Round Twenty-One Review

(Written & Created By Dane)

 

GWS vs Hawthorn

 

Hawthorn were a class above in chilly, chilly, sometimes snowy, Canberra on Friday evening. Top scoring on the night was James Sicily (140), who had 33 touches (23 kicks) at a very good 78% DE considering the conditions. James Worpel continued his torching form, racking up 31 touches (14 contested), 8 clearances and 6 tackles to net 127 points, while fellow mid Shiels (124) also had 6 tackles, as well as picking up 30 touches and 9 clearances to be a dominant player on the night. Isaac Smith kicked a goal and picked up 28 touches for his 113, with the last Hawk over 100 being big man Ceglar (110) who had 35 hitouts and 16 touches. Henderson (92) and Wingard (91) both kicked a goal and 25+ disposals to return decent enough scores for their limited owners during semi-final week. Up forward Bruest, Puopolo, O’Brien and Lewis all kicked 2 goals, while lastly first-gamer Jiath (52) had 11 touches at 81% DE in a promising debut.

 

GWS posted their lowest ever score (4.5.29), essentially also ending their top 4 hopes. Toby Greene continued his inspired run, having 38 touches (20 contested), 8 marks, 5 tackles and 8 clearances resulting in a team high 122 points. Nick Haynes (105) was next best playing as the loose across the backline, picking up 21 touches despite a heavy clash early on, while the other Giant in triple figures was the ever improving Perryman (102). Shaw (99), Williams (96) and Whitfield (90) all returned respectable scores, but things drop from there with only big-man Simpson (84) going above 80. Disappointing scores from Supercoach relevant players came from Taranto (70), Cameron (55), Hill (38), Hately (54) and Stein (49). First-gamer Caudwell was very good in difficult conditions, finishing with 13 touches, 5 marks and 6 tackles at 76% DE to score 73, while veteran Deledio didn’t re-appear after coming off during the third quarter.

 

Question from the game: Are the Giants injuries to big players catching up with them despite still fielding and extremely talented team?

 

Supercoach query: How many off-loaded Sicily?

 

Collingwood vs Melbourne

 

Collingwood came away 17 point winners on Saturday afternoon, winning a scrappy game at the MCG. Scott Pendlebury (138) top scored and rightfully so, the Magpies skipper used his elite ball skills very well (91% DE) in tough conditions, finishing the day with 23 touches (12 contested), 4 tackles and 2 goals. Adam Treloar ticked over 30 touches again (now 17/21 games with 30 or more touches, ridiculous numbers) to score 127, while up forward Mihocek kicked 4 goals to score 113. Sidebottom (109), Howe (106) and Adams (101) were also over 100, with Josh Thomas (95) being the only Pie in the 90’s. Callum Brown’s impressive rise continued with 21 touches and 85 points, while a single point above him was Brodie Grundy, who had the stats on the day for a big score (16 touches, 44 hitouts, 7 tackles), but not the disposal efficiency (37%) or luck (5 frees against).

 

Another weekend and another loss for Melbourne, with 2019 now officially a disaster, as was their Supercoach scoring in this game. No player went into triple figures, with Max Gawn being the closest for his 99, Oliver on 96 and Harmes on 95 being the next best. Of the three, purely on a stats game, it seems Oliver was robbed of gaining triple figures, with the midfielder picking up 29 touches (14 contested, 72% DE), 7 marks and 11 tackles on the day, although the 7 clangers were a negative. Steven May (88) may have got their if it wasn’t for his hamstring injury early in the last quarter, as would have Bayley Fritsch (77) if he converted his chances (1.4). Ending on a positive note, Oscar McDonald snuck forward late in the game to kick the first goal of his 76 game career, a nice moment on a bad day for the Dees.

 

Question from the game: Who will win the starting All-Aus ruck spot?

 

Supercoach query: Which of Gawn or Grundy was further off their SyntheticCoach score? Over to you Salamander!

 

Sydney vs Port Adelaide

Dare I say it but Port are looking good coming into finals time (if they make it), although this may change by this time next week, stringing together a 47 point win to make it back-to-back wins for the first time since rounds 5-6. The top score for them on the day went to Conor Rozee (119), who showed class all day in slippery conditions to kick 3 goals and pick up 20 touches, a great semifinals week score for anyone who still owns him. Darcy Byrne-Jones (110) keeps on improving, picking up 28 touches at 78% DE on the day, while both Jonas (24 touches, 6 marks) and Ladhams (23 touches, 19 hitouts) finished on 105. Other good scores came from Dixon/Powell-Pepper (98), Marshal (92) and Wines (93) while both of Tom Clurey (18 touches, 8 marks) and Dan Houston (16 touches, 9 tackles) scored 88 to continue their solid 2019 seasons. Multiple goal-scorers included Rozee and Dixon with 3 each and Wines, Marshal and Sutcliffe with 2. Disappointing scores from Supercoach relevant players included Robbie Gray on 71 and Travis Boak (49) who was tagged out of the game but did kick 4 behinds which didn’t help his owners.

 

Not much went right for the Swans, but 2019 has at least produced them with some young stars of the future. Isaac Heeney (116) top scored for them in his 100th game, and now has 3 tons in a row, finishing his day with 20 touches, 6 marks, 5 tackles and 2 goals. Ollie Florent has produced some eye-catching performances in 2019, with this weeks game being now different: 29 touches (25 kicks) and 9 clearances resulting in 102 points, while the backline was patrolled well by Rampe (100) all day. Jordan Dawson (93) has been another solid find of 2019, this week having 18 touches and 6 tackles to be the only Swan in the 90’s, while in the 80’s were Supercoach relevant players Kennedy (89) and Lloyd (85). Despite being pretty much irrelevant to downgrade with two weeks left, a mention of James Bell’s (22) first game should be done, he had 6 touches on the day.

 

Question from the game: Will Port continue their form and solidify themselves as a finals threat?

 

Supercoach query: With Ladhams performing, who will Lycett be turned into for coaches who may have held him?

 

Brisbane vs Gold Coast

 

The Lions dominated the Q Clash to the tune of 91 points, gaining valuable percentage in the process as the fight for a top 2 spot intensifies. Twin 142’s led their scoring, coming from Lyons and Zorko. The former Sun in Lyons had 34 touches, 8 marks, 7 tackles, 7 clearances and 2 goals for his score, while the skipper had 25 touches, 8 marks, 7 tackles and 2 goals for his. Mitch Robinson was next best on 123 for his 28 touch (12 contested), 1 goal game, while under him were twin 121’s from Berry and Witherden. Berry had an all around game in the midfield, having 26 disposals, 8 marks, 7 tackles and a goal on the night, while across the backline Witherden had 21 touches at 90% DE, along with 10 marks to contribute to his score. There were still another 3 Lions in triple figures, so in no particular order the were Rich (22 touches, 6 tackles, 106 points, Charlie Cameron (6 goals, 108 points) and Bailey (18 touches, 2 goals, 110 points). Big men Martin (96) and Andrews (97) also came close to hitting the ton, while Hipwood and McStay were the multiple goal-kickers apart from those mentioned above. The only issues on the night were knocks and bumps to Hodge, McCarthy and Martin that may cause some selection changes if deemed serious enough. Also worth mentioning that Lachie Neale copped the hard Miller tag and hence, didn’t score as well as coaches would’ve hoped (85).

 

The losing streak continues for Gold Coast, and with matches against Hawthorn and GWS coming up it may well continue into 2020. Co-captains Swallow and Witts did the best they could on the day, finishing on 118 and 117 Supercoach points each. Swallow had 27 touches (17 contested), 8 clearances, 5 tackles and 2 goals on the day, while Witts compiled 53 hitouts and 13 touches for his score. The only other Sun in triple figures was the revitalized Day (106), who kicked 2 goals amongst his 14 touches, with both Bowes (97) and Hanley (91) being in the 90’s. Anthony Miles day ended early with an ankle concern, while Caleb Graham (51) made a solid debut with 12 touches.

 

Question from the game: What will be considered an improvement for Gold Coast in 2020?

 

Supercoach query: Should Robinson be considered a viable option for those looking to trade Lycett?

 

Geelong vs North Melbourne

 

North Melbourne were held to their lowest score ever, scoring 1.8 (14) on the night to re-write their 95-year-old history book. Todd Goldstein did what Gawn and Grundy couldn’t do, break triple figures. The North ruckman had 10 touches, 5 tackles, kicked his sides only goal and managed 42 hitouts to score 123 points, the second best behind Jamie MacMillan’s 24 touch, 126. The backline duo of Tarrant and Thompson (the latter having announced his retirement during the week) both saw plenty of the ball and hence, scored well, finishing on 101 and 102 respectively. No one in the 90’s for North with the next best being Cunnington’s 30 disposal, 88 point effort. Anyone who owns either of Jack Ziebell (65) or Shaun Higgins (60) would’ve been crushed by their scores.

 

Geelong made it another win down at GMHBA, and now have a tough matchup vs Brisbane at the Gabba to think about. Patrick Dangerfield did it all on the night in slippery conditions, putting up numbers of: 33 touches, 16 contested ball gets, 7 clearances, 3 tackles, 1 goal and 137 Supercoach points to lead all players on the ground. Quinton Narkle (123) shone in his first senior game of the year, having 21 touches, 4 tackles, 6 clearances and 2 goals on the night, while another small forward, this time in Miers (101), also shone with 3 goals and 17 disposals himself. Tom Stewart didn’t waste any of his 19 touches to finish with 119 points, with other 100+ point scorers were the 2 goal Hawkins (104), the 27 touch, 200 gamer Duncan (107) and the bit of everything Blicavs (102). Still there were 3 players in the 90’s, including the 23 touch, 10 tackle game of Ablett (98), Tim Kelly’s 24 touch, 7 tackle, 96 point game and lastly Henry’s 95 point game. No really bad Supercoach relevant scores for the Cats, even with Menegola’s 86, although anyone who may own Selwood (63) or Atkins (45) won’t like the look of those scores.

 

Question from the game: For any historians, when was the last time 2 sides (GWS, North) have scored their lowest score ever in the same round? Barring of course 1897

 

Supercoach query: What’s happened to Cunningtons scoring?

 

Essendon vs Western Bulldogs

 

Three goals in the last 5 minutes helped Essendon avoid the same score as North Melbourne, a small silver lining after a 104 point loss. There’s barely anything to mention from a Supercoach perspective here apart from Merrett’s lone hand of 33 touches, 8 marks and 6 tackles landing him a score of 116. Redman used his 16 touches at 87% DE to score 97, while Shiel kicked the Bombers first goal within 15 seconds, as well as picking up 23 touches to score 92. No one went into the 80’s, with Ambrose’s score of 79 being the next best. Surprisingly, Baguley kicked 2 goals up forward to be the only multiple goal scorer for the Dons, on what was a dismal night for them. If anyone still has them for cash generation, the Clarke’s scored 68 (Dylan) and 60 (Zac) apiece.

 

21 goals in a row the Dogs kicked, who at one point, led the game by 125+ points, the win keeping them intact to snatch a finals spot. Obviously some massive Supercoach scoring for them, led by their star studded midfield. The highest score of the match went to Josh Dunkley, who had 39 touches (23 contested), 6 clearances and a goal to score 152 points, while 2nd and 3rd spots went to Macrae (137) and McLean (133). Macrae had another stellar game of 38 touches, 8 tackles and a goal for his score, with McLean kicking 3 goals amongst his 23 touches to record, by far, his best score of the season. Even still there were some very good scores from there on, including Hunter’s 34 touch, 127 point performance, Suckling’s 22 touch (95 DE%) 112 and English’s all around ruckman game of 105. From there, four players scored in the 90’s, including Lipinski/Bontempelli (99), Dale (93) and Hayes (90), with other serviceable scores came from Naughton (89) and Smith/Johannisen (86). Multiple goal-scorers went the way of McLean, Dale, Dickson and Schache (3 each) and Naughton/Hayes (2 each).

 

Question from the game: Can Essendon recover and win 1 of their next 2 to stay in the 8?

 

Supercoach query: How many took Dunkley/Macrae with the C after the failures of Gawn and Grundy?

 

St Kilda vs Fremantle

 

A last gasp win for the Saints, with big efforts at either end of the ground securing them their 9th win of the year. Seb Ross top scored for the winning team, racking up 28 touches and laying 9 tackles for his 129, while Dan Hanneberry joined him in the 120’s (122) for his 23 touch, 6 tackle, 2 goal game. Shane Savage joined the two mentioned above in the club of 120’s, using his 23 touches at 78% DE for the day, while the others in 100+ scoring were youngsters Dunstan (101) and Clark (111). The good news story of the day was the successful return of Jack Steven (95), who had 22 touches and 3 goals in a brilliant display, with others in the 90’s being Billings (90), Long (92) and Battle (94), who took the match saving mark. Other mentionable things from the Saints side was Membrey’s 2 goals, Bruce’s match winner, Coffeild’s injury and Marshall’s 81.

 

Fremantle couldn’t make it 2 wins on the trot, losing late by 3 points. Nat Fyfe was dominant all game, having 35 touches, 5 marks, 7 clearances and 2 goals for his 145 points, a great return for anyone who captained him. Aaron Sandilands is still looking like a solid player in 2019, having 12 touches, 6 tackles and 32 hitouts in his score of 107, while just under him was the 28 touch Langdon on 104. Brayshaw (95) and Switkowski (96) played good games, but from there scores dip away, with plenty of players in the 50-80 range. Walters (56) and Mundy (68) were the most popular picks who didn’t perform, while Matera was the other multiple goal scorer bar Fyfe.

 

Question from the game: Best game of the round?

 

Supercoach query: Did I put the mickey on Marshall last week?

 

Carlton vs Richmond

 

Richmond won a hard fought, wet slippery game at the MCG on Sunday afternoon to the tune of 28 points. Although he wasn’t the leading scorer for his club, Shane Edwards gets the first mention as it was his 250th game, and boy was it one to remember. The premiership Tiger had a career high 152 points in his milestone game, courtesy of 27 touches (13 contested), 6 marks, 9 tackles while running at a very good 74% DE. Beating his score though, was another premiership Tiger by the name of Jack Graham, who also had a career best score of 161, due to his 4 first-half goals, 14 tackles and 22 touches. Four other Tigers hit triple figures, so in no particular order they were: Prestia (107), Ellis (110), Vlastuin (103) and Houli (102). A plethora of players were in the 80’s, the most popular being Lambert (85), but unfortunately anyone who was counting on rookies Stack (43) and Chol (27) were left disappointed. Multiple goal kickers bar Graham were the big boys Riewoldt and Lynch.

 

I didn’t watch any of this game but from looking at the scoreworm, Carlton left themselves too much to do in the second half. Ed Curnow was simply fantastic Supercoach wise, notching up 148 points from his 34 touch (22 contested), 8 tackle game, with the next best being old-timer Thomas (138), who had 32 touches himself as well as 7 tackles to put in a great display. Patrick Cripps kept up his Himalayan like second half of the season, this week notching up 134 points on the back of a his 37 touches (21 contested) and 7 tackles on the day. Another old timer in Simpson (105) played well with 33 touches, but from there scores drop away for the Blues, with defender Liam Jones (89) being the next best scorer. Mitch McGovern was the only multiple goal kicker for them.

 

Question from the game: With two rounds to go, should Carlton’ 2019 be considered a success?

 

Supercoach query: Can Cripps be trusted with the C over the next two weeks?

 

West Coast vs Adelaide

 

The Eagles held on for a 10 point win to wrap up the Round 21 action. Jack Darling kicked 3 goals, laid 7 tackles, picked up 16 touches and hauled in 9 marks to lead the Eagles scoring with 130 points. Twin 113’s came next to both Sheed and Rioli, the former having 26 touches and a goal, while the latter had 21 touches, 7 tackles and a goal himself. Tom Hickey (109) overran the returning Jacobs in the second half to have 15 touches and 24 hitouts, while reliable midfielder Gaff had 29 touches for his 104. Elliot Yeo (98) and Tom Barrass (94) also returned respectable scores, but those with Hurn (56) were not left happy. Jake Waterman (80) and Oscar Allen (88) continued their impressive seasons with 3 goals each to be the other multiple goal scorers bar Darling.

 

For Adelaide the loss leaves them out of the eight on percentage and face two tough matches against Collingwood and the Bulldogs to get back that spot. Matt Crouch was utterly ridiculous on the day, picking up a massive 43 touches (18 contested), 9 clearances and 4 tackles to notch a career high score of 161. His brother Brad (103) was also prolific on the day, having 35 touches, laying 6 tackles and kicking a goal, while Gibbs (92) was also good with 26 disposals. The real positive from this game was the 5 goal haul of highly talented youngster Darcy Pogarty (81), who now seems to be finally getting regular senior appearances, while other good performances were the returning Jacobs (84), Laird (89), Mackay (82) and the injury affected Sloane (80), who finished his day early during the third quarter. 

 

Question from the game: Can Adelaide recover and regain 8th spot?

Supercoach query: Is Darling a unique option for Lycett?

---

Leave a comment / Scroll to bottom