gutsroy
Brownlow Medallist
To take all of the rookies who died last week out to sea and dump them before they start to stink too much.
Fresh on the heels of the debacles that were Caiden Cleary’s / Riley Bice’s swansongs in our teams last week, another batch of wookies bit the dust in the worst way imaginable. Laid down bigger rails than Chrissy Tarrant allegedly did in Magic Mike Sheahan's daughter's caravan many moons ago
Tell us what happened, Xavier Lindsay (MEL, MID,305.6k, massive 13.4k price drop. BE 102) :
An absolute shadoodle from young X, but it is not good to speak ill of the dead.
Good for you son, money is overrated anyway, and it’s not like we needed every cent to try to bring in Zak Butters and his rampant 143 point, Bont rivalling sauciness this week. 19’s the week we needed a cheeky little 60 build character. Life lessons with X.
Take your 'Butters at $530k, I'll take a double serving, thanks' and stick it where the sign don't shine, boys.
And Lindsay wasn’t Robinson Crusoe.
Sam Davidson (WBD, MID/FWD, 291.3k, BE 66) pumped out a 29, Archer Day-Wicks (ESS, MID/FWD, 121k, BE 28) a sub-impacted 16, Christian Moraes (PTA, MID, 226k, BE 59) a 16, Matty Carroll (CAR, DEF, 187.4k, BE 34) ended up subbed out on 29 after a bright first half, and it’s looking like the real Isaac Kako (ES, MID/FWD. 217.9k, BE 38) spike game will end up being the friends we made along the way.
What did you do again, boys?
Even Levi Ashcroft ‘only’ managed a 66, meaning a decision might have to be made earlier than his upcoming Rd 16 bye to avoid a precipitous loss of value prior to trade-out given he goes into this week at 383.5k with a 102 BE).
Kai Lohmann (BRL, MID/FWD, 245.7k off the back of a 45 on a tough night for aerial small forwards) and Luke Pedlar (ADE, FWD, 192.1k) with 37 in a pretty disappointing outing in conditions that should have suited him better on the whole as a defensive pressure type up forward) are less widely held but were no less disappointing. To be fair, nature of the best in those types of roles.
It was a difficult week to negotiate for the majority in any case. It shouldn’t have been, given only two teams were on the bye, but those two teams contribute a fair number of our better performing premos and many of us were still holding on to already injured premos on the bench.
Matt Roberts (SYD, DEF, 449.9k, BE 85) missed due to illness and has the bye this week, prompting some to bite the bullet and trade him out to bring in a scorer this week. He is also a fine hold. He will likely end up more in the 90-95 range, but that as your D5/6 might be OK if it saves a trade, depending on how many you have left.
In a highly surprising turn of events that surprised (echecks notes) absolutely no-one, unheard of for the scrupulous Catters from down Sleepy Hollow way, Bailey Smith (GEE, MID/FWD, 635.7k, BE 128) was the first ever late out for the club in its proud history. Just jokes, the Cats announcing a late out just tells you that today is a day of the week ending in ‘y’. The timing and the bizarre fireside chat with the AFL CEO two days prior is an interesting look, but I guess you have to take it at face value that he felt a little hamstring tightness, cross your fingers it was just precautionary and move on.
Chuck as another gram and I'll turn it into a fine, Bailey. Cheers, Dillo.
His absence hurt a lot of coaches with lower clearance this week because it might have resulted in you having to bring one of the aforementioned rookie underperformers on-field. By all reports, he is a decent chance to come back in this week, but if you’re prepared to take Chris Scott’s word for it, Scoops has a lovely little bridge in Sydney you might be interested in on the cheap.
Lightly used, one owner, doubles as a coat hanger, a bargain at $345,000.
Chrissy, Scoops loves you, baby, but let’s call a spade a shovel, you lying campaigner
Anyway, on balance, there were a lot of widely held premos who held up their end of the bargain this week.
Tristan Xerri (NTH, RUC, 729.9k, 152 5-Rd AVG) was a fairly easy VC / C choice and repaid the faith with a 153. Max Gawn (MEL,. RUC, 696.9k, BE 171) pumped out a 131 in a tougher matchup against Darcy Cameron. His outing ended in controversy, being bailed up by Steven ‘Frothies’ May and copping an absolute earful from the consensus best bloke in the history of the universe. It was late on, he needed to try to switch it, didn’t flush it and it went straight to Will Hoskin-Elliott, it happens. The Dees as a collective let one slip, having more of the play late and finishing the stronger but just – as always, sadly – lacking polish in front of goals. Passionate as Froths is, he might have at least spent half a second contemplating the fact that the Dees wouldn’t even have been in it had it not been for Gawn intercept marking like there was no tomorrow late on. Settle, Froths. Settle.
Why the **** would I be looking to bring Zerrett in pre-bye? Switch on, Froths.
Max Holmes (GEE, MID/DEF, 555.1k, BE 69 – nice) ran riot with a silky 151 at Kardinia Park, Christian Petracca (MEL, MID/FWD, 539.7k, BE 116) carved out an enterprising 115, Tom De Koning (CAR, RUC, 536k, BE 91) extracted full toll against a manful Methuselah in Todd Goldstein and churned out a 145 - he continues to have a nice upcoming run if you are in the market for a RUC, Brodie Grundy (SYD, RUC, 611.7k, BE 45, 5-Rd AVG 136.2) rewarded anyone who went there on the downlow, continuing his sensational recent run of from with a 155, Zak Butters (PTA, MID, 563.7k, BE 90) put a dagger straight through the heart of anyone who thought they might be able to pick him up around 530k with a dominant 143, so if you want to get on board in the near term, now is probably the time.
Tom Green (GWS, MID, 506.4k, BE 76) continued the purple patch with a 140 – he now has a 5-Rd AVG of 118), Miles Bergman (PTA, MID/DEF handy DPP, 414.2k and BE 13 of a 32k price rise) lapped it up in the middle with a 128 to reward those who acquired him, the list goes on.
On the whole, there were not too many underperformers amongst the premos this week.
On the other hand, Brisbane’s midfielders and perennial nominee for best bloke of all time, Dayne ‘Top Aussie’ Zorko (BRL, DEF, 522.2k, BE 162, 3-Rd AVG 88), all underperformed expectations bar Josh Dunkley (BRL, MID, 522.7k, BE 117) with a 121, but it was a cold, wet night against a side with a very solid midfield of its own. Zak Merrett’s 81 was largely impacted by attracting the attention of Alex Cincotta, a player who has done a job on him before, and a somewhat worrying role shift. He’s been played off halfback and it is just not his best position, he has slumped to a price of 549.4k with a BE of 150, an imminent Rd 16 bye and a 5-RD AVG of 94. It might help the team by allowing Jye Caldwell (ESS, MID, 477.5k, 3-Rd AVG 115) and the recently returned Darcy Parish (481.4k, BE 117 off the back of a first up 78) to cook. You would expect there to be a slight shift in their midfield mix this week in any case given that Sam Durham was suspended for two games for a crude effort on Adam Cerra (CAR, MID, 544k, BE 90, 5-Rd AVG 108) .
Lachie Whitfield (GWS, DEF, 533.1k, 5-Rd AVG 101.4) also went lower than expected. He finished off the game last week playing more off the backline in his customary role, but strangely played off a wing and through the middle this week. He ended up on 84 and has slid to a price of 533k and a BE of 115. That actually could mean decent buying this week, paradoxically, given that Finn Callaghan is confirmed in and it looks like Toby Greene (GWS, FWD, 371.4k, BE 154 off the injury-impacted 8 this round, his price will plummet) might be a chance to get up off the back of the knock to the glute that severely restricted him, meaning Whitfield might go back to his most lucrative rebounding role. Greene one to watch if he gets into the low 300’s.
Noah Anderson (GCS, MID, 586.7k, BE 126)struggled in the wet and copped attention, finishing up on 75 and Patrick Cripps (CAR, MID, 516k, BE 130 off the 63) suffered from shifting himself forward for large chunks and having an ‘almost’ type of game against the Bombers, whereas all of the other Carlton midfield targets in Adam Cerra (109 despite spending 20 minutes off the ground due to concussion testing), George Hewett (another solid 120) and Sam Walsh (110 – still affordable at 489k flat if you like the run more than the formline) did what they needed to do against an undermanned Bombers’ outfit.
Luke Davies-Uniacke (NTH, MID, 502k) won’t be widely held this year, but his 82 in a game that should have been a day out against the Eagles represented an opportunity gone begging, particularly on a day when Harry Sheezel turned it on (NTH, MID/DEF, 504.3k with a 98 BE on the heels of a 137) and Colby ‘Cheese’ McKercher (NTH, MID/DEF, 393.2k, BE 25) excelled in an even more impressive 144 off the back of the shift to HB distributor action signalled by Alastair Clarkson during the week.
Anyway, enough of all that, turning our attention to this week coming:
Fremantle and St Kilda players are returning from the bye, meaning that they can be considered alongside Rd 12 bye players for induction into your teams.
Nasaiah Wanganeen-Milera (STK, DEF, 507.1k): Despite spending 20 minutes off the ground due to a HIT, Lil Nas brought his own footy in Q4 vs the Dees and knocked up getting touches .One-twos, give and goes, Harlem Globetrotter style gear, it was a thing of beauty for owners and an absolute indictment on Melbourne’s commitment to the contest. He ran around like an unregistered dog and is presenting hard to do that for many coaches on the run home. He’ll be a popular in this week
Jackson Macrae (STK, MID/FWD, 517k, BE 150) is one to monitor. He will hopefully return from a punctured lung this week, but it has not yet been confirmed. Given this week is one in which most will be able to field a side reasonably comfortably, he is one you could hold even if he doesn’t get up.
Jack Steele (STK, MID, 534.6k, 5-Rd AVG 114, BE 68) will always have owners on the edge of their seats with his knee, but he has repaid the faith of those who got on at his lowest ebb, punching out a stellar 114 average since he bottomed out at 493k.
Rowan Marshall (STK, RUC, 547.3k, BE 179) is one you might hold off on. His run absolutely improves from here, having gotten two of this tougher matchups out of the way, a 179 BE means that he could shed 25k or so.
Mattaes Philippou (STK, MID/FWD, 286.8k, 101 BE) is one to monitor. Sadly for those that went early, the Saints bizarrely took him into a game knowing he had a calf issue and then subbed him out early on 5. Sainters doing Sainters things.
Andrew Brayshaw (FRE, MID, 599.2k, BE 135) has cooled off slightly but still has a 5-Rd AVG of 112 and has largely avoided attention this year to date.
Sam Docherty (CAR, DEF, 403k, BE 13, 2-Rd AVG 112.5) rates a mention. He looked completely past it and a shell of his former self earlier in the year and still doesn’t look good, but the run home is very good, such that he might end up doing enough in the role and as part of Carlton’s downhill skiing team to give you Tom Stewart-esque output from here on out bye free. Not for me but I can see the angle.
Luke Jackson will always be a risky proposition given Sean Darcy’s potential to rain on the parade. He’s now priced at 619k with a 5-Rd AVG of 121, but caveat emptor areas for mine.
Caleb Serong (FRE, MID, 535.7k, 5-Rd AVAG 101) continues to be an absolute nothing pick and one I regret having acquired but hope springs eternal that he might cop less attention and rediscover the ability to kick a ****ing football, for Christ’s ****ing sake, you useless ****ing crab, on the run home. Scoops has always been a proponent for the power of positive feedback, folks.
Jordan ‘Judas’ Clark (FRE, DEF, 543.2k, BE 92, 5-Rd AVG 108.4, big shout-out to rocker_oz33 for the nick) is everything Caleb Serong is not as both as a man and a member of the community in general. And given what we think about Jordan, that tells you everything you need to know about Serong. Lower than a mongoose and twice as homely, young Caleb. LACES OUT, Caleb.
Luke Ryan (FRE, DEF, 504.4k, 5-Rd AVG 106) is worth a mention based on his pure stats, but he is an awful one on one defender these days and his kicking is also not what it once was.
Neal Erasmus (FRE, MID/FWD with handy DPP, 233.7k, BE -18) is another one that got away. Like Angus ‘Superstar’ Sheldrick (SYD, MID, 341k, 3-Rd AVG 96, on the bye this week), as a proud member of the formidable BOMBERBLITZ crew, he initially had some murky waters with potential subbing in / out, but both have defied the odds and rewarded owners ever so richly. Sheldrick’s 109 in a tough round was absolute gold for holders. Not sure you can go there with Erasmus now, unless you have special circumstances.
In terms of other options, refer back to last weeks’ thread for the other options already mentioned there. All retain their validity to a greater or lesser extent. No point rehashing.
Jason Horne-Francis (PTA, MID/FWD, 499.6k, 155 BE) is one we first need to see selected, and he wouldn’t be one to jump on this week if you are planning on getting him. He could dip as low as 450k odd in a couple of weeks. Holders - keep holding.
I completely neglected to mention Connor Rozee (PTA, MID/DEF, 525.9k, 5-Rd AVG 103) last week (already had him and assumed the vast majority did), but he is bye-free, has useful MID/DEF DPP and seems rock solid.
Rookies:
There are not a lot on offer, truth be told.
Zak Johnson (ESS, MID, 113.5k, BE -65) scored an played reasonably well, but had the lowest TOG of any non-sub player, so he’s not gilt-edged. Any port in a storm this week and he will doubtless be attacked a kangaroo and be disembowelled on field on 3 and subbed out 10 minutes in like all the other bubbles boys this year.
Sam Butler (HAW, FWD, 126.6k, 55) is not on the bubble but looked good, has the pedigree. Not one you need to force.
Nic Madden (GWS, RUC, 119.9k, 81) played fairly well, admittedly up against another youngster in Dante Visentini. He will play his third game in Rd 15 unless dropped – don’t see why he would be off that first outing-, then has the bye in Rd 16, at which time Kieren Briggs may usurp his role again. So he’s awkward, but the scoring potential is there is he can survive
Hugh Jackson (PTA, MID, 119.9k, BE -10, on the bubble if selected) is one to consider if selected, but I don’t really know enough about him to comment other than that.
William ‘Wille Mays’ Hayes (COL, MID/FWD, 113.5k, BE -21) is on the bye this week, not one to bring in unnecessarily.
Deven Robertson (BRL, MID/FWD, 107.3k with a 27 BE off the back of another shaky sub outing) and Bo Allan (WCE, 117.7k MID/DEF with an eye-watering 67 BE) are two more tactical selection options. Both might reach the fixed basement price of 99.1k soon, both have useful DPP for trades / shifts and both are at least there or there abouts in terms of selection.
Hudson O’Keeffe equalled a record for contested marks in a first outing, he is not one you have to rush this week, .but as a 119k RUC off the back of a 62 first up, he is worth keeping your eye on.
Leonardo Lombard (GCS, MID, 167.5k, 22.5 AVG) is a talented kid, he’s on the bubble if he can stick, but off the back of an 18 in a tough second outing at the Cattery and coming at an elevated price of 167k, he won't be the first cab off anybody’s rank.
General Public Service Announcement:
To anyone hoping / assuming that Angus Clarke, Zak Johnson or anyone else from the latest batch of hatchlings might pick up DPP in Rd 18, don’t get your hopes up / make any plans around it. Unless something has changed, there used to be a 10-game minimum cutoff for consideration for inclusion in the DPP groupings come Rd 18. None of them would reach that bar.
Happy trails, kentleladies and kentlemen.
Last edited:
