Round 1 Review

Melbourne (14.13.97) defeated Western Bulldogs (11.5.71)

1. Christian Petracca (163). Torched the Bulldogs yet again and delivered a stellar opening score for his coaches (12% ownership). 38 touches (16 contested), to go along with 2 goals, 9 clearances and 869 metres gained propelled him to, surely, three Brownlow votes.
2. Bailey Smith (139). Slightly forgotten about this year without that DPP that he’s been carrying previously, but this kids a gun and will probably be within the Supercoach elite before we know it. Lead the Dogs scoring with 33 touches, 528 metres gained and an impressive 11 tackles.
3. Jack Macrae (133). Standard operations from Macrae as he put together a classy display of 39 touches (15 contested) with 11 clearances. 50% started with him, but I wasn’t one of those and I’m already kicking myself.
4. Tim English (123). With Martin a late out, English solo rucked and was fantastic against the imposing duo of Gawn and Jackson. Had 20 touches at 85% with 6 marks and 18 hitouts, although I don’t expect him to get 8 frees for every week. Great option for that R/F swing.
5. Josh Dunkley (117). About what we expected from Dunkley who played a lot of midfield by then end of the game. 29 touches and 5 tackles rounded out the top 5.

Other 100+ scores: Bailey Dale (116), Clayton Oliver (112), Aaron Naughton (108), Marcus Bontempelli (105), Caleb Daniel/Ed Langdon (103)

Disappointment: This almost has to fall to big Max Gawn for his first up 93. Did the same last year in round 1 so don’t panic, plus he’s unlikely to give away 6 free kicks a week like he did on Wednesday.

Rookies: Joel Smith (177K) got the nod in round 1 and had 11 touches and 5 marks for his 48, while Bedford (123K) was subbed on pretty early for 9 touches and 46 points. Unlike previous years, not many bargain based options between these clubs.

Injuries: Demon defender Christian Salem was subbed off super early with a knee issue that will now require surgery, bit of tough luck there for the 3% of people that picked him as a POD. Further carnage came with Bontempelli suffering an ankle that has him doubtful for round 2, while apparently Daniel and Dale also had scans on Thursday but couldn’t find any word surrounding that as the weekend closed out. Keep an eye on the teams.

Carlton (14.17.101) defeated Richmond (11.10.76)

1. Sam Docherty (144). This guy was the first picked defender a couple of years ago, and still clearly has the scoring capacity to go back there again. 26 touches at 96% DE for the Doc on Thursday night, while his 1 goal will surely be one of the feel good moments of 2022.
2. Adam Saad (139). Another huge score from a defender here and this time it’s the speedy, long kicking Saad. 21 touches at 95% that gained 499 metres and no clangers boosted his score.
3. Patrick Cripps (132). Will we see the return of Cripps best this season? Upon one game, it seems so as the skipper kicked 3 goals, had 30 touches and had a team high 679 metres gained. Wasn’t as handball happy as he has been in the past either, fingers crossed there’s good things to come.
4. George Hewett (131). Sub 400K but it’ll jump by round 4 if he can produce similar to these numbers again. 28 touches (13 contested) with 1 goal and solid DE of 78% provided coaches with a great score.
5. Matthew Kennedy (130). A career game from Kennedy who has done this many times in the past, so hopefully he can stay on the park this year. 33 touches (14 contested) with 8 clearances, 4 tackles and 1 goal for him to round out a dominant display of Blues scoring.

Other 100+ scores: Adam Cerra (120), Jayden Short (109), Dustin Martin (108), Shari Bolton (101)

Disappointment: Charlie Curnow hasn’t found much consistency over the past few years, but hopeful owners would’ve expected more that 7 touches and 36 points. He’s much better than that and it’s round 1, so everyone gets a free pass don’t they?

Rookies: Plenty of rookies to run through here. Gibcus was solid down back for the majority of the game, finishing with 10 touches and 5 marks for 56 points, a promising debut. Ralphsmith has had his supporters in the pre-season but after being selected as the starting sub, he was never going to return a wanted score, only pulling together 36. Durdin for the Blues was lively and snagged 2 goals from 14 touches for 71 points, while a couple of backs in McGovern and McDonald scored 70 each, a solid return for their price point.

Injuries: Poor Dion Prestia just can’t stay on the park, which is a shame because he was on fire early, scoring 42 early in the second quarter before being subbed out. Jack Riewoldt reportedly has a broken finger which may see him miss time, while for the Blues it was a couple of heavy knocks to Weitering, McGovern and Newman that will see them nursed through the week. All finished the game though so fingers crossed they make it through.

St Kilda (12.13.85) defeated by Collingwood (15.12.102)

1. Patrick Lipinski (133). Career best score from the former Dog who looked brilliant in a full time midfield role, picking up 30 touches (13 contested), 4 tackles and 1 goal.
2. Jack Hayes (127). What a ripping first game from the former SANFL star. Was super with 3 goals from 18 touches and 10 marks for the game, with great DE of 88%. Initially I thought his place in the team was dependent on Ryders fitness, but surely he can’t be dropped anytime soon after that effort? 
3. Rowan Marshall/Brodie Grundy (124). The ruckman couldn’t be split. Marshall didn’t have as much love since he lost that F/R, but he’s a solid POD all the same, he had 21 touches with 4 tackles and 25 hitouts, while Grundy got better as the game went on to finish 17 touches and 37 hitouts.
4. Brad Crouch (112). A solid game throughout the middle from Crouch who returned a 27 touch effort to go along with 6 tackles. Not consistent enough in traditional Supercoach but worth a punt in draft leagues.
5. Jordan De Goey (111). Overcame some pre season injury concerns to star in this game, splitting his time between the middle and up forward. Finished with 2 goals and 27 touches while running at a solid 70% DE.

Other 100+ scores: Jade Gresham (109), Jack Sinclair/Taylor Adams (100)

Disappointment: While Steeles score of 87 hurt a bit, he still had 28 touches and 7 tackles, which means in the next few weeks when he doesn’t have 9 clangers, he won’t post sub 100 scores. The biggest disappointment in this game and it was touched on in the game chat from Friday night, was that Crisp didn’t seem his 570K price tag. Only 16 touches and 69 points but just couldn’t get near it. It is still just one score though. 

Rookies: The pies unveiled father son pick Nick Daicos and he didn’t disappoint. Compiled 27 touches at 70% DE across the back half and in the middle to score a very good 98, something that will hopefully come very regularly. Mitch Owens debuted too but the same can’t be said for his output, only 6 touches and 2 points for him. Hopefully better scores to come! Wanganeen-Milera was the sub and didn’t get activated.

Injuries: None to speak of but both Adams and Moore spent some notable time on the bench.

Geelong (20.18.138) defeated Essendon (11.6.72)

1. Patrick Dangerfield (155). Elite game from Danger who, at 567K, might well be a steal if he can be at his damaging best on a consistent basis. Had 31 touches (19 contested) to go along with 1 goal and 511 metres gained for a stellar round 1 performance.
2. Tom Hawkins (148). One of the most consistent key position players over the past few years showed no signs of slowing down in round 1, notching up 100 before halftime and ultimately finishing with 17 touches, 4 goals and 8 marks.
3. Tyson Stengle (120). Slightly forgotten about with all the mid-price hype in the forward line this season, the small forward turned up in round 1 with a 4 goal effort from 20 touches to entrench himself further into the best 22. Scores will fluctuate, but he’s got money to make.
4. Nick Martin (114). We thought Haye’s debut was brilliant, well Martin may have outdone him with this 27 touch, 5 goal effort that also included 10 marks while running at 88% DE. If you had him and Hayes at F7/8 (or R3), get ready to see that team value jump come round 3.
5. Zach Merrett (113). Found plenty of it playing midfield and a little bit of rotation at half-back, finishing with 39 touches of the pill, although only 7 contested touches hurt his score. About what we’d expect from him.

Other 100+ scores: Tom Cutler (104), Rhys Stanley/Tom Stewart (103), Dylan Shiel (101)

Disappointment: Running with a bit of a theme here, it was premium defender Ridley who struggled in this game, only registering 17 touches and 68 points.

Rookies: Geelong sub Evans is priced at 123K and came on as the sub, picking up 8 touches and 1 goal for 22 points, while Baldwin finished on 29 from his 7 touches. 

Injuries: Poor Kyle Langford got injured very early in this contest, only lasting about 5 minutes before his hamstring went ping. Jeremy Cameron was the other sub, he started on fire scoring 54 early in the second but limped off after. Rookie De Koning looked assured on the field but a head knock ended his day and will probably be missing round 2. Ratugolea, Cox and Laverde all spent time on the bench but played on.

GWS (13.14.92) defeated by Sydney (17.10.112)

1. Luke Parker (167). A fourth Brett Kirk medal now for Parker after he took over this game when it mattered most. Kicked 5 goals for the day from his 21 touches, as well as laying 5 tackles for a career best score in game 236. He may not have as much appeal as others around his price but is a safe bet for what you’re spending IMO.
2. Tom Green (164). Talking about career games, Green could well be in for a breakout season. There were a couple of career highs on the weekend in terms of disposals (31), tackles (7) and of course Supercoach score, but he also kicked 2 goals and had 17 contested touches to round it all out.
3. Isaac Heeney (141). The pre-season hype looks to have been real as Heeney was one of the Swans best with 3 goals and 25 touches to go along with 6 tackles in a hybrid role. Wish he hadn’t burnt me so much in the past so I could’ve picked him this year!
4. Tim Taranto/Matt Flynn/James Rowbottom (119). There was a bit of doubt with Taranto leading into the season, but if he can produce 28 touch, 1 goal efforts regularly that’ll subside pretty quickly. Flynn has shown that he can score well enough as a solo ruck and did so again with 17 touches and 30 hitouts, while Rowbottom has Supercoach elite written all over his gamestyle, he had 18 touches (13 contested) with 10 tackles, gives me reminders of prime Matt Priddis/Andrew Swallow games.
5. Josh Kelly/Ollie Florent (116). Kelly has the potential to be a top 8 midfielder, we all know that and his round 1 performance was very encouraging, as he picked up 27 touches at 85% DE. Florent has a breakout about him, he’s never average over 76 before but could jump to that 90 range is he has 20 touch, 3 goal games on the regular.

Other 100+ scores: Harry Perryman (109), Tom Hickey (100)

 Disappointment: Running with a bit of a trend, it was Whitfield who disappointed in this game. Didn’t get to see it but he may have been tagged in the second half, as he only added 17 points from his halftime score of 54 to finish on 71.

Rookies: Backline rookie-but-not-really-rookie Paddy McCartin did nothing wrong in his debut, finishing with 14 touches and 6 marks for a respectable score of 70, while midfielders Stephens (59, 16 touches) and debutant Sheldrick (43, 8 touches) should surely see another game in the best 22. Not much to talk about for GWS, there cheapest player was Riccardi at 230K, but i’ll mention Coniglio here since everyone pretty much has him, he had 20 touches, 1 goal and 80 points.

Injuries: Seems like existing prospect McInerney had a knee issue very late in the contest, late enough that no sub was made.

Brisbane (11.14.80) defeated Port Adelaide (10.6.69)

1. Travis Boak (149). Just a splendid game from the Port Adelaide champion as he found 32 touches of the ball (19 contested) and kicked 1 goal to be one of his sides best. Might be old but don’t count him out by any means, could average 105-110.
2. Dan Houston (144). Career best numbers of 36 touches, 27 kicks and 12 marks came in this game for Houston, who has always shown big scoring potential. Also snagged 2 goals and had a game high 775 metres gained.

3. Lachie Neale (140). More than half the starting teams have him and the rest will be scrambling to get him before his price goes past 600K. 31 touches (15 contested) with 6 tackles and 7 clearances for the former Brownlow medalist.

4. Oscar McInerney (122). Despite sharing the ruck duties with Fort, the Big O showed he is a viable option, especially for draft leagues. Had 13 touches and 1 goal to pair with his 29 hitouts.
5. Zak Butters (114). Looked to be in some danger early after a head knock but played on without any signs of it, collecting 27 touches (13 contested) along with 5 tackles and 8 clearances.

Other 100+ scores: Darcy Byrne-Jones (113), Marcus Adams (106), Joe Daniher/Ollie Wines (101)

Disappointment: Not an ideal start for any of those who started premium Lions Rich (71) or Lyons (87). Also the 3% of coaches who started with Rozee wouldn’t have been pleased with his return of 25.

Rookies: Jackson Mead performed pretty well with a 10 touch, 3 tackle game against an experienced Lions midifield, finishing with 52 points. No rookies lined up for the Lions, but mid-price options in Rayner (50), Berry (67) and Answerth (69) played their parts in the win.

Injuries: Trent McKenzie was stretchered off late in the game with a bad looking knee injury. If it is the end of the Cannon, congrats on a solid career between 2 clubs. Durrsma looked to have a collarbone/shoulder injury and was subbed out early in the contest, while Gray and Rozee spent time on the bench but played out the game. Lions skipper Zorko was subbed off leading into the final quarter, but Berry overcame a shoulder issue to finish the game.

Hawthorn (11.12.78) defeated North Melbourne (8.10.58)

1. Luke McDonald (140). Super super game from McDonald down back, throwing it back to his premium 2020 days. Had 27 touches (24 kicks) at 88% DE across half-back and also hauled in 12 marks to star on Sunday afternoon.
2. Aaron Hall (129). Any pre-season doubt was quickly extinguished as Hall found 31 touches of the football across half-back to gain a game best 869 metres. Also grabbed 11 marks for the day.
3. Luke Davies-Uniacke (125). Massive in the first half, and  did enough in the second to net this score. Had 27 touches (13 contested) and 9 tackles throughout the middle of the ground.
4. Jai Newcombe (119). Career best score, albeit in a short career so far. Either way, it was 18 touches and 1 goal with 3 tackles that propelled him into the top 5.
5. Changkuoth Jiath (118). One of the better cash cows last year started 2022 with a bang, picking up 24 touches at 83% across the back-half. 

Other 100+ scores: Jack Ziebell (115), Jy Simpkin (112), Mitch Lewis (110), James Sicily (105), Jack Gunston (104), Sam Frost (100)

Disappointment: After a predicted breakout season, not many would’ve been super pleased with Tarryn Thomas’s first up 48, while Tom Mitchell accumulated (29 touches) but only scored 80 points.

Rookies: MacDonald was impressive with a solid 16 touches on debut that netted him 48 points, but the slightly higher priced Ward couldn’t transfer his preseason scoring, only having 36 from 13 touches and finished the game with an ankle concern. Jason Horne-Francis did nothing wrong on debut, scoring 75 from 13 touches and 1 goal, while the lightly priced Xerri was very good with 18 hitouts, 10 touches and 79 points. Grainger-Barras is also fairly cheap and made it into a few starting teams, he’ll be a slow burn but a burn none the less, scoring 45 from 5 touches.

Injuries: Both teams lost some tall timber during the game, and both were to head knocks. For the Hawks it was Max Lynch, for the Kangaroos it was Ben McKay.

Adelaide (12.10.82) defeated by Fremantle (11.17.83)

1. Ben Keays (128). Picked up where he left off last season, finding plenty of the ball through the middle. 37 touches, 5 tackles, 615 metres gained and ohhhhh so close to a game winning goal.
2. Andrew Brayshaw (127). Looks set to push that average into the 115-120 range this season as one of the focal points of the Dockers midfield. Had 28 touches (12 contested), 6 marks and 7 tackles for the day.
3. Josh Rachele (118). How about the debuts this weekend? Rachele topped it all off with a 5 goal haul from 14 touches of the pill. Can the rising star have multiple nominations in the one weekend?
4. Rory Lobb (113). Bit of an allround performance propelled Lobb to his ton. 2 goals, 13 disposals, 6 marks and 9 hitouts in a variety of roles for the day.
5. Lachlan Sholl (108). Came on as the sub and did extremely well in just 62% game time, but I guess it helps when you’re one of the better runners in the competition. 23 touches (10 contested) and 9 marks for him.

Other 100+ scores: Matt Crouch (107), David Mundy (101)

Disappointment: Bit of talk over pre-season about the scoring potential of Ryan upon return of some key Docker defenders, but a first up score of just 70 kept the disappointment scores running for our premium backmen.

Rookies: First gamer Soligo found 5 touches while running around Adelaide oval, which ultimately secured him 29 points. Brodie (76) is pretty much a rookie and did well enough with 22 touches (13 contested) to go along with 7 tackles/clearances, while 180K backman Hinge overcame a corkie to score a 14 touch, 50.

Injuries: It was just McPherson who ended up on the bench this game, a hamstring ended his day.

West Coast (12.8.80) defeated by Gold Coast (16.11.107)

1. Matt Rowell (157). Massive game from Rowell as he rewarded his plethora of owners with a first up effort of 33 touches (22 contested), 6 tackles and 9 clearances. Was tough at it all game long.
2. Touk Miller (137). Rowell’s partner in crime had a stellar game of his own, picking up 29 touches (18 contested) to go with a game best 629 metres gained. Also had 6 tackles, had 8 clearances and an important goal.
3. Jarrod Witts (131). Tied Jack Hayes for the highest score by a ruckman in the first round with a 15 touch, 28 hitout, 1 goal effort. Tweaked his ankle but played on so fingers crossed he’s good to go in round 2!
4. Jeremy McGovern (115). Was a pillar down back for the Eagles who got hit with alot of inside 50’s. Took his usual intercept marks to boost his score, finishing with 19 touches and 7 marks.
5. Noah Anderson/Jack Redden (106). Another gun Suns midfielder made his way into the top 5 here, thanks to a 23 touch, 5 tackle effort. Could very easily push his average to triple figures this season. Redden lead a depleted Eagles midfield with 28 touches, 7 marks and 3 tackles.

Other 100+ scores: Will Powell/Jermaine Jones (105), Andrew Gaff (103)

Disappointment: Not a great start for those that picked up Naitanui (63) after Darcy didn’t get up, or those who went with Weller (53) up forward.

Rookies: West Coast had some young guys take the field with their injury list currently stacked, as well as some old faces return. Rioli made it into a few teams and scored about par with 56, while top up player Naish returned 63. Dixon will stay in the team for a few weeks still, but even his 7 touch, 1 goal, 42 point game wasn’t horrible, while Hough was alright on debut with 10 touches for 47 points. On the Suns side of things, Davies looks like a good pick up as he had 12 touches, 5 tackles and 1 goal for 90 points.

Injuries: Nothing to report from the last game of the round!

 

There we go! Round 1 done and dusted, what were your thoughts on the first weekend of footy? Let us know in the comments below.

 

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