Review 2019 Player Reviews

[eth-dog]

I know we have the "what went well" thread, but this is for every player, and how each of us saw their year. Remember that this is relative to individual expectations. For example, Kyle Langford may have a lower grade than that of Noah Gown. That isn't to say Gown had a better year, it's to say that he surpassed my expectations whilst Langford didn't. As far as the grades go:

"A" group: Great year
"B" group: Good year
"C" group: Average year
"D" group: Below Average year
"E" group: Poor year

#1 Andrew McGrath

Relevant statistics: 21.0 disposal, 270.1 metres gained, 2.4 inside 50's, 2.1 rebound 50's
Overall grade: B-
Reason behind grade: I think a lot of the histeria over him is misplaced. He didn't have a great year, hence the B- rating, but he was still effective off the wing I felt, and I can see him being there long term unlike quite a few.

#2 Tom Bellchambers

Relevant statistics: 25.6 hitouts, 36.1 hitout to advantage percentage, 3.2 marks, 0.9 contested marks
Overall grade: C+
Reason behind grade: He's still one of the best tap ruckmen in the game for me, but as others have pointed out he's slowing down around the ground and it shows. One more year, then we'll see.

#3 Darcy Parish

Relevant statistics: 20.6 disposals, 8.5 contested possessions, 3.1 clearances, 3.8 tackles
Overall grade: B+
Reason behind grade: The stats don't tell the full story, but it was a mini break out. My big concern for Parish is what he brings in a small inside group that Merrett, Shiel etc don't when he's also a small player

#4 Kyle Langford

Relevant statistics: 17.4 disposals, 2.2 clearances, 3.1 tackles, 15 goals (total)
Overall grade: D
Reason behind grade: Most were looking for him to take the next step after a good second half to last year, however he stagnated. Needs to play more as a wing or half forward than an inside midfielder

#5 Devon Smith

Relevant statistics: 18.1 disposals, 5.9 tackles, 0.4 goals
Overall grade: N/A
Reason behind grade: Was clearly injured when he played and didn't play after round 7. Reassess next year.

#6 Joe Daniher

Relevant statistics: 12.8 disposals, 5.5 marks, 1.0 marks I50, 7 goals (total)
Overall grade: N/A
Reason behind grade: Didn't play most of the year but when he did he was very good. Please stay.

#7 Zachary Merrett

Relevant statistics: 28.3 disposals, 4.6 clearances, 10.7 contested possessions, 14 goal assists (total)
Overall grade: A
Reason behind grade: Flew under the radar a bit but it was a stellar year for me, would be top 5 in the BnF IMO

#8 Martin Gleeson

Relevant statistics: 16.6 disposals, 4.4 marks, 2.6 rebound 50's, 7.2 intercept possessions
Overall grade: B+
Reason behind grade: His return was crucial for us, his ability to intercept and play tall or small was vital in our run for the 8.

#9 Dylan Shiel

Relevant statistics: 26.1 disposals, 4.9 tackles, 5.4 clearances, 11.1 contested possessions
Overall grade: A-
Reason behind grade: He had a very good year, did he live up to the two first rounders? Perhaps not but he's still odds on to finish top 5 in our best and fairest to me

#10 Aaron Francis

Relevant statistics: 13.2 disposals, 4.7 marks, 2.1 rebound 50's, 4.7 intercept possessions
Overall grade: B
Reason behind grade: He had a good year when he found himself back in the side but didn't lock his place down. Needs to grow next year.

#11 David Zaharakis

Relevant statistics: 20.3 disposals, 3.0 inside 50's, 1.9 rebound 50's, 313.9 metres gained
Overall grade: C-
Reason behind grade: Padded stats a lot but didn't really have an impact. Slowing down badly

#12 Mark Baguley

Relevant statistics: 2.8 tackles, 1.1 tackles I50, 1.5 inside 50's, 12 goals
Overall grade: D
Reason behind grade: Had a below average year. Retired, thanks for the 134 game career Bags.

#13 Orazio Fantasia

Relevant statistics: 11.5 disposals, 2.1 tackles, 1.7 inside 50's, 20 goals
Overall grade: C+
Reason behind grade: Played injured for most of the year, hopefully he's fully fit next year.

#14 Jordan Ridley

Relevant statistics: 14.8 disposals, 7.0 marks, 3.5 rebound 50's, 4.0 intercept possessions
Overall grade: C+
Reason behind grade: Harsh? Maybe, but his defensive game wasn't great. Developing him on a wing next year hopefully, his natural size and two way running is a good fit there for me.

#15 Jayden Laverde

Relevant statistics: 11.4 disposals, 3.9 marks, 1.8 inside 50's, 11 goals
Overall grade: C-
Reason behind grade: Struggled when many were hoping he'd finally take the next step. On the trade table, would rather see him elsewhere next year.

#16 Josh Begley

Relevant statistics: 11.6 disposals, 3.5 marks, 1.5 inside 50's, 6 goals
Overall grade: C
Reason behind grade: Difficult to grade as he's coming off an ACL. Had very similar stats to Laverde so given the ACL thing I felt it appropriate to give him a slightly better grade.

#17 James Stewart

Relevant statistics: 4 goals (one VFL game)
Overall grade: N/A
Reason behind grade: Missed most of the year due to OP.

#18 Michael Hurley

Relevant statistics: 19.3 disposals, 8.0 marks, 6.6 rebound 50's, 6.7 intercept possessions
Overall grade: B-
Reason behind grade: Had some great games but also stat padded a lot, and defensively was the worst I've seen him in a while. Not sure what role he should perform

#19 Kobe Mutch

Relevant statistics: N/A
Overall grade: N/A
Reason behind grade: Barely played VFL or AFL, needs a good year next year.

#20 Zachary Clarke

Relevant statistics: 10.0 disposals, 2.6 marks, 21.0 hit outs, 0.7 contested marks
Overall grade: E
Reason behind grade: Is shit, had one good game. Hopefully delist.

#21 Dyson Heppell

Relevant statistics: 26.3 disposals, 5.5 marks, 3.7 clearances, 11.7 contested possessions
Overall grade: A-
Reason behind grade: Many have criticised Hepp, but the man is still a very good inside midfielder. However he does need more support in there as really the only one with somewhat of a big body.

#22 Irving Mosquito

Relevant statistics: 10 disposals, 4 tackles, 3 inside 50's, 7 goals (VFL averages)
Overall grade: C+
Reason behind grade: Provided a lot of excitement, but still too slight and needs to add a tiny bit of polish.

#23 David Myers

Relevant statistics: 14.9 disposals, 3.0 tackles, 3.7 clearances, 7.6 contested possessions
Overall grade: D
Reason behind grade: Was clearly cooked but was important in taking the VFL side into the preliminary final. Cheers David.

#24 Jordan Houlahan

Relevant statistics: 8 disposals, 3 marks, 2 tackles, 23 goals (VFL)
Overall grade: E
Reason behind grade: Kicked goals but didn't do too much else. Delisted already.

#25 Jake Stringer

Relevant statistics: 12.3 disposals, 3.0 marks, 1.3 centre clearances, 33 goals
Overall grade: A+
Reason behind grade: Leading goal kicker, was an absolute star up forward and had an impact in the middle when thrown in there. Probably 2nd in the BnF for me

#26 Cale Hooker

Relevant statistics: 17.4 disposals, 7.6 marks, 1.8 contested marks, 7.1 intercept possessions
Overall grade: A-
Reason behind grade: Slowing down a bit but still vital to our back line given he takes the monsters whilst still intercepting the ball

#27 Mason Redman

Relevant statistics: 17.0 disposals, 3.0 tackles, 2.6 rebound 50's, 307.0 metres gained
Overall grade: B+
Reason behind grade: Find of the season. Redman was excellent off half back, although needs a bit of work defensively.

#28 Mitchell Brown

Relevant statistics: 13.8 disposals, 6.0 marks, 2.1 inside 50's, 21 goals
Overall grade: B-
Reason behind grade: Another tough one to grade. Is essentially a slow half forward but he's a great kick for goal. Good depth, not sure what else?

#29 Patrick Ambrose

Relevant statistics: 4.0 marks, 2.1 tackles, 5.6 1%ers, 4.9 intercept possessions
Overall grade: A+
Reason behind grade: Star defensively and whilst those stats aren't great, he shut down plenty of great key forwards throughout the year.

#30 Brandon Zerk-Thatcher

Relevant statistics: 12 disposals, 5 marks, 2 tackles, 2 rebound 50's (VFL)
Overall grade: B
Reason behind grade: Had a slow start but by the end of the year earned an AFL debut.

#32 Noah Gown

Relevant statistics: 9 disposals, 4 marks, 2 inside 50's, 17 goals (VFL)
Overall grade: B
Reason behind grade: I didn't expect much but had a good year as a forward in his first year of football. Needs to find more of the ball next year but has strong hands and a good shot for goal. Has a lot to work with.

#33 Brayden Ham

Relevant statistics: 17 disposals, 5 marks, 3 inside 50's, 15 goals (VFL)
Overall grade: B+
Reason behind grade: Didn't expect anything like that from Ham, played 5 AFL games but showed heaps as a two way running wing in the VFL. Great pick.

#34 Jake Long

Relevant statistics: 15 disposals, 3 tackles, 4 marks, 2 rebound 50's
Overall grade: E
Reason behind grade: "Typical Long game". Should be delisted

#35 Matt Guelfi

Relevant statistics: 13.7 disposals, 3.2 marks, 2.9 tackles, 1.0 clearances
Overall grade: C+
Reason behind grade: Everyone loves his attitude, but the results aren't great? What's his role? I don't really understand

#36 Michael Hartley

Relevant statistics: 17 disposals, 5 marks, 5 rebound 50's, 9 goals
Overall grade: C+
Reason behind grade: Was thrown around a bit, a bit forward, a bit ruck, a bit defence, but still battled manfully. Should get a trade.

#37 Dylan Clarke

Relevant statistics: 15.4 disposals, 6.4 tackles, 2.5 clearances, 6.5 contested possessions
Overall grade: B+
Reason behind grade: Had some great scalps but also some poor games. Should be best 22 next year hopefully with a more consistent year.

#38 Sam Draper

Relevant statistics: N/A
Overall grade: N/A
Reason behind grade: ACL tear in his 4th game. Was good in 2 of the previous 3 though

#39 Trent Mynott

Relevant statistics: 19 disposals, 4 tackles, 3 inside 50's, 8 goals
Overall grade: C
Reason behind grade: Had a good start to the year but wasn't the same post injury. Needs a good year next year.

#40 Will Snelling

Relevant statistics: 16.5 disposals, 3.2 tackles, 1.5 inside 50's, 5 goals
Overall grade: B
Reason behind grade: Came in the mid season draft and had an impact at both levels.

#41 Ben McNiece

Relevant statistics: 17 disposals, 5 marks, 3 tackles, 4 rebound 50's
Overall grade: D+
Reason behind grade: Had a few games in the AFL but has decided to become a firefighter apparently. Good luck Benny

#42 Adam Saad

Relevant statistics: 17.6 disposals, 3.4 tackles, 4.7 rebound 50's, 352.5 metres gained
Overall grade: A+
Reason behind grade: Shut down the opposition's best small the majority of the time and rebounded well. Unlucky not to be in the AA squad.

#43 Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti

Relevant statistics: 4.3 tackles, 2.8 inside 50's, 18 goal assists, 32 goals
Overall grade: B+
Reason behind grade: Had some stellar games but also had some poor ones. Finishes 2nd on our goal kicking.

#44 Shaun McKernan

Relevant statistics: 5.1 marks, 2.4 contested marks, 1.6 marks I50, 17 goals
Overall grade: B-
Reason behind grade: Had some good games but the difference between his best and worst is still too large at his age.

#45 Conor McKenna

Relevant statistics: 20.8 disposals, 4.9 rebound 50's, 4.3 intercept possessions, 438.1 metres gained
Overall grade: A+
Reason behind grade: Stellar year, absolute star and still only 23

#46 Tom Jok

Relevant statistics: 15 disposals, 3 marks, 5 tackles, 3 inside 50's (VFL)
Overall grade: C+
Reason behind grade: Funny, given he made his debut, Jok had a solid but unspectacular year. Needs to accumulate more of the ball.

#49 Matthew Dea

Relevant statistics: 15 disposals, 6 marks, 2 tackles, 2 rebound 50's
Overall grade: C-
Reason behind grade: The last top up, retired from AFL. Hopefully sticks around

Got through them all. Let me know where you think I got it right or wrong! Or do some yourself as I love reading (and arguing with) other people's opinions. Anyway, stuff to do, and this took a while, so have at it!

 

[citizen-erased]

Redmans B+ to Brown's B- feels weird (even though its the same as A to B, which feels right).

Plenty to work with next year.

 

[Its Manbearpig]

Laverde - D
Redman - A
Otherwise I'd agree with just about all.

 

[Howard Moon]

Think guelfi deserved better, he dosent have a clear role yet because he was asked to plug holes each week due to injuries.

Reckon he performed a touch over expectations

 

[eDPS]

Not suprised to see Hartley get a better mark than Laverde

 

[vass44]

I find it odd that you have not rated players who are injured - ie Daniher. Durability is a huge part of being an AFL player and if you’re going to rate players then rate them all - anyone looking to draft Daniher - or any player - would certainly be factoring in how injury prone they are as it’s part of the overall package they are buying. Apart from that with the players you have rated you are pretty spot on I’d say


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[ghostdog]

That was a good read. I'm interested in what you think relevant stats are eth-dog. I would have thought stats to judge the players ought to be based on the position and role they play so we can see their comparative effectiveness. For example, intercept marks or intercept possessions should be a criteria stat for every defender, as should tackles. With Rutten now in charge of full ground defence, maybe tackles and contested possessions should be included for every player.

FWIW, I reckon Stringer, Ambrose, Saad and McKenna are locks for our top 4 (not in that order).

I would have given McGrath a solid B. He has improved as a mid this year. Uses it well most of the time and finds the scoreboard more. His Elimination Final performance should have more weight given the gravity of the game; McGrath kept us in the hunt for much of that I thought.

I enjoyed reading the summaries though. Cheers!

 

[Lore]

I find it odd that you have not rated players who are injured - ie Daniher. Durability is a huge part of being an AFL player and if you’re going to rate players then rate them all - anyone looking to draft Daniher - or any player - would certainly be factoring in how injury prone they are as it’s part of the overall package they are buying. Apart from that with the players you have rated you are pretty spot on I’d say


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He’s judging their actual game performance for this season. Hard to judge with such a small sample size for those players, and not fair to judge them on a previous season in a thread about 2019 in particular.

If he were trying to tell us what pick to trade each of them for then you’d have to judge all of them but I think the way he’s done it for this purpose is fair.

 

[NAB777]

#1 Andrew McGrath

Relevant statistics: 21.0 disposal, 270.1 metres gained, 2.4 inside 50's, 2.1 rebound 50's
Overall grade: B-
Reason behind grade: I think a lot of the histeria over him is misplaced. He didn't have a great year, hence the B- rating, but he was still effective off the wing I felt, and I can see him being there long term unlike quite a few.


#4 Kyle Langford

Relevant statistics: 17.4 disposals, 2.2 clearances, 3.1 tackles, 15 goals (total)
Overall grade: D
Reason behind grade: Most were looking for him to take the next step after a good second half to last year, however he stagnated. Needs to play more as a wing or half forward than an inside midfielder

You could nearly have swapped the quotes on these two & I would have also agreed. Particularly the hysteria & stagnated. As a ready to go #1 pick, McGrath should be impacting more by now.

 

[eth-dog]

Redmans B+ to Brown's B- feels weird (even though its the same as A to B, which feels right).

Plenty to work with next year.

It isn't really, for me the gaps inside a group are smaller. Not infinitely smaller but smaller none-the-less. More of a reflection within the group more than anything else.

Laverde - D
Redman - A
Otherwise I'd agree with just about all.

Hm. I think that's harsh on Lav and I give out very few "A's" as you can probably tell haha

Think guelfi deserved better, he dosent have a clear role yet because he was asked to plug holes each week due to injuries.

Reckon he performed a touch over expectations

I found him the hardest to rate. The games he played left more questions than answers.

Not suprised to see Hartley get a better mark than Laverde

Relative to expectations. Laverde I expected with a full pre-season and no real injury issues I expected to settle himself as best 22, instead he's trade bait and I'm very annoyed at that.

I find it odd that you have not rated players who are injured - ie Daniher. Durability is a huge part of being an AFL player and if you’re going to rate players then rate them all - anyone looking to draft Daniher - or any player - would certainly be factoring in how injury prone they are as it’s part of the overall package they are buying. Apart from that with the players you have rated you are pretty spot on I’d say


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As Lore said, it's about their year not how I rate them overall. Daniher spent more than 2/3 of the season on the sidelines. Hard to rate a season when that happens.

That was a good read. I'm interested in what you think relevant stats are eth-dog. I would have thought stats to judge the players ought to be based on the position and role they play so we can see their comparative effectiveness. For example, intercept marks or intercept possessions should be a criteria stat for every defender, as should tackles. With Rutten now in charge of full ground defence, maybe tackles and contested possessions should be included for every player.

FWIW, I reckon Stringer, Ambrose, Saad and McKenna are locks for our top 4 (not in that order).

I would have given McGrath a solid B. He has improved as a mid this year. Uses it well most of the time and finds the scoreboard more. His Elimination Final performance should have more weight given the gravity of the game; McGrath kept us in the hunt for much of that I thought.

I enjoyed reading the summaries though. Cheers!

It is relevant to their position. I tried keeping it to 4 stats each and tended to go with the better stat for some. As an example, as a winger I wanted touches, inside 50's, rebound 50's and metres gained because it shows how effective they are on the outside.

BnF shuld be interesting. I have 7 locks for the top 10 with those guys, Heppell, Merrett, Shiel. Redman is probably up there, I can see McGrath, McKernan, Parish, Hooker all challenging for that too.

You could nearly have swapped the quotes on these two & I would have also agreed. Particularly the hysteria & stagnated. As a ready to go #1 pick, McGrath should be impacting more by now.

Maybe, but as one of Kyle's biggest fans I felt frustrated by his year. I thought McGrath was still pretty good though.

 

[freddy mercury]

E for everyone. We didn't win a final, our percentage had us ranked 13th but a few lucky wins had us higher on points. How can y'all be happy with anyone?

 

[NAB777]

Maybe, but as one of Kyle's biggest fans I felt frustrated by his year. I thought McGrath was still pretty good though.

Yep feel the same with Kyle.
But I am concerned that McGrath will always be 'pretty good', and never great...
I hope I am wrong.

 

[blitzer]

Great OP and I definitely want to say first up that the summaries of where each player is at were fantastic and even though I personally would draw a few different conclusions for ranking purposes, that the write-ups were pretty spot on.

Some of the ranks I would change:
Nobody gets an A+ - 0 AA's and nobody performed at a level for the entire year to warrant it. I'm not sure I'd even give anyone an A. Most of the lot you had on A+ I'd probably give an A-.
Mitch Brown - I'd probably have him as a C rank because even though he did somewhat exceed expectations at the end of the year I think most of us are thinking how do we get this bloke out of our best 22 and have him as depth only.
Dea's rank was strange given his age and he played no AFL games.

Its kind of weird that Dylan Clarke finishes the year on a B+ and McGrath finishes on B- even though McGrath played more games, was more consistent and played a very good final. I know its relative to expectations but it just feels a bit off to me. As good as Clarke's first 6 or so weeks at AFL level were he kind of fell away after that. I'd probably have them both as B.

Thought you were generous on Hooker to give him an A-. Struggled as the season went on and played a terrible final. I like Hooker but I don't think he was more than a B this year.

 

[eth-dog]

Great OP and I definitely want to say first up that the summaries of where each player is at were fantastic and even though I personally would draw a few different conclusions for ranking purposes, that the write-ups were pretty spot on.

Some of the ranks I would change:
Nobody gets an A+ - 0 AA's and nobody performed at a level for the entire year to warrant it. I'm not sure I'd even give anyone an A. Most of the lot you had on A+ I'd probably give an A-.
Mitch Brown - I'd probably have him as a C rank because even though he did somewhat exceed expectations at the end of the year I think most of us are thinking how do we get this bloke out of our best 22 and have him as depth only.
Dea's rank was strange given his age and he played no AFL games.

Its kind of weird that Dylan Clarke finishes the year on a B+ and McGrath finishes on B- even though McGrath played more games, was more consistent and played a very good final. I know its relative to expectations but it just feels a bit off to me. As good as Clarke's first 6 or so weeks at AFL level were he kind of fell away after that. I'd probably have them both as B.

Thought you were generous on Hooker to give him an A-. Struggled as the season went on and played a terrible final. I like Hooker but I don't think he was more than a B this year.

Saad absolutely deserved AA. He was stellar. Also I don't base it on the farce that is AA.

Brown did his role and did it well. He was slightly above average hence the B- rating.

Dea did his role to an average level for me. C- isn't anything spectacular.

As you said, relative to expectations. Clarke has gone from outside the top 30 to be a fringe 22 player. McGrath wasn't brilliant and didn't improve as much as we hoped.

Hooker was excellent IMO. But that's what these things are about I guess.