There were no outstanding performances from this week’s rookies, with the highest score of the round going to the unheralded Jy Farrar with an 83 point effort as his Suns were pasted by the globetrotting Bulldogs. But most of the popular freshers continued to slowly build the bank and we can’t really ask for too much more than that.
Here’s a review of the rookie performances from Round 5. Players “on the bubble” are marked with an asterisk.
DEFENDERS
| Player | Club | Price | Score (avg) | BE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lachie JONES* | PTA | $139 800 | 69 (65) | -48 |
| Rhyan MANSELL* | RIC | $102 400 | 50 (47) | -33 |
| Lewis YOUNG* | WBD | $198 300 | 58 (69) | -22 |
| Jaxon PRIOR* | BRL | $123 900 | 65 (44) | -15 |
| Heath CHAPMAN | FRE | $255 700 (+$48.5K) | 54 (68) | 5 |
| Jacob KOSCHITZKE | HAW | $159 000 (+$17.3K) | 62 (44) | 9 |
| Lachie YOUNG (MID) | NTH | $293 600 (+$22.8K) | 73 (72) | 25 |
| Nikolas COX (FWD) | ESS | $289 700 (+$35.5K) | 39 (61) | 34 |
| Jordon BUTTS | ADE | $262 600 (+$31.8K) | 81 (60) | 42 |
| Sam DE KONING | GEE | $123 900 | 27 (27) | N/A |
| Mark KEANE | COL | $158 000 | 48 (48) | N/A |
| Zach REID | ESS | $166 800 | 53 (53) | N/A |
Goodbye for now: Guthrie, Parks, Winder
THE GOOD: Butts was an absolute rock in defence for the Crows, counting 7 intercepts among his 17 possessions at 82% efficiency, as well as six one percenters. That performance has given his cash gen the kick it needed and he can be held for at least one more week. The mostly under-rated Lachie Young continues to roll along in the besieged North backline, collecting 20 touches and six marks in his effort.
THE BAD: Jones had another very decent game with 17 possessions at 88%, so no problems there. But he did cop some bumps and bruises along the way and Port don’t play again until Sunday. Can we rely on everyone’s favourite bubble boy to back up again this weekend? These rolling team announcements are really starting to irritate!
THE UGLY: Cox came crashing back to earth after back-to-back 90s, reverting to his scoring from the first two rounds. 50% efficiency and 4 clangers in the sort of gluggy conditions that really don’t suit someone of his stature.
MIDFIELDERS
| Player | Club | Price | Score (avg) | BE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom POWELL | NTH | $278 300 (+$36.6K) | 74 (70) | -12 |
| Lachlan MCNEIL | WBD | $184 000 (+$18.1K) | 50 (45) | 20 |
| Charlie LAZZARO | NTH | $151 900 (+$4.9K) | 29 (31) | 25 |
| James JORDON | MEL | $217 900 (+$12.8K) | 76 (62) | 28 |
| Will PHILLIPS* | NTH | $202 700 (+$4.4K) | 41 (42) | 32 |
| Sam BERRY | ADE | $213 200 (+$9K) | 31 (54) | 43 |
| Errol GULDEN | SYD | $315 600 (+$13.9K) | 66 (97) | 51 |
Goodbye for now: Giro, Shipley
THE GOOD: Jordon bounced back after some non-descript efforts with 20 touches against the outmatched Hawks. That’s knocked his BE back to manageable levels and he’s a safe hold for the time being. Powell turned in another busy game with increasing midfield minutes, tallying 19 disposals (7 contested) at 78%. After a slowish start he looks to be one of the more reliable cash cows going around.
THE BAD: Gulden was the best of the vaunted Swans rookies on the weekend, but that’s faint praise as all were well down on recent efforts. Still, they face the Suns this week who gave up plenty of points at their last start, so maybe one more chance is in order?
THE UGLY: Berry really struggled to get into the game against Freo, with the tackling machine only recording one grapple for the entire game. His scoring suffered significantly as a result and he might be on the block this week.
RUCKS
| Player | Club | Price | Score (avg) | BE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt FLYNN | GWS | $227 500 | DNP (102) | -34 |
| Paul HUNTER | STK | $134 300 | 53 (44) | -9 |
| Tom FULLARTON (FWD) | BRL | $164 800 | DNP (40) | 8 |
| Josh TREACY* (FWD) | FRE | $102 400 | 16 (26) | 9 |
| Lloyd MEEK | FRE | $213 000 | DNP (57) | 23 |
| Tom CAMPBELL* (FWD) | NTH | $154 700 | 41 (31) | 29 |
| Jordon SWEET | WBD | $123 900 | 73 (73) | N/A |
It was a great week for the set-and-forgetters as Flynn was overlooked again, Meek was dropped and Treacy stunk up the Dockers’ forward line. A nice game from Sweet on debut, albeit against a ruckless Suns side, and he will probably miss this week anyway when Stef returns. Hunter was a late in for the injured Marshall and started well but faded late, much like his Saints.
FORWARDS
| Player | Club | Price | Score (avg) | BE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beau MCCREERY* | COL | $117 300 | 58 (57) | -45 |
| Mitchell LEWIS* | HAW | $199 500 | DNP (79) | -41 |
| Miles BERGMAN | PTA | $158 600 (+$34.7K) | 62 (50) | -27 |
| James ROWE | ADE | $211 000 (+$37.4K) | 79 (62) | -23 |
| Deven ROBERTSON* (MID) | BRL | $176 800 | DNP (59) | -15 |
| Conor STONE* | GWS | $144 300 | 59 (46) | -7 |
| Atu BOSENAVULAGI | NTH | $175 500 | 72 (72) | -2 |
| Alec WATERMAN | ESS | $148 400 (+$46K) | 27 (55) | 4 |
| Archie PERKINS (MID) | ESS | $189 800 (+$18.5K) | 56 (47) | 5 |
| Anthony SCOTT (MID) | WBD | $181 300 (+$27.4K) | 61 (46) | 19 |
| Michael FREDERICK | FRE | $235 100 (+$28.4K) | 69 (61) | 20 |
| Tyler BROCKMAN (MID) | HAW | $172 700 | DNP (43) | 28 |
| Harrison JONES | ESS | $173 600 (+$19.3K) | 30 (37) | 31 |
| Braeden CAMPBELL (MID) | SYD | $244 000 (-$14.1K) | 39 (59) | 53 |
| Chad WARNER | SYD | $331 100 (+$32.4K) | 50 (82) | 58 |
| Logan MCDONALD | SYD | $251 300 (-$11.4K) | 15 (57) | 93 |
| Jy FARRAR | GCS | $184 300 | 83 (83) | N/A |
| Finlay MACRAE (MID) | COL | $126 300 | 41 (41) | N/A |
Goodbye for now: Holmes, Dow, JJones
THE GOOD: Another lively game from Rowe, booting a couple of snags and generally looking dangerous around the contest. He’s still likely to drop a poor score at any time, but if you can stash him on the bench he has plenty of cash to make yet. Bosenavulagi played his first game at his new club and played very well in a halfback role, gathering 16 touches at 81% efficiency. Finally, Farrar played his first game for the year and was among the Suns’ best with 21 possessions and 8 marks. He’s a bit more expensive than other potential downgrades, but he got praise from the coach after the game so keep an eye on him!
THE BAD: It all came crashing down for the Swans rooks against GWS, with Warner, Campbell and McDonald all suffering under the blowtorch of the impressive Giants’ pressure game. But as mentioned, they do come up against the Suns next and that might be a good opportunity to bounce back.
THE UGLY: Waterman was the most popular trade in last week, but if you took a punt on him and put him on your field you would’ve been disappointed. Unsurprisingly (or not, depending on your sense of irony) Alec didn’t enjoy the wet conditions and only managed 5 touches.
Leave a comment / Scroll to bottom
Coaches yelling at Waterman during the downpour: “You were the chosen one!”
Does anyone have any info on Highmore. Has not been named as a E for the last 2 wks
and did not rate a mention in VFL report for the last rd.
Highmore had 16 possessions and 7 marks for Sandringham last week. If Webster is out he seems to be the obvious like-for-like replacement, but I can’t see him being named after not being in the best 26 for the past two weeks. I hope I’m wrong!
Ignored my gut instinct and traded out Daniher for waterman 🙁
Thoughts on Beau Mcreery – good JS as the pies need to start playing there young guns and has kicked goals
TU – bring him in
TD – waste of a downgrade
Yep, I like him – 100% effort and can find a goal too. Bucks should keep playing him
I didn’t mind Mcreery, and I may have blinkers on, but I thought MacRae looked ready made and was really impressed with his first outing. Looked to have the same type of game as his brother and will learn to accumulate faster, don’t know why but just feel he’s there as a mainstay. But who knows what Buck’s thinking.
Who to bring in?
TU Farrer (GCS)
TD Macrae (Coll)