Footy Tragic

Could this week have possibly been the worst ever Dream Team week EVER!? I put my vote to yes! First we were confronted with injuries to Ablett, Beams, Hartlett and others. Then players who were dropped or had ‘last minute’ injuries in Bock, Houlihan and Mitch Brown. Then late withdrawals of Higgins, Medhurst, Davis, Nathan Brown, Priddis and Urquhart. And compounding on all these worries was more injuries to stars, Kane Cornes, Salopek, Swan, Fraser, Cloke, Fevola, Hodge, Kerr, Rance and Goodwin. It’s terrible, and those lucky enough to score over 2000 were either very lucky… or strangely have no stars in their team!

Also, in some good news, rumours have begun to circulate that Ablett is a chance to play this week against North Melbourne, although it is likely he may wait one more week! 

Friday

Essendon vs. Hawthorn: 

This was not only one of the better games of the round, but also one of the biggest upsets! There were several players who impressed, most of which coming from the Bombers. Firstly, Paddy Ryder again looked terrific! He was more effective in the first half, but he gives Essendon another midfielder around stoppages, is great at collecting the ball, and is a great tackler! His price is still on the rise! David Zaharakis also looked like he is gaining some confidence playing around the half-forward line, kicking 2.4, and putting on plenty of pressure. If he continues playing like this, he could even earn a promotion from your first emergency to playing on your field whilst you deal with injury problems! Stanton had a great DT game with 36 disposals, although I didn’t think he was particularly dangerous with it. For the Hawks, it was more bad news than good – Hodge really looked poor and slow all night, and just didn’t look 100% – it eventuated that he has been playing with a strained adductor, which could force him to sit out 1 – 2 weeks. Their positives came in the form of Rioli and Sewell. Unfortunately, Sewell started fantastically, but got lost in the second half, but Rioli was their star – he did some incredible things with the ball, which saw him moved to the midfield in the fourth quarter (a good sign), and earning himself a DT ton… “delicious”.

Get on: Cyril Rioli – You can pick him up as a mid priced forward, however, with his silky skills, a more permanent move to the midfield doesn’t seem very far away!

Get off: Adam McPhee – He keeps flirting with his occasional big scores, however, with a depleted Bombers back-line, his role now is purely defensive.

Injury: Chance Bateman – seemed to hurt a hammy midway through the match – would think he is doubtful this week. Luke Hodge – has been playing with a strained adductor, but he is not coping. Will probably spend 1 – 2 weeks resting it. 

Saturday

Geelong vs. Sydney:

The main question coming into this game was, who is going to take over from Ablett’s position in the midfield. The answer was found somewhere between Selwood and Corey, as they both nudged the 125 mark. However, once again this year, it was Stevie J who stole the limelight, kicking 4.5. And I would also like to point out how hard Jimmy Bartel works for his DT points – he only got 19 possessions, but made up for it by laying an incredible 9 tackles! For Sydney, there were not too many stars – Goodes pulled out a good game, but the question is whether he will do it again any time in the next month? Barry Hall proved his days are numbered as Scarlett held him goalless, and it was disappointing to see Mackie only get 13 possies – we had hoped the return of Harley would see him regain his rebounding role… however, not to be!

Get on: Stevie Johnson – He bottomed out at $400,000. Get him now, cos this sort of game isn’t just one out of the bag!

Get off: Barry Hall – as stated above, his time is limited. What Sydney will do with him, I don’t know. But I do know what you should do if he is in your team…

Injury: Astonishingly, the two teams were actually still full at the final siren! 

Richmond vs. Brisbane :

Dream Team-wise, this was actually quite a good game! Especially in the last quarter, where Richmond were requiring around 100 possessions to get one goal! The best bit was, those who we wanted to get the ball, got it! Deledio finally got his owners a score they’d be happy with! Joel Bowden butchered his way to 123, and Nathan Foley also cracked the ton! For the winning Lions, it was Brown who was the star for the second week in a row! I said last week, if he matches his last week score, get on! And he’s done it! He is getting back into his match-winning form from the second half of last year! Drummond also looked really good off halfback, and Daniel Rich is slowly getting a bit more confidence! Unfortunately though, Dream Team favourite, Alex Rance, fractured his face in an horrific collision, which will sideline him for up to three weeks.

Get on: Jonathon Brown – as stated above, he is back to his match-winning best, which can see him consistently earn over 100 points!

Get off: Jack Riewoldt – seriously, if he can’t kick at least one goal as the focal point up front and with no Richo, he’s not worth having in your team.

Injury: Alex Rance – fractured face. Could be 2 – 3 weeks. 
 

Carlton vs. Fremantle: 

I thought this was another great match, though it started with controversy as it became apparent that Fev had started with an injury, which clearly restricted him all night. We saw the debut of Carlton draftee, Chris Yarran, and I was really impressed. He looked very classy and composed – especially for a first gamer! He slotted in perfectly, and at a touch over $130,000, he could also slot easily into your forward line! Another good sign for Carlton was a running 60m goal from their captain, Chris Judd – whilst it may not seem too much on face value, but it really proves that he is over previous injuries, and is back to the superstar he once was! For Fremantle, they obviously had to have a few stars, as they won the match! Clearly best on ground was Aaron Sandilands – I feel that he has started to change his game over the past few weeks, presenting a lot better as a target up forward, and I feel he is really starting to properly use the gifts God gave him! As far as their young kids are concerned, Suban and Hill continued their improving form, but I still think DeBoer is a while away – he was again played in a pocket, and doesn’t look 100% confident yet. There are better options out there, is all I’m trying to say!

Get on: Aaron Sandilands – I thought he played very well, and is definitely worth looking at as a Ruck option if you are in need! He wins so many hit-outs, and kicks a lot for a ruckman!

Get off: Simon Wiggins – Not nearly consistent enough, nor determined enough to win his own ball.

Injury: The Fev injury I assume will be ok as he played out the match. Also, Byron Schammer has been reported, and offered one week. 
 

Port Adelaide vs. North Melbourne: 

A good game was spoilt by two very upsetting shoulder injuries to Port Adelaide stars, Kane Cornes and Steven Salopek, deep into the last quarter. Fortunately, the prognosis is that they may only miss a week, but it could be up to three – Salopek’s is the worse of the two. Also disappointing was the fact Krakouer was given a man, and therefore unable to create off the halfback line. For North, I thought the stand out was Jack Ziebell – watch him get the rising star this week. It was definitely his best game for the club! Also looking good was Drew Petrie, who has really stepped up as captain in Harvey’s absence – you always know what you are going to get from him, as he always looks as though he gives his all. Also, as a side note, I really, really dislike Motlop – he is simply the most frustrating and annoying player currently on an AFL list…

Get on: Travis Boak – a very classy young mid for Port. He could really step up in the immediate absence of Kornes and Salopek.

Get off: David Hale – He is so far down on his ’08 form it’s ridiculous. Really needs to pull his finger out.

Injury: Two massive ones – K Cornes (1-3 weeks) and Salopek (3 weeks) – both with shoulder injuries. 

Sunday:

Adelaide vs. Western Bulldogs: 

The Doggies are back, and more importantly, so is Cooney. He is finally coming back into some form that has been lacking in the opening rounds, causing his price to be nearly $100,000 down on what it was at the start of the season! He is one that I recommend you keep a very close eye on! He was not alone in the Bulldogs camp for players finding their form, as Rob Murphy piled on four goals, and Aker with three. For Adelaide, Taylor Walker was their saviour – just as he was the saviour from the emergency bench to all those coaches who only just heard that Higgins was out – as he piled on four goals, beating several, much more experience opponents! Unfortunately, his fellow 2^nd year Crows could not replicate his form, with both Dangerfield and Petrenko finishing with some very low scores.

Get on: Adam Cooney – maybe wait another week to see how he goes (although it’s against Melbourne), but the only way is up for the 2008 Brownlow winner!

Get off: Andrejs Everitt – clever smokey for those who picked him, but he clearly hasn’t done what you wanted. He is not playing as a rebounder, but as a dour defender… not what you need.

Injury: Simon Goodwin – injured his ankle and will have scans early in the week. Would think he may miss. 
 

West Coast vs. Melbourne: 

Everyone’s favourite pre-season ‘smokey’ finally made his debut – I’m talking about Jack Grimes. And we can thank injuries to Jared Rivers and James Frawley for his high time on ground, which resulted in a fantastic 109 points! He is definitely one to consider, especially for those coaches wanting to trade out Rance. Josh Kennedy also came in for his first game – whilst being an awkward price-point, he is still worth looking at. His first game was solid, and whilst he didn’t kick any goals, he still played better than Hansen, and should keep his spot. Adam Cockie played his second game, and whilst it was better than his first, I wonder how long he will stay – although, he is probably the best of the rookie priced mids – he was good in bursts, and kicked a classy goal in the second term. If the Eagles can dedicate to playing him, he would do no harm sitting on your bench! My worry from the game was the injuries. Firstly, Aaron Davey looked quite sore, and went to the bench more than usual to have his hamstrings rubbed down. I doubt he will miss, but it may see his figures dip. There were also injuries to Frawley and Rivers, both of which could miss some weeks. And for West Coast, Kerr has also suffered an adductor strain, but may play through it.

Get on: Jack Grimes – I liked his first game, and the fact he was played as a loose defender had me licking my lips!

Get off: Ben McKinley – he was a star last year, but this year, LeCras has stolen his thunder.

Injury: Kerr, Rivers and Frawley, all stated above. 

Monday:

St. Kilda vs. Collingwood: 

Well, another team smashed by the Saints. And the one thing you can always guarantee with the Saints, is that it is always the same troops doing it! Get on one of the top 5 or 6 Saints, and you know they will generally deliver each and every week, as each have very set, structured roles! Now for those of you who listened and picked up Hayes two weeks ago, are you happy??!? He is having an incredible season so far, and as a person who has followed his career, I think he has taken his game up a notch this year! Also for the Saints, Montagna and Dal are worth their high prices, and Riewoldt it proving himself to be the premium forward of 2009. For Collingwood, it was all bad news, except for the debut of Steele Sidebottom, who looked at home on the big stage, and with the growing injuries, should see himself in the side with a high TOG for most of the year! They were smashed by the Saints, but also lost several experienced players in the process. Cloke went down with a hammy. Fraser did his PCL. Swan is listed as injuring his knee, and the footage didn’t look too pretty. These are three very bad stories for the Pies – all of which could potentially be injuries that put them out for several weeks!

Get on: Steele Sidebotton – a great debut game, racking up 22 disposals. Should definitely keep this up, and should be a locked trade target over the next two weeks.

Get off: Anthony Corrie – after watching him closer, you can understand why Brisbane nearly delisted him. He’s not pathetic, but at his price, there is a plethora of other options.

Injury: The three Collingwood boys, as listed above. Will probably know the extent of each over the coming days!! And boy-o-boy I hope no one traded Ablett for Swan!!

Check out this week’s selection video here

Expert: Dan
Team: Hank Scorpio EDT
Round 7 Score: 2,032
Overall Ranking: 6,777
Trades Remaining: 13
Remaining Salary Cap: $30,100
Team Changes This Week:
In: Joel Corey, Daniel Giansiracusa 
Out: Gary Ablett, Hayden Skipworth

Expert: Toby
Team: Fiora’s Hardnuts
Round 7 Score: 1,813
Overall Ranking: 707
Trades Remaining: 15
Remaining Salary Cap: $108,600
Team Changes This Week:
In: Jimmy Bartel, Mark Coughlan
Out: Gary Ablett, Dayne Beams

Expert: Ben
Team: The Redbacks
Round 7 Score: 2,069
Overall Ranking: 7,964
Trades Remaining: 14
Remaining Salary Cap: $41,700
Team Changes This Week:
In: Adam Cockie, Andrew Mackie
Out: Mitch Robinson, Ryan Houlihan

I was starting to get bored of writing about falling premiums, but let’s face it, there’s only two types of players you should be getting in by now. Premiums and cash cows. Those mid priced that I like are pretty well useless by now (by the way, the correct answers this year were Shaun Higgins, Nathan Krakouer and Sam Gilbert – great work if you had all three from the start!).

To start with, as some of you may noticed from the Live Scores page, I traded Lenny in last week. His average time on ground has been very low, hovering between 50-60% for his first three games. His scoring was respectable enough and as such he was leading the league in points per minute. Notably his scores weren’t high enough to drive his price up (in fact he went down about $20K) however he was showing signs of the Lenny we love. It’s just a matter of that TOG rising, which it has over the past couple of weeks – as have his DT scores.

His 130 against Port Adelaide looked good enough for me and I wasn’t too disappointed with his 100 against the Bulldogs when I brought him in. His break even last week was 85 if I recall correctly, so he only went up in price marginally this week. With an even lower break even score this week I can’t picture him being cheaper than he is right now.

Obviously any player you’re trading in at this price around this time will be someone you plan on keeping for the rest of the year, so if you think Hayes is a Top 6 midfielder for your team then now is definitely the time to jump on.

The thing I like about Hayes is that he racks up a lot of tackles, which are DT gold. Well, maybe not gold, because goals are better and that’s not something he’s particularly well known for. Apart from that he puts numbers in all of the columns and racks up plenty of touches.

The risk you take with him is probably injury related. He’s just that little bit older now and he plays a style of game that’s pretty high impact on the body (well, most of St.Kilda are this year!) so he might be susceptible to a bit of a niggle. He’s not been too bad on the injury front in the last couple of years after coming back from an ACL in 2006. In 2007 he missed three games and those who had him last year will recall the biggest tease of all time when he did his hammy just before quarter time against Freo on 75 points… 75 points before quarter time. Experts suggest he was definitely going to get the 300 he was on track for. He missed a game with that injury (well, one game and three quarters more specifically).

It is a risk/reward game though and I don’t think the risk on him is as big as the reward he could bring to your team. I’m on board and I know there’s a couple of DT captains out there considering what to do with Ablett (what to do with Ablett could be the topic of a thesis!) but if you do decide to trade him out, I’d have a look at Hayes. If you have enough trades in hand (I wouldn’t trade Ablett out with anything less than 14 remaining) Hayes could be a target that will average 100+ but at the same time leave you with plenty of cash to get Ablett back in the run home.

View Team Princess’ Team
Round 6 Score: 1,997
Current Overall Ranking: 4,063
Trades Left: 13
Remaining Salary Cap: $33,100

Dear Team Princess 

Thank you for submitting your team. 

I’m going to focus my attention on two dreamteam favourites, both of whom picked up injuries in Round 6. It’s worth noting here, that I steered clear of both players when selecting my team, for reasons I’ll discuss below. 

• Matthew Richardson – we all love the Richo man. The guy is an absolute star, who has carried the Tigers over the last 15 years. One thing you always get with Richardson is 100% effort. Due to Richardson’s ability to take 12 – 18 marks per game, he is more than capable of picking up high dreamteam scores. However, Richardson was always a risky pick in 2009, given his age. While Richo had a magnificent dreamteam season in 2008, it is rare for key forwards to still be dominating post age 30. Think Lloyd, Lucas, Tredrea, Rocca, Hall etc. The wash up from Richardson’s torn left hamstring is 8 – 12 weeks on the sidelines.

• Gary Ablett – Little Gazza is without doubt, the number 1 player in the game right now. However, I always thought Ablett was a risky dreamteam selection at a starting price of just under $500,000. The risk with Ablett is that because Geelong have been so dominant in the Home & Away season from 2007 until now, if Ablett has a slight niggle, he doesn’t play. Let me expand on this further, as we look at footy from a coach’s perspective.

Footy is all about winning premierships, which are awarded to the best team in September. Geelong discovered this the hard way in 2008. While the Cats were the best team from late March to August, Hawthorn was the best team in September. As a result, Hawthorn won the premiership. While all teams would love to win all 22 home & away matches, there is no need. All you need to do is finish in the top 2 after Round 22, which guarantees you a home Week 1 final. History tells us that 17 wins is enough to guarantee a top 2 finish. What this means is, if little Gazza picks up an injury, Geelong will err on the side of caution. Why take a risk with a superstar such as Ablett when you are sitting 6 – 0. Geelong has said Ablett will miss 2 – 3 weeks with a strained left adductor. I’d be very surprised if he returns after 2 weeks, given that Geelong play a Friday night game in week 3. The Cats will most likely give Ablett the full 3 weeks & then unleash him in Round 10 against Carlton on a Saturday night. 

Now, back to Team Princess. 

I’m concerned with your low level of remaining trades (13). Given that you have Jaxson Barham sitting on the sidelines, my advice to you is to hold Ablett, with the expectation of him missing 3 weeks. Ideally I’d like to offload him, but if you do so, you will only have 11 trades left with 15 weeks remaining. 

      PROPOSED ACTION: 

      OUT: Matthew Richardson ($375,000)

      IN: Matthew Pavlich ($372,100) 

No explanation needed for picking up Pavlich. He is a genuine superstar & a proven dreamteam performer over many years. 

Good luck!