Round 2 Review

Western Bulldogs (13.12.90) defeated by Carlton (16.6.102)

1. Patrick Cripps (162). Well well well, looks like Cripps is back to his old self! His ownership is sure to skyrocket now before the first price increase, after he pulled out another huge score thanks to 35 touches (23 contested), 11 clearances, 5 tackles, 2 goals, 503 metres gained and 82% DE. What are the chances he pulls out 65 next week when everyone brings him in? Always seems to be the way but fingers crossed I’m wrong!

2. Jack Macrae (142). Led the Bulldogs fightback in the second half in typical Macrae fashion. 35 touches (15 contested) with a team high 562 metres gained. Standard operations.

3. Tom Liberatore (131). Another guy who lifted in the second half, Libba recorded 22 touches (11 contested) with 6 tackles and 2 goals while running at 90% DE.

4. George Hewett (117). Huge game from Hewett again as his role seems pretty entrenched in the middle, but will still be interesting to see what its like when Cerra is in the lineup too. Personally, I dont think a guy who finds 32 touches (27 handballs though) with 18 of those being contested, along with 7 clearances and no clangers can be sent to any other role though. Score seems a tad rough tbh, but he did only gained 64 metres.

5. Charlie Curnow (113). Wasn’t flash last week but was as good as the difference up forward in this game, slotting 5 goals from 16 touches and 5 marks, while also leading the Blues with 514 metres gained.

Other 100+ scores: Adam Treloar (111), Matt Kennedy (107), Marcus Bontempelli (105), Harry McKay (102), Sam Docherty (100)

Disappointment: Crafty Bulldog Caleb Daniel found plenty of with 25 touches at 76% DE with just 2 clangers, so I think he was a tad hard done by with just 66 points. Not really a disappointment when you have 34 touches in a return game but Sam Walsh’s score of 90 (especially if something similar happens in round 3) may see him drop under that 600K barrier early in the season, a prime fallen premium candidate.

Rookies: Just a couple of rookies for the Blues in this one, with none of them really making a giant case. Durdin (24) couldn’t get involved the same way as last week and may make way for Jack Martin if he returns, while McGovern (40) and McDonald (41) played well but with the high scores in this game, couldn’t get over that 50 point mark.

Injuries: Speaking of McDonald, he was subbed out around half-time with a back concern, so maybe he would’ve had a decent 75-80 if he played the whole game. Naughton looked in some agony after a clash in the third but played out, while Crozier was subbed off in the third term and was looked after in the rooms from then on.

Sydney (17.5.107) defeated Geelong (10.17.77)

1. Callum Mills (147). After producing 84 last week, Mills reminded us that he is a viable POD with this 29 touch game through the middle. Also had 7 marks, 4 tackles and 1 goal while playing a tagging role.

2. Isaac Heeney (140). If last week tempted me even with the bad memories, this week confirmed that I’ll have to get him in. Snagged 5 goals to pair with 5 tackles and 21 touches to be a star of the game.

 

3. Bradley Close (138). Best ever game for Close who kicked a career high 4 goals from 18 touches of the ball. 5 tackles, 5 marks and no clangers rounded out a superb performance.

4. Chad Warner (123). After missing round 1, Warner produced a couple of career best marks here, including disposals (25), handballs (15), tackles (6) and Supercoach score. Also had 3 goal assists, one of which will go down in history.

5. Errol Gulden (114). Errol jogged our memories of his explosive debut last year with this 21 touch, 5 mark, 1 gaol game to round out the top 5.

1000. Lance Franklin (80). I have to give him a mention here. Had 10 touches, 7 marks and most importantly, 4 goals straight to send the SCG into pandemonium.

I also do have a couple of questions from this game, so chuck them in the comments down below if you feel like it!

1. Was anyone reading this at the ground? Or even better, able to run onto it?
2. Will we ever see this milestone reached again? (For context, I’m 24 and certain it never will while I’m around)
3. Will we ever see 100 goals in a season again to an individual? (I’m in the same mindset as above for this one)

Other 100+ scores: Mark Blicavs (108), Tom Stewart (103), Jake Lloyd (102)

Disappointment: A fair amount of underwhelming scores here. Dangerfield got tagged out of the game and only scored 59 points, while for the forwards it was Hawkins (33) who was blanketed, and Duncan (74), but I do expect all three to bounce back. Parker (73) couldn’t back up last weeks score but his 22 touches and 7 marks would probably score more other weeks.

Rookies: A really impressive performance from Dylan Stephens, who controlled a wing on Friday night, ultimately gathering 21 touches and 9 marks for 95 points, which was slightly above Paddy McCartin who was equally impressive for his 80 points from 12 touches and 9 marks. No one else in the rookie category but theres some interest in Stengle, although 6 touches and 13 points isn’t what we wanted to see.

Injuries: No subs made here!

Collingwood (15.10.100) defeated Adelaide (8.10.58)

1. Ben Keays (149). Another stellar game from Keays who just seems to bring his own ball nowadays. 37 touches at a very good 81% DE, along with 9 marks, makese it 2/2 tons for him. Will be interesting to see the trio of Keays, Laird and Crouch.

2. Jack Crisp (121). A very good response from Crisp who found much more of the ball (26 touches) than he did last week. Also very promising was the 10 tackles that boosted his score.

 

3. Jack Ginnivan (119). Solid score for a guy at 199K, with just about all of his stats from this game being career highs. 21 touches (10 contested) with 5 marks and 1 goal for him.

4. Reilly O’Brien (110). Had a good battle with Grundy throughout the day and in the end, probably broke even. Had 14 touches and 28 hitouts for the day.

 

5. Jeremy Howe (107). Ran around the half-back line on Saturday afternoon, collecting 20 touches with 6 marks, 5 tackles and a team high 459 metres gained.

 

Other 100+ scores: Scott Pendlebury/Tom Doedee (105), Brodie Grundy (101), Darcy Moore/Rory Sloane (100)

Disappointment: Midfielder Taylor Adams seemed a touch underpriced heading into the season and had a decent round 1 score, but unfortunately it was backed up just 16 touches and 59 points.

Rookies: A couple of the popular rookies in Daicos and Rachele had 22 and 20 touches respectively, but a collective 12 clangers between them held them back to 53 and 58 points each. Another guy who debuted last week was Soligo but he was the sub and hence, only saw 11% game time for 7 points. Pedlar was pretty solid for 5 touches, 2 tackles, 1 goal and 45 points, while Gollant (42), Cook (52) and Hinge (84) were solid enough to hold their spots (I would think).

Injuries: Nathan Krueger was looking pretty good in his Collingwood debut, kicking 2 goals from 5 touches before being subbed off with a shoulder injury, while for the Crows it was Rory Sloane with a quad issue. 

Essendon (10.15.75) defeated by Brisbane (15.7.97)

1. Lachie Neale (198). Massive game from Neale who continued his recent domination of the Dons. 41 touches (22 contested) with 12 clearances, 6 marks, 2 goals, 778 metres gained and 75% DE for the former Brownlow medalist. I know it’s only round 2 but this is a fair chance to be the highest score we see this season.

2. Daniel Rich (124). Really solid game from Rich down back as he had 29 touches at 89% DE with just under 600 metres gained. Will be interesting to see if he can back up last season.

 

3. Peter Wright (120). Scored something in the mid 80’s in the first term which was his platform. Eventually had 15 disposals, 11 marks and 3 goals to finish the day.

 

4. Zach Merrett (117). The combo of Merrett (31) and Parish (35) found plenty of it as usual but Merrett went that little bit better mainly thanks to a better DE (77%) and a nice goal. Did finish the game on the bench with a leg injury, so keep an eye out for any news surrounding that! News coming out Sunday that it’s a 6-8 week stint on the sidelines.

 

5. Dayne Zorko/Hugh McCluggage (116). Despite being subbed out last week, Zorko took the field to find 33 touches and 16 marks across half-back, while McCluggage ran hard all afternoon to find 19 touches and slot 3 goals.

Other 100+ scores: Darcy Parish (110), Jordan Ridley (102)

Disappointment: Possibly round 6 DPP option McGrath only gathered 17 touches for 58 points this week, while a fairly popular pre-season selection in Cam Rayner (48) hasn’t had an elite start to the season.

Rookies: Harry Sharp is sitting at 193K but I’ve seen next to nothing about him, and probably within reason as he only collected 24 points, but it’s early days for him. No real “rookies” for the Bombers but one worth mentioning is Caldwell who now has a 91 and 90 to start the season.

Injuries: Couple of really late injuries made the Bombers day worse with youngster Cox having a knee injury, and star midifielder Merrett having the previously mentioned leg issue. 

Port Adelaide (7.14.56) defeated by Hawthorn (19.6.120)

1. Travis Boak (156). Absolutely elite game from Boak, who always seems to start the season well enough for me to consider bringing him in. If he continually gathers 39 touches (18 contested) with 11 clearances, 7 marks and 9 tackles, I may just have to give in.

2. Zak Butters (136). That full-time midifield role seems like it’s almost there for Butters, who did rotate just a touch to make it noticeable between the middle and up forward. Still, 29 touches and 11 tackles is a great outcome.

 

3. Karl Amon (134). Underrated. Runs all day and found a career high 38 touches against the Hawks on Saturday night. Also had 8 marks, 6 tackles and 613 metres gained.

 4. Scott Lycett (109). Tends to have multiple 100+ scores per year and here is the first of them. 17 touches, 5 marks, 10 contested possessions, 25 hitouts and 1 goal. Solid pick for draft leagues.

 5. Jack Scrimshaw (106). The highest scoring Hawk was Scrimshaw, who had some amazing form in the middle of last season. His 22 touches that gained 627 metres ran at 86% DE and with no clangers for the game, gave him the final spot in the top 5.

Other 100+ scores: Dylan Moore (103)

Disappointment: Premium midfielder Tom Mitchell hasn’t returned great scores over the first two rounds, this week only scoring 82 from 28 touches and 576 metres gained. 

Rookies: Couple of debuts for the Power in this game, with Skinner (45) (club debut) playing the majority of the game down back to record 10 touches at 90%, while prized draft pick Josh Sinn (24) had 11 touches at 54%. Jackson Mead was the sub in this game and got a run in the second half, but with only 18 points, it all but kills his cash generation for the time being. Denver Grainger-Barras (52) looks to be a slow burn at this point, but hey, at least he’s putting scores on the board. There were some promising signs for MacDonald (55), who had 18 touches and 1 goal, as well as Ward (53), who had 20 touches and a goal.

Injuries: I thought his career was over last week but Trent McKenzie lined up in round 2 only to get battered with an elbow to the head, another knee complaint and finally an ankle that saw him get subbed off. For the Hawks it was Wingard who seemed to experience some hamstring tightness that saw his night end early.

Gold Coast (10.9.69) defeated by Melbourne (12.10.82)

1. Jake Bowey (151). If the Salem injury means this becomes a more common occurrence, I’ll be spewing I left him out of my side after being in there all pre-season. He’s only played 9 games so you can probably assume almost everything he did was a career best mark. 34 touches (18 contested) with 9 marks, just the 2 clangers and 572 metres gained were his standout stats.

2. Touk Miller (140). Just what we expect from Touk in this game, leading the Suns midifield with 38 touches (16 contested), while also having 9 clearances, 7 tackles and what I think is a season high, 944 metres gained.

3. Luke Jackson (137). Huge game from Jackson, with an all-round effort of 21 disposals (11 contested), 5 marks, 4 tackles, 16 hitouts and 2 goals ensuring a price rise is coming.

4. Christian Petracca (129). Another massive effort from Petracca, backing up a monster round 1. Had 40 disposals (17 contested) for 780 metres gained.

 5. Clayton Oliver (121). You probably already know what his statline will look like. 34 touches (18 contested), 13 clearances, 1 goal and 521 metres gained.

Other 100+ scores: Adam Tomlinson (109), Steven May (108), Alex Neal-Bullen (107), Noah Anderson (106), Tom Sparrow (100)

Disappointment: Massive game last week, not as massive this week. Matt Rowell (71) had a decent statline of 19 touches (13 contested), but it was the 8 clangers that held him back. Many coaches are probably more concerned with Gawn though, only 88 from a guy priced at that 120 average, potentially big moves coming.

Rookies: Another solid hitout for the slightly higher priced Alex Davies (66), he had 10 touches at 90% DE with 1 goal on Saturday evening. No one else in this game really fits that rookie category. 

Injuries: No injuries so it would seem from this one, but thats not always the case, keep an eye on any news/team updates.

North Melbourne (10.14.74) defeated West Coast (8.11.59)

1. Nick Larkey (134). Easily the difference on the day as he slotted 6 goals from his 16 touches and 7 marks, allowing him to post this career best score.

2. Aaron Hall (123). Looks set to be one of the must-have defenders again as he collected 26 touches and 7 marks across the half-back line while running at 80% DE.

 

3. Jack Ziebell (122). Very similar summary to the guy above. 29 disposals, with 14 marks and 82% DE, will be interesting to see how their ownership fluctuates throughout the season.

4. Tristan Xerri (120). A guy who is looking at a solid jump in ownership is Xerri, who turned in a great score from 20 disposals (14 contested) to go with 24 hitouts. Seems to be finding a nice combination with Goldy.

5. Willie Rioli/Jeremy McGovern (117). Rioli was great up forward for the Eagles, booting half of their goals from 18 touches, while McGovern made it 2/2 tons thanks to 18 touches at 88% and 9 marks, which I’m assuming were mostly intercepts.

Other 100+ scores: Hugh Greenwood (113), Luke Shuey (107), Aidan Corr (100)

Disappointment: Not a great return from Tim Kelly, who had 8 clangers from his 18 touches, which held down his score to 61 points. 

Rookies: Great second up game from the number 1 pick Jason Horne-Francis (98), as he found 20 touches (13 contested) to go along with 4 marks and 4 tackles for the game. Alright now for the Eagles, geer up. Patrick Naish was the best of them and should hold his spot after scoring 90 from 21 touches and 8 marks, while next best was Aaron Black (74) who had 15 touches, 4 marks and 1 goal. Williams (78) played pretty much solo ruck and had 9 touches and 11 hitouts, while Mountford (who I’m pretty sure played for North at one point) was subbed on and had 12 touches and 1 goal for 57 points. There was also Angus Dewar (54) who had 7 touches and 3 tackles, former Docker Stephen Giro (37), who had 9 touches, and finally Callum Jamieson (27) and Jack Williams (-2) who were all either top up players or on debut, bar those underlined. Think I’ve listed them all. Also a couple of notes:

1. I don’t even know if some of these guys are in the Supercoach system so don’t be shocked if you can’t find them. (Update they’re in there now).
2. Don’t search for them either, JS is about as low as it could get.
3. I’m an Eagles supporter and Supercoach aside, I’m very thankful for their efforts and commitment from this game, no matter how they played/the stats read. Pretty proud of how the club went about a very tough set of circumstances and the way the AFL has planned for this type of situation. It’s great to see it can work as there is a fair chance it’ll happen again this year!

Injuries: Unfortunately for promising midfielder Luke Davies-Uniacke, his shoulder came out and ended his game early, while he was joined on the bench by Tarryn Thomas for a bit before he went to hospital. For the Eagles, it was Answerth, (who I believe was a top up player since he was delisted last year, but I many be wrong, might be rookie listed)  with an ankle injury.

Richmond (16.13.109) defeated GWS (10.13.73)

1. Jayden Short (136). Massive game for Short as he had 33 touches of the footy (29 kicks) to go along with 10 marks, 798 metres gained as well as just the 1 clanger and 89% DE. Great game from him, and even had a little tag on him at one point.

2. Isaac Cumming (127). Came of age last year and produced a great score here thanks to 26 touches that ran at 92% DE. I was at this game and I’m now including him as one of the best kicks in the comp, was kicking absolute lasers all afternoon!

 

3. Josh Kelly (117). Hardly even noticed Kelly if I’m honest but had a really good game that included 26 touches (11 contested) at 88% DE which was paired with 2 goals and 7 marks.

 4. Daniel Rioli (111). Strolled off half-back with 21 touches at 81% DE, pairing it with 8 marks and 4 tackles for his first ton of the season.

5. Nathan Broad/Sam Taylor (108). Couple of defenders tied it all up here. Broad had 22 touches at another very efficient DE%, while Taylor had 18 touches (9 contested) at a another very good DE of 88%.

Other 100+ scores: Tom Green (106), Trent Cotchin (103), Callan Ward (101)

Disappointment: For the second week in a row this goes to Whitfield (70), who played alright to get 23 touches and 6 marks, but had some bad turnovers that led directly to Tigers goals.

Rookies: Hugo Ralphsmith had a much better game than last week (mainly due to not being the sub) and collected 19 touches at 89% DE off half-back, which paired with a goal and 6 marks, gave him a respectable 89. Gibcus (48) is in the same boat as Grainger-Barras in terms of being a slow burn with cash generation but as long as he’s playing, it’s worth having that cover. Ben Miller (46) was the late in for Dylan Grimes and played well enough for 9 touches, while Thomson Dow (49) played a lot of his game time on ball to collect 14 touches (9 contested) with 5 clearances until…

Injuries: He was subbed off with an injury that I’m not 100% sure on, so keep tabs if youre on of the .5% that owns him. Also grim news for the Giants, with Lloyd subbed off due to an arm issue, and Davis with a hamstring.

Fremantle (8.7.55) defeated by St Kilda (9.11.65)

1. Andrew Brayshaw (189). Massive game from Brayshaw who will be seeing a bulk of work for Freo with Nat Fyfe out. 40 touches (13 contested), 10 marks, 8 tackles, 1 goal and 628 metres gained. 

2. Luke Ryan (154). Bounce back from a poor week last week with 32 disposals to lead the Dockers backline. Also gained 573 metres and ran at 87%, a game which a lot of coaches would be hoping to see on the regular.

 

3. Hayden Young (123). Career game from the young backman who has the gamestyle to be a staple in our teams throughout the 2020’s. Career best 31 touches for the game to pair with 9 marks.

4. Josh Battle/Jack Sinclair (114). Battle stood up in defense to take 13 marks for the game while also registering 21 dispsoals and 5 tackles, while Sinclair made it two tons on the trot from 25 touches and 6 tackles, he’s extremely underrated, especially with this midfield/half-back role.

 

5. Jack Steele (111). Stood up in the middle of the ground to collect 23 touches (12 contested) but it was the 13 tackles that really boosted his score. Slow start to the season but there’ll be some big scores in the not too distant future I expect. 

Other 100+ scores: Max King (110), Will Brodie (101), Jack Higgins (100)

Disappointment: Couple to list here to finish the round. Marshall (67) could only find 9 touches of the ball, while Gresham (51) had 25 touches but ran at a pretty grim 32% with 7 clangers. Heath Chapman (56) also gathered some interest late in the pre-season but owners wouldn’t be crazy pleased with this score. 

Rookies: Popular pre-season selection Nathan O’Driscoll was the starting sub and ended up with 18 points from the 1 kick, 1 goal game that gave the Dockers a little bit of life late. Wanganeen-Milera also got on the field this week and played pretty well to finish on 53, while first-round hero Jack Hayes (68) posted a respectable score from 12 touches, 4 tackles and 6 hitouts. 

Injuries: Horrid news for owners of Sean Darcy, the big man was subbed off while on his way to a ton, finishing of 72 at 3QT. An ankle injury was the cause.

 

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