seven which has subsequently made his price plummet.

Bad luck, hey?

The good news is, the injury was nothing major – just a standard case of concussion which saw him subbed out at quarter time with only 17 DT and 24 SC points to his name. Due to this injury, Priddis has already leaked some major bucks and the trend is set to continue this week with some large breakevens to achieve. In Dream Team he has dropped over $56k since the injury and has a round 10 breakeven of 143; in SuperCoach he has leaked 85K and has a breakeven of 144. This means he should bottom out at the end of this weekend.

There is much talk about ensuring you trade the top-6 mids into your team by season’s end – arguably these are Swan, Pendlebury, Ablett, Stanton, Boyd and Scott Thompson – and clearly, Priddis really sits in the bracket below these stars. Still, there should be a pretty good argument for trading him in.

Personally, as a coach who has both Horsley and McDonald in my side, I will likely have the ability to trade one of these guys to Priddis next week for a very little additional spend. To me this seams like a great idea, even if Priddis doesn’t become one of my top-6 mids by season’s end. At this stage, Horsley is a great cash-cow, while I am still a little nervous about relying on McDonald – whilst he is scoring well when playing, we know he will be regularly rotated through the Giants lineup and is therefore an unreliable emergency option – ‘unreliable’ is the last thing I want with the byes approaching (and Swan out).

With all the byes coming up, plus the knowledge that no premium is immortal (as proven already this year by Swan, Murphy and Ablett), Priddis could prove very decent cover in the coming weeks. West Coast share the round 11 bye with GWS, Brisbane, Adelaide, North Melbourne and the Dogs – the only premium options from this group are Scotty Thompson, Boyd, Redden and Rockliff – all of which (except Boyd) are not hugely popular options. This means he will be good cover for when the likes of Collingwood, Geelong, Carlton, Essendon and Gold Coast have their byes.

There is nothing to say Priddis can’t be a good 6^th midfield option either – whilst his average is unlikely to be too much higher than about 105, he does have the ability to pull out some whopping 150+ scores, whilst also remaining pretty consistent – for example, last year he managed to score 100+ points in 21 games (SC) and 14 in DT, whilst never scoring below 75 points in either competition.

West Coast’s upcoming couple of months of footy is pretty solid – whilst they have games against the Blues and Pies, there are also games against the likes of Brisbane and Gold Coast. Though as a tough inside midfielder, I can’t imagine him struggling too much against many of these opponents.

On the flip-side, using multiple trades to bring in Priddis (more-so in Dream Team) could be dangerous. Take into account his potential scores – as I mentioned earlier, he scores well and consistently, but it’s not at the level of Ablett or Swan. The last thing you want to do is bring in Priddis at the expense of a Stanton or Boyd. This is not to say you can’t have them all though. Priddis is at a price you don’t see too often for a premium midfielder, which makes it hard to ignore him. But when hitting that trade button, ensure you know why you are doing it – his inclusion to your team will allow you to hold off from upgrading in your midfield for now and focus on your forwards or defence. In my opinion, it is best if you look at him as a glorified bench option. Some teams will be able to afford this luxury, but my advice is not to trade for the sake of it. Look at your overall structure and plan – don’t just get sucked in by price.

Despite the above, I think Priddis’ price will be too hard to ignore next week – he will sure up your midfield depth for the rest of the season, regardless of whether you eventually want to move him to the pine, or keep him on the field. He is a strong performer who will play each week, barring injuries, and can score very well, especially in SuperCoach. If you can knock together the $80k or so to upgrade to Priddis from McDonald next week then I think this trade should be a total no-brainer! Do it!

 

Near the half way point of the year it’s important to take stock of any potential rookie downgrades that might pop up. Each week that passes the downgrade options are getting thinner and thinner, so at Footy Tragic we’re trying to give you a run down on some guys that are yet to rise is price who could be worth keeping an eye out for.

 

DEFENDERS

 

Sam Docherty DEF/MID (BRIS) $149,600 DT, $141,600 SC

The #12 pick from the 2011 National Draft had a hip operation in the pre-season to clean up an impingement he had as a junior. He’s a talented half back with a very good kick. With Brisbane’s season going the way it is I imagine they’ll be looking to get games into their talented youngsters. He’s played four games in the reserves on return from that hip surgery.

Jeromey Webberley (RICH) $110,800 DT, $114,900 SC

Richmond have had very few injuries this year, but if their depth is tested Webberley would be one of the first to come in, especially if they lose a half back or outside midfielder. He’s been exposed to AFL before having played 10 games in 2010 and five in 2011 (mostly as sub). The issue would be avoiding the sub vest, but he’d be a handy scorer if they had a couple of longer term injuries.

 

Stephen Wrigley (BRIS) $85,800 DT, $94,700 SC

The mature aged rookie from Labrador in Queensland has been super impressive this year. He’s been named in the best players for Brisbane’s reserves in five of the last six games and played for QLD/NT in the rep game on the weekend against NSW/ACT (only AFL rookie listed players were eligible, not senior listed). He’s a rebounding defender as well and according to the Lions reserves coach Nathan Clarke he would’ve already debuted by now if he wasn’t on the rookie list. After Round 11 they can upgrade another rookie, but currently Niall McKeever and Jack Crisp are upgraded for their only two long term injuries Brent Staker and Matthew Leuenberger.

As an interesting tidbit there is a team in the Top 10 for AFL Dream Team who has had Wrigley from Round 1. Did he know something we don’t? Or is his impending debut purely a fluke?

 

Other candidates…

Daniel Talia (ADEL) $149,600 DT, $252,400 SC – More a suggestion for AFL Dream Team, but he’s playing every week and has a very low average (36.1 DT). At that price he could be considered handy back up just to play in case of emergency.

Sam Shaw (ADEL) $104,200 DT, $113,200 SC – I like his scoring potential and in his one game this year scored 59 DT and 71 SC, however he has struggled with soft tissue injuries in his year and a half at the Crows.

David Astbury (RICH) $98,900 DT, $172,400 SC – He’s been out since suffering a nasty knee injury against Sydney last year, but he’s returned to the VFL reserves recently. With Richmond’s depleted key defence stocks (Grimes, Moore) he could be an option. A bit too pricey in SuperCoach, but not so in AFL Dream Team.

 

 

MIDFIELDERS

Stephen Clifton (GWS) $121,800 DT, $130,700 SC

There was a fair bit of pre-season interest in the fantasy community for the mature aged Giant (‘giant’ as a proper known, because he’s actually quite short). Originally from North Ballarat in the VFL he was a prolific clearance player and a bit of a harder body to help the young Giants along in their first year in the AFL (as well as in the NEAFL last year). His season so far has been cruelled by injuries having played only two games about six weeks apart. He missed six weeks with a wrist injury before returning to play one game and subsequently sustain a minor knee injury.

 

Tom Mitchell (SYD) $98,700 DT, $106,600 SC

This guy is a fantasy gold mine waiting to explode. It will get to a certain time of the year where we won’t want him to debut this year so he can still be this cheap in 2013. He’s recently returned from a knee injury that kept him out of the first five weeks of the season. He is a ball magnet of epic proportions and with a pretty mature body for his age I expect him to make a good impact when he eventually gets his chance. In the WAFL U/18 comp he averaged 131 DT points last year and 96 in the U/18 National Championships.

 

Sam Gibson (NM) $85,800 DT, $94,700 SC

Gibson turned 26 during the week and has been lighting it up in the VFL this season. The former Box Hill captain has always been a ball magnet and this season he’s averaged 113.75 AFL Dream Team points for Werribee. He’s scored over a ton in 6/8 games, including a top score of 175 (40 touches, eight marks, eight tackles and three goals). The catch is, the Roos haven’t had a long term injury to be able to upgrade. Hopefully he gets his chance when all clubs can upgrade a rookie, regardless of LTI’s after Round 11.

 

Other candidates…

Tom Sheridan (FREO) $112,200 DT, $121,600 SC – Has been named emergency for Freo a couple of times, so is around the mark. Was a prolific ball winner for the Calder Cannons last year.

Koby Stevens (WC) $104,200 DT, $135,500 SC – Yes, I still hold hope, but it would require long term injuries to other inside mids for me to feel safe with his job security. He’s also a massive sub risk. He’s played two games, so is on the bubble.

Anthony Miles (GWS) $104,200 DT, $113,200 SC – He’s an inside midfielder who gets to good spots, but gets a lot of meaningless possessions. That’s not such a bad thing for his fantasy prospects, but I’d be reluctant to trade in a GWS player who has been fit pretty much all year. It suggests he’s not high in the pecking order to me. In his one appearance this year he scored 89 DT and 74 SC.

Jonathan Simpkin (GEEL) $104,200 DT, $113,200 SC – Upgraded off the rookie list last week and debuted as the sub for Geelong. A tough inside midfielder with a strong body at 24 years of age. With their struggles in the contested ball this year they could look to him as an extra hard body around stoppages.

Elliot Yeo (BRIS) $98,700 DT, $106,600 SC – Another one who debuted last week, Yeo is a lightly framed outside midfielder from WA. His kicking isn’t fantastic, but he adds a bit of dash that Brisbane have been lacking. I feel he’s in the team for a short time though.

Daniel Pearce (WB) $98,700 DT, $106,600 SC – There were plenty of debuts in the midfield last week, and even though he’s more of a small defender he’s listed as a MID for AFL Dream Team and SuperCoach. He scored 36 in DT and 35 SC and isn’t really a massive accumulator of possessions.

Matthew Arnot (RICH) $98,700 DT, $106,600 SC – Arnot is a hard bodied midfielder with massive guns and has been named emergency for Richmond a few times this year. Considering their lack of injuries he might not be too far away if they start copping a couple. Not a huge ball winner, but can rack up tackle numbers.

Marley Williams (COLL) $85,800 DT, $94,700 SC – Williams debuted for Collingwood last week after being promoted off the rookie list. He’s another really tough midfielder and scored 39 DT and 46 SC on debut. You’d have to worry about him losing his spot to Dane Swan in a couple of weeks though.

 

 

RUCKS

Tom Campbell (WB) $85,800 DT, $94,700 SC

The mature aged rookie who was picked up from Bendigo has been playing some really good footy for Williamstown. He first sparked a bit of interest in his only NAB Cup game with a four goal haul against North Melbourne. There doesn’t look to be much on the horizon for a potential ruck downgrade. Like Stephen Wrigley and Sam Gibson, he’s just biding his time waiting for Round 11 as the Dogs don’t currently have a spare LTI spot (Mark Austin was upgraded for Tom Williams).

 

 

FORWARDS

Aaron Black (NM) $150,400 DT, $178,900 SC

He was impressive in his first game of the year, albeit against Brisbane. His one game last year blew his price out, which is a bit annoying, but he’s a strong marking high leaping forward, who is a very bright prospect for the Roos. He’s struggled with injury in his time on their list, but has had plenty of continuity in his game this year. I’m thinking he’s more of a SuperCoach option because he’s not likely to win heaps of the ball, but his contested marking and conversion (effective kicks) will help his SC score.

 

Tom Schneider (HAW) $104,200 DT, $113,200 SC

Still on the Hawks rookie list, Schneider has been having a fantastic season and will be in the mix for an upgrade after Round 11. He’s averaged 113.4 AFL Dream Team points this season with 6/8 games topping the ton. His best effort was 141 points. He’s averaging 30 touches and almost five tackles per game.

Tom Couch MID/FWD (MELB) $85,800 DT, $94,700 SC

I know we’ve had a bit to say about Couch on Twitter and our show, so we’re not his biggest fans. With that said, it does seem a bit weird that Melbourne promoted him to their senior list only for him to get named in the best players in 5/6 games and not get called up. He’s averaged 100.5 in AFL Dream Team for Casey Scorpions this year, however he hasn’t played for a few weeks. He missed one game (not sure why), then Casey had a bye and then it was the VFL rep game, which didn’t include any AFL listed players. If he does get named for debut his MID/FWD eligibility will be handy and there’s no doubting his ability to get his hands on the ball. We’re not about to call him the “next Barlow” as another fantasy site did to Wayde Twomey last year.

 

Other candidates…

Jamie Elliott (COLL) $98,700 DT, $106,600 SC – He debuted for the Pies as the sub last week. He’s a livewire small forward who likes to tackle and harass. He’s in the team, so keep an eye on him, but I’m not expecting him to be a high scorer at this stage of his career if he is able to keep his spot.

Hayden Crozier MID/FWD (FREO) $98,700 DT, $106,600 SC – Lightly framed and classy outside midfielder, who was named on an extended bench for Freo last week. Some fears that his body is still a bit light for consistent AFL action, but he’s a chance to debut in the coming weeks.

 

The rookie pool is thinning out as the season progresses with just four bubble boys this week. It’s getting to be slim pickings (pun intended)…

 

JOSH BOOTSMA (Carlton Blues, DEF)

AFL Dream Team: $98,700. Scores: 30, 61. Break even: -25

SuperCoach: $106,600. Scores: 10, 71. Break even: -15

It looks like the Blues have unearthed a bit of a cult hero here. Bootsma has been impressive in his first couple of AFL outings. He has a massive set of guns on him for a guy who weighs about as much as a couple of cats taped together! Nonetheless despite his Josh Thurgood-like physique, Bootsma has a great appetite for the contest (Brad Green can attest to that) and intensity that Bryce Gibbs would die for…

Summary: Job security is a concern here – Carlton have a cavalcade of mid sized defenders competing for spots & I think Bootsma is up against it to keep his place in the team. I like Bootsma & think he’s definitely worth keeping an eye on for the future but in a word it’s no.

 

SAM DARLEY (Greater Western Sydney Giants, DEF)

AFL Dream Team: $104,200. Scores: 64, 42. Break even: -36

SuperCoach: $113,200. Scores: 82, 23. Break even: -35

A bit like Zorko last week we’ve been waiting for Darley since the pre-season and he has lived up to the hype early doors. He scored well coming on as a sub against the Dons last week & looks at home at AFL level. His scoring should improve as he better adjusts to the intensity of the elite level & he could be a godsend for some fantasy coaches given the dearth of quality rookie backs.

Summary: The ideal down trade for any underperforming back, as stated earlier good rookie backs are hard to come by & there are less & less as the season drags on.

 

ALEX SEXTON (Gold Coast Suns, MID/FWD)

AFL Dream Team: $98,700. Scores: 22, 60. Break even: -16

SuperCoach: $106,600. Scores: 13, 55. Break even: -2

The Gold Coast 2011 zone selection looked useful in his last outing against Port. He has that handy DP status which is good for any coaches looking to open up a link. Not a ball magnet but shows good endeavour.

Summary: A bit of a meh from me. Wax on/wax off, trade in/trade out. Downtrade/cash cow only.

ZEPHANIAH SKINNER (Western Bulldogs, FWD)

AFL Dream Team: $104,200. Scores: 28, 19. Break even: 23

SuperCoach: $113,200. Scores: 21, 24. Break even: 25

Zep has suffered from sub fun in his short career so far. It’s a bit hard to know what his fantasy ceiling could be. He’s come into the side for Nathan Djerkurra & given his sub status there are probably questions on his endurance.

Summary: No, with the upcoming Round 11 bye I don’t see Skinner lasting much longer in the improving Doggies side. He isn’t worth the cash at this point.