Footy Tragic

Geelong vs Carlton:

Looking Good:

• Paul Chapman: Chappy was unstoppable early, racking up 44 points in the first quarter alone. It is great to finally see him play a DT finals campaign, and with Bomber’s promise he won’t rest any players, we should expect to see him again next week for WCE at Skilled Stadium!
• Joel Selwood: Selwood had a slow start, but as he tends to do, he controlled the game for large stints when it was really up for grabs. He finished with 27 disposals and 6 tackles in another brilliant game.
• Marc Murphy: If the Blues had won, Murph would have been the best player afield – he did everything he could to put the Blues in a good spot to win, racking up 30 disposals and 6 marks for the game.

Disappointing:

• Paul Bower: Bower stood Pods and lacked any sort of rebound, getting just 6 disposals for himself. Looks devoid of all confidence and is no longer being trusted by his coach either. Needs a solid pre-season and has the potential to be a great 2011 pick.
• Eddie Betts: After Betts was one of the key playmakers when the Blues beat Geelong earlier in the year, in this game he was nowhere to be seen, kept to just 10 disposals for the game.
• Gary Ablett Jnr: After looking back in form last week, Ablett was trusted as captain by plenty of coaches. Unfortunately, to ¾ time he had just 52 points to his name, causing plenty of frustrated coaches. Luckily, he banged home three final quarter goals to notch up 95 points – still not good enough as captain though.

Blip on the Radar:

• Joel Corey: Whilst many of people will be looking towards Corey as a potential Grand Final smokey, I believe that he is not worth the selection prior to the biggest game of the year. We know he is a great dream teamer, but 2010 has just about been a write-off thanks to continual problems with injuries. Fortunately though, next week will be just his 10^th game, qualifying him for a discount on his 2011 price!

St.Kilda vs Richmond:

Looking Good:

• Nick Dal Santo:
  

  Nicky Dal had a brilliant game for the DT, disposing 22 of his 36 disposals by foot and kicking three goals. He loved the freedom given to him as Richmond attempted to shut-down Goddard instead. Has had a few quiet weeks in a row so it is good to see him back in the good books.

• Leigh Montagna: At half time, Montagna looked set to break the possession record held by Robert Harvey, however he fell a few short of the record, finishing with 42 disposals for the game. Was prolific for most of the match and the Saints’ best playmaker until hurting his hammy late in the game – he should be OK for next week, although I wouldn’t be surprised if he was rested.
• Jack Riewoldt: This kid is amazing – he sealed his first Coleman medal at the ripe age of just 21 by kicking another seven goals. The Saints double and triple teamed him, but couldn’t find a way to stop his effectiveness. Once he gets his confidence, he doesn’t seem to have a pause button.

Disappointing:

• Adam Schneider: Schneids hurt his knee early in the first quarter in a marking contest and looked out of sorts all day. Very disappointing after such a great past month. He should be OK for next week, but again has the potential to be rested.
• Chris Newman: Newman was well held by Peake and was largely ineffective until he moved further forward later in the game. Oppositions seem to be working him out, so he needs to quickly learn the art of breaking a tag.
• David Armitage: Armo played his first game in a couple of months and just couldn’t get in any sort of rhythm. In fairness, he was rushed back from a knee injury, but when you cross the line you are considered right to play. Will be lucky to hold his spot next week with Hayes and Jones returning.

Blip on the Radar:

• Justin Koschitzke: Kosi kicked five goals and looked to be hitting the contests with much more confidence. Over the past few weeks he has looked to be building into some form, but it must be remembered that in this game he was playing on second gamer, Gourdis. Next week he will face Rutten, a player who regularly has Kosi’s number – don’t think you are a genius  and bring him in this week, he will only cause you pain.

Hawthorn vs Fremantle:

Looking Good:

• Shaun Burgoyne: To prove the lack of quality opposition, Burgoyne racked up a personal best 37 disposals whilst seemingly having no opponent. He also kicked four goals in a simply brilliant display, proving the exact reason why Hawthorn gave so much to recruit him. He is pure class.
• Cyril Rioli: Week one back from suspension and Cyril was gold, weaving his regular magic on his way to 21 touches, 9 marks, 6 tackles and three goals. He will find himself presented with a bit more pressure next week against Collingwood, but he at least will go into the game with some form under his belt.
• Luke Hodge: Hodge wasn’t the next best out there, but it was great to see him back hitting some form after a few down weeks. He did cork his knee late in the game, but the word is that he will be OK for next week. He got 23 touches and a brilliant 8 tackles for the game.

Disappointing:

• Mark Harvey: Seriously – what a jerk, resting eight of his best players including Sandilands, Pav, Mundy and Fyfe – all DT regulars in 2010! At least people with plenty of Hawks in their team can thank him, but I’m sure there were plenty of DT semi finals lost by his selfish display at the selection table.
• Byron Schammer: Maybe he has already been told he won’t have his contract renewed, but he looked totally uninspiring and uninspired through all four quarters. Obviously he didn’t want to use this game as an opportunity to push for finals selection.
• Wayde Skipper: The fact he rucked against a depleted Freo team and still didn’t win was pretty poor. Luckily he still got a bit of the ball, but it wasn’t enough for owners who had 211 sitting on their bench.

Blip on the Radar:

• Josh Gibson: Gibson played a great game, but the fact he was playing on Ryan Murphy (who amazingly still kicked two goals!) means it doesn’t count. Look at all the scores on either side of him and understand that in blowouts like this, anomalies happen.

Collingwood vs Adelaide:

Looking Good:

• Dale Thomas: Continued his fine form with a 26 disposal, two goal game on the half-forward line. Was one Pie who looked to give his all through the four quarters and deserved BOG status.
• Graham Johncock: His run off the backline is great and he seems to be a  very tricky player for the opposition to shut down. Finished with 27 disposals and five tackles as one of Adelaide’s best players.
• Steele Sidebottom: This was one of Steele’s better games of the year and showed his continual progression to a very good player. He hasn’t hit star status yet, but the fact he is playing in a winning culture and has been given plenty of opportunities to learn, Steele could be a great DT pick in years to come.

Disappointing:

• Kurt Tippett: He told us he was back last week, but it seems to have just been a flash in the pan. Kicked just the one goal whilst being stood by Nathan Brown.
• Chris Dawes: Dawes has been on a high much of this year, but faltered against Rutten, admittedly one of the better full-backs of the competition. Will have another hard task next week against Gilham.
• Harry O’Brien: Harry must have been a bit surprised when Young sauntered over to him pre-bounce, unlikely expecting to be given the hard tag usually reserved for Shaw. Unfortunately he didn’t perform under the pressure and the Pies looked worse for the lack of his run from defence.

Blip on the Radar:

• Ben Rutten: Rutten is a full back. Rutten sometimes likes kick-to-kick. Rutten is not the player you want the week before Grand Final. In fact, if you consider putting Rutten in your team before the Grand Final, then I want to join your league next year.

Sydney vs Western Bulldogs:

Looking Good:

• Kieran Jack: God I love this kid – if he can keep this form up and present it to us again through the 2011 pre-season, he is looking like a very good mid-priced pick. Whilst he has been a tagger for most his career, this game saw the Bulldogs send Picken on a run-with role on him, hardly stopping his influence. He finished with 25 possessions, five tackles and two goals.
• Jude Bolton: Bolton wasn’t necessarily racking in the disposals, but he certainly laid a few tackles, racking up a tally of 11 for the game. Also kicked a couple of goals.
• Matthew Boyd: Boyd was hardly prolific, but he at least fought hard, earning his regular 25-odd disposals and 7 tackles. His teammates certainly struggled against Sydney, but the great thing about Boyd is that he will always win his own ball – no need to rely on others for his supply.

Disappointing:

• Daniel Giansiracusa: Gia was rubbish – he epitomised the form he was showing prior to his recent return to the midfield. Dropping marks, playing a metre off the ball and never putting his head over the ball. He was smashed by Rhyce Shaw and did very little to be competitive…
• Adam Cooney: Did his hammy 2 mins into the game and it was night over for him after just a single handball… fortunately he was tackling someone when it went ping so he got an extra four points for that!
• Nick Malceski: Started up forward which was strange, and it certainly didn’t help his scoring. He never managed to get into the game and scored accordingly.

Blip on the Radar:

• Mike Pyke: This big score from Pyke was proof that Sydney’s gamestyle lends itself to high scores from ruckmen. Mummy’s early injury meant that Pyke rucked alone, but don’t expect him to do it often, although he did play well.

Melbourne vs Port Adelaide:

Looking Good:

• Cameron Bruce: Started the game once again in brilliant form, hitting the 50 points mark before quarter time. He was part of every scoring chain for Melbourne, finally let of the leash of playing roles, which he has done for most of the year. Unfortunately, Kane Cornes moved to him in the second term, slowing him down a bit, yet he still managed to finish with 39 disposals and 7 marks.
• Kane Cornes: Was matched up on Bruce for most of the match, but was hardly playing too tight. He himself racked up 26 touches and ran off Bruce at every opportunity.
• James McDonald: In his second last game he gave it everything he had, throwing himself into 10 tackles and picking up 27 disposals. Chances are he will have a huge final game as he says goodbye to the Melbourne faithful at the MCG next week.

Disappointing:

• Brad Green: Green played forward for all of the game, being well held by Carlile. He booted just the one goal for the game and it came very late. This was a very disappointing score from a player who has been in some very good recent form.
• Brett Ebert: Injured his knee early in the game and unfortunately it has been assessed as an ACL rupture, meaning he could miss the majority of 2011. This is a big blow to Port as Ebert was their leading goalkicker to this point of the season.
• Troy Chaplin: Chaplin again couldn’t handle the pressure of a forward tag and simply shut down. He has gone most of the season seemingly unnoticed by the opposition, but his great reading of the play and interceptions have finally gotten the credit they deserve… unfortunately.

Blip on the Radar:

• Michael Newton: Newton seemed to be included for a chance to prove himself for a 2011 contract – whilst he played OK, there was little to suggest that he was worthy of a new deal.

Essendon vs Brisbane:

Looking Good:

• Jonathan Brown: When Brown said he was 100% going to play, I took it to mean he was certainly playing. But perhaps what he meant was he was at 100% fitness as he certainly looked like it, bombing 4 goals 6 from 25 touches and a whopping 16 marks! He looked great and hopefully he can continue it into the Grand Final next week against Sydney.
• Michael Rischitelli: Brisbane must really be hoping this guy isn’t off to the Gold Coast as he has been a shining light this season – he again raked in the disposals, including plenty of contested ball. He finished with 28 disposals and 7 marks for the game.
• Daniel Rich: Rich has had a season to forget, but looked back to his 2009 best with a great display through the middle. He worked a lot harder to win the hard ball and pin-pointed it into the forward line on numerous occasions. He finished with 30 touches for the night.

Disappointing:

• Michael Hurley: Hurley stood Brown all game and was totally pantsed. He tried very hard but was regularly left one-out against Brown – a recipe for disaster.
• Mitch Clark: When Ryder was a late withdrawal, it would have been suspected that Clark would rack up the points, but unfortunately he continued his role up forward, netting just the one goal for his efforts. Four frees against didn’t help either.
• Angus Monfries: Played a defensive role on McGrath but did little attacking himself. Monfries has played this role well this year but struggled to show much form in this game.

Blip on the Radar:

• Leroy Jetta: Jetta looks to be a good player, but I don’t expect he will be much of a DTer, despite a couple of big scores this year. He played well this game but really came out of his shell late when Essendon chucked together a few last-gasp goals. He will be an inconsistent player at best so don’t be pencilling him into any teams for 2011.

West Coast vs North Melbourne:

Looking Good:

• Andrew Swallow: Once again racked up the hard ball whilst bucking the trend of in-and-under players by also kicking three goals. Nine tackles were also a great buffer for his 27 disposals.
• Dean Cox: Cox looked back into some good nick around the ground, picking up a number of stats (28 to be precise) as well as marking strongly in contests. Whilst it is a shame that his form seems to be hitting in the latter part of the year, we can at least take solace that maybe he will be able to return to his best in 2011.
• Andrew Embley: Played a good wingman’s role, picking up 33 touches. Although he wasn’t particularly accurate with his disposal, he is very good at winning his own ball, hence his large scores. He also chipped in with 10 marks, five tackles and a goal.

Disappointing:

• David Hale: Only the five disposals again for Hale – he has had an absolute shocker of a season and will be in great threat of having his contract terminated at the end of the year.
• Josh Kennedy: Kennedy was well held by Thompson and could only manage the two behinds. Unfortunately, Thompson also followed Kennedy up onto the wings, stopping him from getting disposals there too.
• Hamish McIntosh: After some good recent form, McIntosh dropped right off in the second half of this after starting well. Finished with just 13 disposals and a goal from the ruck after being thoroughly beaten by Cox and Naitanui.

Blip on the Radar:

• Scott Thompson: Thompson spent this game following Kennedy around the forward line and onto the wing, leading him to win a bit of the ball for himself. This won’t be a regular occurrence as he typically takes the forward closest to goal, but in this situation he was the only Roo capable of matching Kennedy physically.