Round 18 Review

 

Just going to make a note early here that I’ll be reducing the rookie section of these reviews. Post-bye, rookies become less relevant, hence the change. I shall though still be covering debuts, sophomore games etc, as well as scores worth a mention, say 75+.

Sydney (11.12.78) defeated Western Bulldogs (11.10.76)

1. Tim English (171). The first of many VC options on Thursday night, English cashed in on the raw Swans ruck lineup, touching them up with 22 touches (11 contested), 10 clearances and 60 hitouts, with plenty down to the dominant Bulldogs midfield.
2. Tom Liberatore (149). Reaped the rewards of English dominating, finishing his own game with 11 clearances, 31 touches (20 contested) plus 7 tackles and 1 goal. Good VC option too.
3. Marcus Bontempelli (131). Finished 40 points off English but was ultra popular as VC, so no complaints with his score. 2 majors, 31 disposals, 8 tackles and 646 metres gained.
4. Ed Richards (125). Nice and clean with his use across half-back, he dropped a season high score from 28 touches and 11 marks.
5. Errol Gulden (117). The only Swan to break into the top 5 despite the win, Gulden was everywhere early, ultimately finishing up with 30 touches, 7 tackles and a game best 773 metres gained.

Other 100+ scores: Aaron Naughton (114), Tom McCartin (100)

Disappointment: Mills has been such a popular pickup but he just got thrown around everywhere in this game, with no consistent time anywhere on the ground. His score of 84 wasn’t that bad though considering he sat at 50 on 3QT.

Rookies: Only thing to note here was that Corey Warner played game #2, finishing on 24 from 3 kicks and 3 tackles.

Injuries: A couple of other rookies were subbed out, with Melican suffering a hamstring while O’Donnell a concussion. High draft pick Darcy also finished on the bench with a corkie.

Melbourne (16.9.105) defeated Brisbane (16.8.104)

1. Max Gawn (215). No Grundy on Friday, so Gawn just had it all to himself, literally. Second double ton and best score of his career, the Melbourne skipper dropped a 29 touch (21 contested), 10 clearance, 1 goal, 5 mark, 7 tackle, 39 hitout game right into coaches minds. Only 1 Clanger. If Grundy doesn’t return, Briggs-Gawn will be hella popular. (Also saw someone pass up Tim English VC to C Gawn, just wanted to note that).
2. Christian Petracca/Jack Viney (113). Another week up forward for Petracca, and he’ll probably stay there if he keeps slotting 4 goals a game. Admittedly a hybrid role though, he still found 26 touches (16 contested) and 7 clearances. Viney kept his mad form trotting along, leading the midfield with 25 touches and 8 tackles plus sneaking in 1 goal.
3. Oscar McInerney (112). Another good score from the Big O, as he found ton number seven for the year from 33 hitouts, 13 disposals, 6 tackles and 1 goal.
4. Will Ashcroft (102). Third ton on the trot from Ashcroft who could well hit 500K once price updates come through. Used it well, with no turnovers from his 17 touches. Also had 1 goal and 5 tackles.
5. Jake Bowey (96). With big scores above him, Bowery finished the top 5 thanks to 19 touches, 1 goal and no clangers.

Other 100+ scores: Zilch

Disappointment: Premium Neale (75) was super quiet, don’t know if he had a tag but only 19 touches @ 47% DE, which is rare for him.

Rookies: As mentioned above, just going to cover solid performances/debut/bubble games rather than the entire rookie bunch from now on, as the majority are out of teams (although maybe not this week). Fletcher (80) was nice again, running at 100% from his 14 touches and 1 goal, while Wilmot has actually made money every round this year and is now over 400K after another nice score of 87. Second gamer Taj Woewodin (54) slotted his first goal from 9 touches and is on the bubble this week.

Injuries: Petty was the sub for the Dees with back injury, while Berry (seemingly tactical) was the sub for the Lions.

 

Collingwood (18.5.113) defeated Fremantle (10.7.67)

1. Taylor Adams (144). An equal career high score for Adams, as he played a hybrid M/F role, finishing with 23 touches, 7 marks, 9 tackles and 2 goals for the game.
2. Josh Daicos (133). Led the scoring for the brothers this week, finishing with 31 touches, 6 marks, 7 clearances and 1 goal for his eleventh ton of the year, averaging 100 with some rounding.
3. Nick Daicos (130). Popular VC/C choice and didn’t let coaches down, doing his usual with 36 touches (11 contested), 7 clearances, 1 goal and team high 568 metres gained.
4. Darcy Moore (128). Intercepted everything as the Dockers did their homework way too late, scoring his eighth ton of the year from 19 touches, 8 marks and no clangers.
5. Neil Erasmus (126). With Serong out, the Dockers had some midfield minutes to spread out and Erasmus made the most of them. Finished with career highs in pretty much every major statistical category. 26 disposals, 13 kicks/handballs each, 4 clearances, 10 tackles and 13 contested touches.

Other 100+ scores: Jaeger O’Meara (118), Andrew Brayshaw (114), Luke Ryan (102), Jordan De Goey (101)

Disappointment: Really tough to find one here but a mixture of ruck time/the Pies number 1 ruckman out meant that surely Jackson (93) could’ve tonned up. Harsh one that.

Rookies: Corey Wagner played his third game here, first since round 6. Not a bad outing, scoring 59 from 15 touches and 9 marks. First game too for Joel Hamling (169K) in a hot minute, scoring 46 from 11 disposals.

Injuries: Massive injury woes for the Dockers with ruckman Darcy going down again with and ankle, while defender Walker was in heaps of pain with a knee issue. The Pies got through unscathed, subbing out Pendlebury who was playing a great game.

 

Gold Coast (11.11.77) defeated St Kilda (8.3.51)

1. Wil Powell (137). His first ton since round 8, but Powell has shown that he can score very well when the Suns are up. 26 touches here, plus 10 marks and 6 tackles to top score.
2. Jarrod Witts (126). Under the radar this year, Witt’s is averaging a nice 110 with ten tons to his name. 15 touches, 6 tackles, 39 hitouts meant that he won the ruck battle.
3. Sam Flanders (125). I’d love to know where this was to start the year. Last month reads 100, 119, 96 and then this game of 33 touches (13 contested) plus 7 marks and 5 clearances.
4. Brandon Ellis (113). Ran the outside all day to find 23 touches and 6 marks plus some really good DE of 87%.
5. Rory Atkins (112). Best score of Rory’s season after a poor month saw him lose 40K. 32 touches here, to pair with 716 metres gained plus 8 marks and 2 goals.

Other 100+ scores: Jack Steele (105), Touk Miller (101)

Disappointment: Horrid, horrid scores from usually reliable picks Sinclair (67) and Marshall (58).

Rookies: First gamer for the Saints here was Peris (66). No clangers from his 13 touches at a HFF, also had 4 tackles.

Injuries: Both teams seem to have got through unscathed here, Phillipou and Oea the subbed individuals.

 

Carlton (18.14.122) defeated Port Adelaide (10.12.72)

1. Dan Houston (176). Despite getting hammered, Houston led this games scoring with a monster game of 41 touches plus 9 marks, 6 tackles  and a game high 15 contested touches and 661 metres gained. Cater high score.
2. Jack Silvagni (141). Got the Blues rolling with the first two goals, eventually finishing with 4 of them from his 19 touches, 5 marks, 4 tackles and 10 hitouts. Career high score too.
3. Mitch McGovern (115). Used the ball @ 81% DE with no clangers, which meant his 21 touch game netted the number 3 spot.
4. Tom De Koning (109). Without being his biggest follower, probably TDK’s best career game. Was a career high score from 13 touches, 6 tackles and 33 hitouts so maybe I’m correct?
5. Connor Rozee (108). Did what he could, finishing with 2 goals from 28 touches plus 6 tackles and 6 clearances to round out the top 5.

Other 100+ scores: Patrick Cripps (107), Nic Newman (106), Kane Farrell (103), Charlie Curnow (101)

Disappointment: Mid 80’s from Walsh/Docherty (87) and Butters (84) weren’t welcome on Saturday afternoon.

Rookies: Nothing to cover here. If Fogarty (66) or Cunningham (60) were needed to cover this week, well at least it wasn’t a donut.

Injuries: Big news from this one was McKay going down with a knee injury, waiting to hear on severity, while Byrne-Jones had a concussion.

 

Geelong (18.14.122) defeated Essendon (7.3.45)

1. Tom Hawkins (127). The dominant forward on the night, Hawkins slotted 5 goals from his 16 touches and 8 marks, moving him into 3rd place for the Coleman.
2. Gryan Miers (120). 100th game for Miers was a memorable one as he finished with a career high score from 26 touches (12 contested) plus 5 marks, 5 tackles and 1 goal.
3. Tom Atkins (117). Central midfield suits Atkins as he finished with 28 touches (16 contested), 9 clearances and 12 tackles, third ton in a row for him.
4. Zach Guthrie (114). Best score of the younger Guthrie’s season here, courtesy of 24 touches with no clangers plus 474 metres gained off half-back.
5. Mark Blicavs/Max Holmes (112). The Swiss Army knife dropped another ton, his eighth of the year. 2 goals, 19 touches, 5 tackles and 8 hitouts meant that he couldn’t be split from Holmes who had 33 touches and 8 marks plus a game best 659 metres gained.

Other 100+ scores: Tom Stewart (104).

Disappointment: 200th game for Zach Merrett was met with a 77 point loss, a hard tag and just 69 points. Martin (58) well down on recent form.

Rookies: Nice game from Nick Bryan (200K, R/F) before his first price rise. 14 touches, 25 hitouts, 1 goal and a career high score of 87. If you have Mullin, at least his subbed on 4 met his BE of 2.

Injuries: Laverde was on and off before an ankle injury saw him subbed for the Bombers, while Dangerfield was subbed off the the Cats in a tactical move.

 

Adelaide (8.9.57) defeated by GWS (10.11.71)

1. Rory Laird (151). Great game from Laird but be aware that Nicks came out on Sunday saying he’ll be monitored due to an AC joint knock. Powered through it during the game, finishing with 33 touches (15 contested) with 1 goal, 11 tackles and nice DE of 84%. But once again, keep an eye on teams.
2. Sam Taylor (130). Much like the other great intercept defenders of the league, can pop off for a big score semi-regularly. Third ton on the trot here from 21 touches (14 contested) with 6 marks and no clangers.
3. Jordan Dawson (126). Great outing from the Crows skipper in the middle, finding 27 touches with 7 marks and 7 tackles for the game.
4. Lachie Whitfield (115). Old style Whitfield here as he found 28 touches and 6 marks with fairly clean use of 82% off half-back.
5. Josh Kelly (114). Got tagged so far out of the game last week, but classy as always here with 28 touches (21 contested) with 9 clearances, 6 tackles and 1 goal.

Other 100+ scores:  Chayce Jones (103)

Disappointment: Quieter night for Keays (75), while a big second half couldn’t save Briggs (79), who had 8 clangers.

Rookies: Nothing to cover here, average scores and no newbies.

Injuries: Also no one officially on the injury report, although a reminder of the Laird news. McAdam and Cadman those who were subbed.

 

North Melbourne (6.4.40) defeated by Hawthorn (12.16.88)

1. James Worpel (136). Dominated the midfield game with 32 touches (13 contested), 1 goal, 5 marks, 6 tackles and over 700 metres gained.
2. Bailey Scott (135). Career best for Scott who had a game best 796 metres gained from his 34 touches off half-back, plus 8 marks and 5 tackles. Second ton of the year.
3. Luke Davies-Uniacke (129). Very cheap for a guy averaging 110, with five scores above 120 from his ten games. 26 touches (12 contested), 10 marks, 9 tackles, 6 clearances and 1 goal in this contest.
4. Aidan Corr (126). First ton of the year for Corr who has popped off for big scores in his 133 game career. Ran at 88% DE down back from his 26 touches, as the North backline were hounded all afternoon.
5. Will Day (120). Rounded out the top five with this 26 touch, 7 tackle effort, which unlike previous weeks, didn’t have any clangers to hold his score back.

Other 100+ scores: Karl Amon/Conor Nash (113), Jarman Impey (109), Conor MacDonald (105), Harry Sheezel (103)

Disappointment: On return, Sicily (58) had a combination of little to no ball down his end, but also close attention with a forward tag.

Rookies: Second game from Harvey in this one, competed well with 13 touches to score 39 and is a fair chance to see out the season in the seniors. Sheezel (103) had a second half tag but still provided a welcome score.

Injuries: Rookie forward Greene had a knee issue that saw him eventually subbed out in the third, while Wardlaw (hamstring) and Zurhaar (calf) were the casualties for the Roos.

 

West Coast (8.12.60) defeated by Richmond (14.14.98)

1. Daniel Rioli (129). Top scored with an elite game off half-back, finding 31 touches and wasting hardly any with DE of 96% for his seventh ton of the year.
2. Ivan Soldo (126). Just the second game of the year for Soldo, but a career high score thanks to 1 goal, 11 touches, 5 marks, 5 tackles and 41 hitouts.
3. Tim Taranto/Dustin Martin (117). Raw two weeks for Taranto but back into the tons here thanks to 27 touches (12 contested) with 8 tackles and 1 goal, while Dusty was damaging with 23 touches, 10 marks and 2 goals.
4. Tim Kelly (111). In the doom and gloom of West Coasts season, Kelly has been sublime, this his eighth ton thanks to 27 touches and a team high 549 metres gained.
5. Noah Balta (106). Good game from Balta to round out the top 5, securing it with 17 touches and 550 metres gained.

Other 100+ scores: Shai Bolton (105), Alex Witherden (103).

Disappointment: I guess Hopper (84) if you held him, two largely irrelevant SuperCoach relatable teams in this game.

Rookies: Second gamer Banks (54) didn’t have any turnovers from his 10 touches and is the only notable one here. Maric (67) was a late in, might’ve saved some teams from a donut.

Injuries: Ginbey was out pretty early with a hamstring, with all of Barrass, McGovern and Allen sore at some point. Rioli Jnr the tactical for the Tigers.

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