Round Review

Footy is back and so am I in 2020 Supercoach Talk readers! Slightly different format this year, where I’ll be covering the top 5 scores from each game, anything else noteworthy and to finish it all off, a score that may have disappointed coaches. Let’s get going!

Richmond (16.9.105) defeat Carlton (12.9.81)

Multiple Goal Kickers:
Richmond: Bolton, Rioli, Castagna, Riewoldt (3)
Carlton: Martin (4), Silvagni, Casboult (2)

1. Dustin Martin (128). Dusty played a solid game to lead all scorers in the season opener, picking up 24 touches (8 contested), 4 tackles and a goal during 93% game time, commonly resting deep forward when not in the middle. This may be a trend with shortened quarters for the time being, as he only had 83% TOG last season and 82% the year before. Much of his damage was done in the forward half of the ground (60% of disposals), while he also threw in 2 goal assists.

2. Dion Prestia (118). The consistent midfielder threw in an outstanding opening game that included 25 touches and a goal, as well as nine inside 50s to net his coaches a great opening score. He’s only in 1% of teams and could provide a valuable POD if his scores can stay in this range.

3. Sam Docherty (117). Even with 2 years out of AFL football, Docherty didn’t look like he missed a beat racking up 26 touches with 7 marks across halfback for the night. Throw in 586 metres gained and that’s one of the more impressive return games in recent memory, there’s a big chance in my eyes that he finishes as 2020’s highest scoring backman.

4. Sam Petrevski-Seton (113). Good disposal efficiency helped SPS to a first round ton, using his 19 touches (11 contested) at 89%.

5. Patrick Cripps (112). 31 touches that were typically at the coalface, along with 10 clearances, meant the Carlton skipper rewarded his plethora of owners in Round 1, and with plenty more scores like this coming, he’ll justify the 600K+ price tag.

Other noteworthy scores/games: Other TIgers over 100 were Soldo (100) and Bolton (102), while 6 were in the 90’s, including Marlion Pickett. For the Blues it was Martin (107), Casboult (104), Weitering (102) and Murphy (101) that also went over 3 figures.

Disappointment: There’s been some talk over pre-season over both Tom Lynch and Sam Walsh (55), but ultimately both disappointed in round 1. Lynch was blanketed by Weitering all night, while Walsh just didn’t use it well, having 31% DE.

Western Bulldogs (5.4.34) defeated by Collingwood (13.8.86)

Multiple Goal Kickers:
Bulldogs: Zilch
Collingwood: Mihocek (3), Daicos, Cox (2)

1. Brodie Grundy (179). The Pies ruckman dominated as he usually does against the Dogs (4 scores of 150+ in a row). 19 touches (13 contested) and 37 hitouts along with a goal were the reason for his score, now just imagine if he’d kicked 4 goals instead of 1.3!

2. Jeremy Howe (156). I’ll be honest, I had Jeremy in my team up until about 20 mins before the game, and I am currently kicking myself. Realistically, he’s not going to score this every week but if he keeps using the ball at 88% along with 25 disposals, he might come close.

3. Brody Mihocek (127). 3 goals and 11 touches at 100% DE gave Brody a big opening round. The guys a decent player and can score big from small amounts of touches, one to consider in later draft leagues.

4. Steele Sidebottom (125). Steele patrolled the wing all game to finish with 26 touches and 9 marks, although his scores may fluctuate with Treloar to return soon.

5. Hayden Crozier (115). Leading the way for the Dogs was Crozier, who played a Caleb Daniel sort of role being the distributor across halfback, finishing the night with 17 touches, 7 marks and 4 tackles.

Other noteworthy scores/games: Adams (112), Pendlebury (109), Mayne (107) and Maynard (104) also had triple figures for Collingwood, while first-gamer Tyler Brown (64) was ultra impressive with 15 touches. Bailey Smith (106) and Jack Macrae (103) were the next best for the Dogs, while Cavarra (33) didn’t light it up in his first game, although he wasn’t the only forward to struggle.

Disappointment: Anyone you pay near 600K for, you want triple figure scores out nine times out of ten, so hopefully Dunkley (67) and Bontempelli (76) can now get on a hot streak.

Essendon (9.9.63) defeated Fremantle (8.9.57)

Multiple Goal Kickers
Essendon: Townsend (3), Stringer (2)
Fremantle: Sturt (3), Lobb (2)

1. Dylan Shiel (163). He hit triple figures before halftime and finished the day with 35 touches (13 contested) and 9 clearances. Looks to have cleaned up his ball use this season with this very small sample size, using the ball at 77%

2. Rory Lobb (133). Playing a role between forward and pinch hitting in the ruck, Lobb had 15 touches, 7 marks and 2 goals on the night. Was commonly opposed to young defender Zerk-Thatcher, so I doubt this will be the norm, although I said the same about Rowan Marshall last season!

3. Andrew McGrath (113). Maybe this will be his breakout year, as the third year, former number 1 pick, started the year with 23 touches and 8 tackles for a score owners hope will be a weekly thing. 

4. Zach Merrett (111). 22 touches for the smooth moving left-footer, who started slow but played well to return a good score.

5. Adam Saad/Nathan Fyfe/Micheal Walters (110). The dashing bomber’s backman had 28 touches across halfback, while Fyfe did his usual leading the inside midfield. Walters floated between forward and the middle, finishing with 21 touches and a goal.

Other noteworthy scores/games: Smith (105) put many coaches minds at ease with an opening round ton, with ruckman Bellchambers (101) and backman Ridley (100) joined him in triple figures. Townsend finished on 99 for his new team, while first-gamer Sturt (100) played well for Freo.

Disappointment: Luke Ryan (52) just couldn’t get into the game to play his usual role, finishing the day with only 11 touches.

Adelaide (11.5.71) defeated by Sydney (11.8.74)

Multiple Goal Kickers
Adelaide: Lynch, Walker (2)
Sydney: Heeney (4), Hayward (2)

1. Isaac Heeney (152). He was the difference in this game, kicking 4 goals amongst 16 touches and 4 tackles to give his 10% of owners a super start to the year. Almost a guarantee to be in the top 6-8 forwards in 2020.

2. Josh Kennedy (129). This guy just keeps rolling on, finishing the night with 25 touches (16 contested), 10 clearances, 6 tackles and a goal. Worth a look as a POD if he can keep this up.

3. Luke Parker (125). Maybe this is the year he breaks out and averages near the 120’s, as he is so capable of doing. He had a monster game inside, racking up 30 touches (13 contested), along with 10 clearances and 6 tackles.

4. Rory Sloane (123). A typical game from Rory, who dug in deep for his team at the coalface, having 16 contested possessions in his 18 disposals. Along with 7 tackles, 9 clearances and a goal, he led the way for Adelaide in Supercoach scoring.

5. Sam Naismith (121). Hopefully for many a coach this guy turns into the Reilly O’Brien of 2020. 11 touches, 28 hitouts and 4 tackles were his stats on the night.

Other noteworthy scores/games: Reilly O’Brien (107) and Tom Lynch (113) were the only other players in triple figures, while Ollie Florent (99) played a good game, finishing with 514 metres gained from 21 touches. First-gamer McAsey (16) didn’t see much of it, while owners of Brodie Smith and Allir Allir may want to keep on eye on round 2 teams after they saw some time on the bench during the game.

Disappointment: Once again, if you’re paying near 600K for someone, you want triple figures, so for his 77, Jake Lloyd gets this game’s disappointment award.

GWS (17.3.105) defeat Geelong (11.7.73)

Multiple Goal Kickers
GWS: Greene, Perryman (4), Cameron (3), Coniglio, Lloyd (2)
Geelong: Duncan (3), Hawkins (2)

1. Sam Jacobs (134). In his first game at his third club, Sauce produced. 10 touches with 28 hitouts would have made his owners extremely happy and a good price rise is on the horizon.

2. Harry Perryman (132). 4 goals on the night took his career tally to eight, and maybe it was a breakout game for the former first-round pick. Along with 20 disposals, this contributed to his career high Supercoach score.

3. Mitch Duncan (120). 3 goals for the Cats wingman, who also threw in 21 touches on the night to show that his off-season surgeries had no effect on him. While other names attract attention, Duncan could be ready for a career year.

4. Nick Haynes/Stephen Coniglio (114). The couple of Giants did their usual work, with Haynes picking up 20 touches and 9 marks across half back, and Coniglio kicking 2 goals amongst 19 touches.

5. Jacob Hopper (112). 22 touches (11 contested) for the young gun from GWS, who looks to be filling the Tim Taranto inside midfield role.

Other noteworthy scores/games: Lloyd (101), Kelly (102), Greene (108) and Whitfield (109) all hit the ton for the Giants, while for the Cats it was Stewart (100) and Hawkins (103). First gamer Green (41) had 6 touches but would be stiff to lose his spot in a winning team, while Adam Kennedy finished his night super early with a hamstring injury.

Disappointment: Dangerfield (83) copped the De Boer tag and like many others, struggled, ultimately finishing with 16 touches, but 5 free kicks against.

Gold Coast (4.5.29) defeated by Port Adelaide (10.16.76)

Multiple Goal Kickers
Gold Coast: Zilch
Port Adelaide: Motlop, Marshall, Georgiades (2).

1. Travis Boak/Connor Rozee (125). Twin 125’s from the talented Power duo led the way here. Young gun Rozee 21 touches at 81% DE along with a goal for his score, while former skipper Boak had 25 touches (12 contested) and 425 metres gained on the night.

2. Hugh Greenwood (116). Maybe the pre-season hype was real, because Hugh produced a great game mainly due to his high contested possession rate (13 from 18 touches) which were used at 77%.

3. Tom Rockliff (115). And he’s done it again, the original fantasy pig started the season on a high, leading all players (in terms of disposals) with 26 touches to go along with 4 tackles.

4. Darcy Byrne-Jones (114). 25 touches and 504 metres gained for the Port back-flanker was a great start to the season.

5. Touk Miller (111). The Suns co-captain did as best he could, finishing the game with 22 touches, 5 marks and 4 tackles on the night.

Other noteworthy scores/games: All three Suns on debut in Rowell (80), Anderson (42) and Budarick (44) played well, while Georgiades (78) kicked 2 goals in his debut for Port. Burton (101), Powell-Pepper (105) and Gray/Ebert (104) all went into triple figures, meanwhile Hartlett’s night finished early with a quad issue.

Disappointment: For all the pre-season hype they got, the scores of MacPherson (56) and Houston (79) were a major letdown.

North Melbourne (8.8.56) defeated St Kilda (7.12.54)

Multiple Goal Kickers
North Melbourne: Cunnington (2)
St Kilda: Billings, King (2)

1. Ben Cunnington (185). A very typical Cunnington game in all honesty, so you can probably guess what his stats were like. 25 touches (16 contested) along with 7 tackles as well as his 2 goals meant he led all scorers in this game.

2. Todd Goldstein (136). The North big man played a ridiculous 98% game time to record this score, finishing the day with 14 touches and 27 hitouts, a great performance against a tough duo in Marshall and Ryder.

3. Jy Simpkin (131). A very good game in round 1 for the North youngster who is looking set to become a 200 game player. Had 23 touches and a goal on the afternoon, splitting his time between deep forward and the middle.

4. Jack Steele (128). Leading the way for St Kilda was the young inside midfielder, who had 22 touches, 1 goal and 4 tackles during the game.

5. Jack Billings (120). 2 goals, 18 touches and 6 tackles while going at 88% DE for another Jack from St Kilda, who roamed the wing all day.

Other noteworthy scores/games: The only other players who scored in triple figures were Ben Long (118) and Zak Jones (113). Max King (42) showed promise on his debut, while popular pick Curtis Taylor (79) turned it on after halftime. Injuries to Gresham, Ziebell, Ahern and Walker also happened during this game, although with today’s news they’ll be a good chance to recover in time!

Disappointment: A couple of popular picks from the Saints in Roberton (25) and Marshall (92) weren’t really what coaches were after.

Brisbane (9.8.62) defeated by Hawthorn (14.6.90)

Multiple Goal Kickers
Brisbane: Hipwood (3), Cameron, McStay (2)
Hawthorn: Wingard, Bruest, Burgoyne (3)

1. Lachie Neale (157). Justified the massive price tag with a great game, racking up 26 touches (16 contested), 10 tackles and a goal for the Brisbane jet. Gave a great late captain score to anyone who put it on him.

2. Chad Wingard (131). This guy played an all around solid game, picking up 20 touches, 5 marks, 3 tackles and 3 goals, along with 538 metres gained for his score.

3. Liam Shiels (127). The commonly underrated midfielder had 24 touches along with 6 tackles leading the Hawks inside midfield.

4. Shaun Burgoyne (126). The league’s oldest player showed his class with a 3 goal, 10 touch game, almost always making the right decision when he had the ball.

5. Tom Mitchell/Isaac Smith (119). In his first game back, Mitchell played 89% game time to finish with 25 touches and 9 clearances, while Smith ran the wing all day for 19 touches and a goal.

Other noteworthy scores/games: Other Hawks in triple figures were another mid in Jaeger O’Meara (112), crafty forward Bruest (113) and ruckman Ceglar (101). For the Lions, it was Lyons who had 22 touches for his 115, while Harris Andrews (103) also hit triple figures. Stefan Martin finished with a knee injury.

Disappointment: James Sicily (70) had enough of it but 6 clangers along with 58% DE meant that his score was less than desired.

West Coast (12.6.78) defeated Melbourne (7.9.51)

Multiple Goal Kickers
West Coast: Ryan (3), Ah Chee, Sheed (2)
Melbourne: Pickett, McDonald (2)

1. Jack Viney (186). Did everything he could to drag his team over the line, finishing the game with a ridiculous 34 touches, 6 tackles, 20 contested possessions, 7 clearances and a goal, all in just 78% game time!

2. Shannon Hurn (152). The Eagles superboot had his kicking shoes on, going at 95% DE for the night with his 23 disposals and 9 marks.

3. Dom Sheed (128). 2 goals and 22 touches to be the best of the star-studded Eagles midfield, Sheed ran the wing all game to cause headaches for the Demons.

4. Ed Langdon (120). Talking about running, Langdon had 31 touches for the game, including a (I’m pretty sure) round high in metres gained, 797 metres! A superd first game for his new club.

5. Andrew Gaff (119). Consistent as ever was Gaff, who found the pill 30 times to go along with 8 marks and a goal.

Other noteworthy scores/games: Popular picks Petracca (105) and Naitanui (100) hit tons, as did three other Eagles by the names of Jetta (104), Ryan (109) and Shuey (104). First gamers Pickett (57) and Bedford (39) played their roles.
Disappointment: Take your pick out of Yeo (57), who had 7 free kicks against, or Gawn (93), who many would have wanted more out of to finish the round strong.

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