Round 3 Review + Easter Monday Preview

Brisbane (17.17.119) defeated Collingwood (10.5.65)

1. Will Ashcroft (139). Starred on Thursday night, racking up a game best 36 touches (15 contested) plus 475 metres gained, 6 marks, 6 clearances and 1 major.
2. Jaspa Fletcher (123). Super clean game from Fletcher, as he found 27 touches and 10 marks @ 85% DE across the half-back line.
3. Lachie Neale (114). Got busy in the middle with 29 touches plus 8 marks, 6 clearances and 5 tackles.
4. Keiden Coleman (113). Back to back tons now for Coleman, proving to be the mid priced pick we wanted. Had 22 disposals, 10 marks and 5 tackles with just 1 clanger.
5. Dayne Zorko (111). The veteran made it an all Lions top five thanks to 28 touches, 9 marks, 1 goal and a team best 631 metres gained.

Other 100+ scores: Zac Bailey (107), Lance Morris (104), Dan Houston (101)

Disappointment: Dunkley (73) not as involved as the other Brisbane mids. De Goey (63) quiet too. Cameron (59) has been consistent for years but the new rules have hurt his scoring potential.

Rookies: McCarthy (59) led the way here, coming in ahead of Joyce (57), Gallop (49) and Tunstill (26). The Pies had Steele (60), Steene (41) and Hayes (32) who played his first game of the year.

Injuries: No injuries but Nick Daicos (calf) was a late out if anyone missed it.

 

North Melbourne (14.12.96) defeated Carlton (13.8.86)

1. Caleb Daniel (128). The best score on Good Friday went to Daniel for his 28 touch game across half-back. Also added 10 marks, 498 metres gained and DE of 88%.
2. Marc Pittonet (117). The best for the Blues thanks to his 11 touches, 39 hitouts and 2 majors.
3. Luke Davies-Uniacke (115). Another ton for LDU who has started on fire. 22 disposals (16 contested) plus 9 clearances and 6 tackles.
4. Colby McKercher (107). 24 touches for McKercher across half-back, not much else to say bar the 83% DE and just 1 recorded clanger.
5. Dylan Stephens/George Hewett (104). Stephens patrolled the wing with 26 touches and 8 marks plus a game game high 665 metres gained. Hewett was his usual self in the middle with 22 touches, 6 marks and 7 tackles.

Other 100+ scores: Zilch

Disappointment: Kicked the sealer but I’m going to give it Sheezel (97) for not capitalising on the matchup.

Rookies: Carlton was led in the rookie scoring section by the returning Jordan Boyd (82), who had 16 touches, 7 marks and 5 tackles. Smith (70) was quieter than the previous few weeks but solid enough, while Derksen (53) made his debut. Finally there was Byrne (29) who is now on the bubble. North were led by Duursma (62), then Blamires (56), Banch (41) and Coleman-Jones (23), who had to ruck duties.

Injuries: Nothing for North but the Blues pain increases with concussion ruling out Weitering.

 

Adelaide (11.10.76) defeated by Fremantle (11.12.78)

1. Luke Jackson (126). Ended up with the best score here from a very tight top five. 20 touches (14 contested) plus 7 clearances, 7 tackles and 26 hitouts.
2. Wayne Milera (125). Did plenty right for the Crows with 27 touches and 7 marks while going at 92% DE and a near team best, 547 metres gained.
3. Lachie McAndrew (123). Battled through what seemed to be a leg concern to finish this game with 8 touches, 31 hitouts and a massive 13 tackles. Played 65% game time opposed to O’Brien’s 35%
4. Josh Treacy (121). Massive again for Freo in a famous win. Had 13 touches, 5 marks, 5 tackles and 2 goals for the game.
5. Andrew Brayshaw/Josh Worrell (120). A massive last quarter for Brayshaw propelled him to this score, finishing with 25 touches, 10 tackles and 1 goal. Worrell led the Crows with 577 metres gained from his 23 touches and 7 marks to round out the top five.

Other 100+ scores: Caleb Serong (118), Murphy Reid/James Peatling (115), Riley Thilthorpe (104), Jordan Dawson (101)

Disappointment: Jordan Clark (52), not nearly as involved as he usually is.

Rookies: After McAndrew, the next best for the Crows were Cook and Maley (60), followed by Borlase (49), Bond (34) and Jones (16). The Dockers only had Scerri (32) in his third game.

Injuries: Pedlar (jaw) the only listed player here.

 

Richmond (6.12.48) defeated by Port Adelaide (13.12.90)

1. Jordan Sweet (130). Dominated against the Tigers ruck setup. Had 15 touches, 5 marks, 25 hitouts, 5 clearances and 1 major.
2. Aliir Aliir (128). Kept intercepting, especially early as the Tigers couldn’t find a way past him. Overall had 23 disposals (14 contested) and 8 marks for the game.
3. Jayden Short (121). Led the Tigers with 22 disposals and 6 marks across half-back, plus a team best 603 metres gained.
4. Kane Farrell (120). Opposite to Short, Farrell was also super with 24 touches and 808 metres gained for the game.
5. Ben Miller (115). Rounds out this games top five with a super performance down back, having 19 touches and 11 marks plus 84% DE.

Other 100+ scores: Zak Butters (114), Tim Taranto (110), Darcy Byrne-Jones (103)

Disappointment: Bergman (66) hasn’t been a great pick to start the season, while Ross (52) didn’t have much of it.

Rookies: Whitlock (92) was great again for Port as a focal point up front, slotting 2 goals from 11 touches and 5 marks. Lai (54) is on the bubble and looks solid enough, while Watkins (7) will be lucky to keep his spot. Port also had a debut for Zadow (28). The Tigers were led by Grlj (90) who was super with over 450 metres gained from his 19 touches, then followed by Fawcett (56), Ryan (46) and Lefau (33).

Injuries: Nothing to mention here.

 

West Coast (4.11.35) defeated by Sydney (24.10.163)

1. Brodie Grundy (184). Toyed with the ruck contest all game, finishing with 33 hitouts, probably more than half to advantage, pairing that with 28 touches (18 contested), 9 clearances, 5 tackles and 1 goal.
2. Isaac Heeney (156). Dominated the game with 26 touches, 518 metres gained, 4 majors and 8 marks.
3. Jai Serong (126). Kept busy at Optus with 27 touches, 10 marks, 476 metres gained and 1 major, doing wonders for his cash gen.
4. Tom Papley (115). Game 200 for Papley was a good one, as he found 24 touches, 10 marks and 2 goals plus 575 metres gained.
5. Nick Blakey (107). Rounds out an all Sydney top five thanks to 20 touches plus 1 goal and 80% DE.

Other 100+ scores: Justin McInerney/Sam Wicks (105), Joel Amartey/Riley Bice (102), Jake Lloyd (100)

Disappointment: Well I guess there wasn’t much to do down back, but Mills (73) wasn’t as involved in this massive win.

Rookies: Only Serong for the Swans but he’s had his time. The Eagles were led by Duursma (72) who played well in the massive loss with 16 touches and 2 goals. After him came Allan (55), Schoenberg (48, bubble this week), Lindsay (46), Duff-Tytler (39) and Champion (34).

Injuries: No injuries out of this game.

 

Melbourne (16.13.109) defeated Gold Coast (14.5.89)

1. Max Gawn (175). Absolutely massive from Gawn, he monstered the usually restrictive Witts with 22 touches (16 contested) plus 5 marks, 32 hitouts and 1 goal.
2. Jack Steele (147). Super in the midfield, Steele had the best score of his season thanks to 26 touches (18 contested), 11 clearances, 8 tackles, no clangers and DE of 92%.
3. Kysaiah Pickett (126). Ran riot again with a game high 633 metres gained from his 25 touches (10 contested). Also added in 6 clearances, 5 tackles and 1 goal.
4. Bodhi Uwland (100). The sole Sun to hit triple figures, Uwland had 24 touches and 5 marks down back @ 82% DE.
5. Tom Sparrow (98). Rounds out the top five with 21 touches and 10 tackles through the midfield.

Other 100+ scores: Zilch

Disappointment: Windsor (56) again struggled. Hope you weren’t one of the 1,308 coaches with Matthew Rowell (55).

Rookies: Zeke Uwland (85) had his best game yet and debutant Lachy Gulbin (82) wasn’t far behind him. Lombard (56) was busy enough but Rogers (37) struggled. Sharp (75) was the best for the Demons, slightly ahead of Tholstrup (71) and Latrelle Pickett (60). Laurie (31) was a late in for his first game of the year.

Injuries: No injuries to report here.

 

Western Bulldogs (14.15.99) defeated  Essendon (9.11.65)

1. Marcus Bontempelli (153). Was tipped to dominate and did just that, securing 35 touches (10 contested) plus 7 clearances, 8 marks and 1 major.
2. Archie Roberts (136). His best score of this young season, Roberts had 37 touches and 12 marks plus a game best 708 metres gained while running at 89% DE.
3. Ryley Sanders (122). Saw some more midfield time here, collecting 34 touches (13 contested) plus 5 clearances, 5 tackles and 6 marks.
4. Zach Merrett (116). Kept busy and constructive as usual, finding 30 touches (11 contested) plus 7 clearances, 7 tackles and 5 marks.
5. Matthew Kennedy (115). Rounds out the top five with massive numbers of 36 touches (18 contested) to pair with 11 clearances and 1 goal.

Other 100+ scores: Sam Darcy (111), Joel Freijah (104), Bailey Dale (102), Bailey Williams (101)

Disappointment: Parish (73) and Blakiston (33) owners, it’s time to move these guys on.

Rookies: Farrow (90) was the pick of the Bombers rookies and looks one of the best on the bubble next week, he came in ahead Edwards (58) and Day-Wicks (38). Jones (82) was steaming along for the Dogs before sitting out the final quarter, his 3 goal, 10 touch game coming in ahead of Dolan (71), Jaques (67) and Sellwood (28).

Injuries: English (knee) was headed for a good score before going down in the third quarter, hands up if like me, he was your C? He was joined on the bench by Jones (hamstring) while Richards (knee) was also a late out. No news for Essendon.

 

Hawthorn vs Geelong Preview

Players to keep an eye on:

DEF: Sicily and Stewart have come back into calculations are premiums in 2026, with the latter seeing a fair uptick in ownership this past week.

MID: Holmes and Smith for the Cats have also seen a massive uptick in ownership and for good reason. Both cover the ground extremely well and should find plenty of it today. For the Hawks, eyes are on some more sub-premium types in Newcombe and Ward, with the same being said for highly owned Cat Bruhn.

RCK: Not much to mention here. Meek and Reeves have a pretty even split while the Cats trio of Blicavs/Neale/Edwards makes them irrelevant SuperCoach wise.

FWD: The Cats have a few to keep an eye on hear. Cameron is always capable of kicking a bag but more consistent scorers in Miers and Mannagh do have potential to be top 10 forwards by end of season. The Hawks have Moore and MacDonald who are in enough teams to be relevant.

Rookies: Edwards and Wiltshire for the Cats, both already in their cash generation phase. The Hawks however have two debutants to keep an eye on in Perez (club debut, former Kangaroo) and Dalton (AFL debut).