Round 5 – Gather Round Review

Adelaide (18.10.118) defeated Carlton (9.8.62)

1. Jordan Dawson (152). The Crows skipper and semi popular Docherty replacement made a stellar start to the round with this 32 touch, 7 clearance, 9 tackle game that also had a game best 537 metres gained connected to it. Averaging 129, good for third in the comp.
2. Rory Laird (135). Complemented Dawson beautifully in the middle to find 37 touches (18 contested) with 9 clearances, 6 tackles and 1 goal. Really popular VC option on Thursday too and didn’t disappoint. 
3. Chayce Jones (116). A cheeky selection at 268K in the backline, he backed up a 93 last week with this career best effort off half-back. 28 touches, 9 marks and 1 goal.
4. Darcy Fogarty (109). Kicked a bag of 5 but it could’ve been much more. Had Weitering for most of the game but was a star with 16 touches and 10 marks.
5. Tom Doedee (107). Pops off for a couple of tons per year and had one here thanks to 24 touches, 10 marks and no clangers next to his name.

Other 100+ scores: Adam Cerra (106), Sam Walsh (104), Wayne Milera (103)

Disappointment: Skipper Patrick Cripps had a solid 10 tackles next to his name but due to sub-par DE, only finished on 80. O’Brien (73) has had a few down weeks and couldn’t capitalise on his matchup.

Rookies: Coming off a ton in round 4, Michalanney was a popular get this week as he finished on 60 from 10 touches and 4 tackles at 90% DE. Still has plenty of money to make. Pedlar was back from suspension and finished on the exact same score form 8 touches and 1 goal. Honey (28)is on the bubble this week for the Blues but needs to shred the sub vest before being considered, while Cowan (42) and Hollands (65) once again met their breakevens but need a big score soon to avoid levelling out in price.

Injuries: An early injury to Pittonet saw him subbed out of the game, while he was joined on the bench later on by Saad who had hamstring tightness. Soligo the tactical sub for the Crows, just had no impact with 4 touches over three quarters of footy.

 

Fremantle (15.10.100) defeated Gold Coast (13.12.90)

1. Caleb Serong (146). An opening round 70 has been backed up by 4 tons on the trot to bring his average to 112. 37 touches (16 contested) with 6 tackles, 8 clearances and just the one clanger helped him to this equal best career score.
2. Sean Darcy (136). Big second half from the semi-popular VC pick this week as he did what he wanted against the raw ruck division of the Suns. 18 touches (14 contested), 9 clearances and 48 hitouts for the game.
3. Touk Miller (127). Close to bottoming out in price, Touk dropped his best score of the season here thanks to 26 disposals (12 contested), 8 clearances and 8 tackles.
4. Lachie Schultz (124). Dangerous all evening for the Dockers with 20 possessions, 8 marks and 5 shots on goal, converting 3 of them. Career best score again.
5. Jack Lukosius (115). Rounded out the top 5 with a stellar game as a semi link man up forward. Had 19 touches and 12 marks, but kicked 1.4 which held him back from going 140+.

Other 100+ scores: David Swallow (113), Noah Anderson/Matt Rowell (107), Michael Walters (106), Lachie Weller (105)

Disappointment: While Serong shines, Brayshaw continues to struggle to get going this year, just 77 this week from 18 touches.

Rookies: Second gamer Humphrey kicked career goal number 1 from one of his 5 touches, resulting in 38 points, which means he’ll need something decent next week to avoid losing money on his rookie-elevated price tag. Moyle (35) had a tough task against Darcy, while the rookie priced King (31) only had 4 touches. Wagner made his club debut and found 12 touches of the pill, but had 6 clangers which held him to 39. Johnson had a much better third up effort avoiding the sub vest, scoring 67 from 15 touches and 1 goal, while pre-season forward option Sturt also made a season debut here, having 6 touches, 4 marks and 3 tackles for 37 points.

Injuries: Creative forward Switkowski was subbed off super early with ice on his calf, but was seemingly the only injury here. Humphrey the sub for the Suns.

 

Richmond (11.12.78) defeated by Sydney (18.14.122)

1. Nick Blakey (151). Really nice numbers off half-back in this one, leading to a career best score. No clangers and used his 30 touches @ 93% DE which is mad. Also had over 500 metres gained.
2. Isaac Heeney (144). Best score of the year for Heeney by a long way. Had 20 touches (15 contested) with 5 marks, 7 tackles, 2 goals and just the two clangers up forward.
3. Tom Papley (140). Another career best effort here went to Papley who just dominated up front with 6 majors for the game, which was paired with 25 touches and a mighty 686 metres gained.
4. Jake Lloyd (119). Coming back into relevancy with a 106 point average after scoring another ton (4/5 for the year, the other a 93) thanks to 25 touches @ 88% DE and 6 marks.
5. Jacob Hopper/Tim Taranto (115). The two recruits and popular picks couldn’t be split. Hopper had 32 touches (13 contested) with 5 clearances and 5 tackles, while Taranto had 34 touches (12 contested) plus 6 tackles.

Other 100+ scores: Liam Baker (113), Braeden Campbell (105), Daniel Rioli (101)

Disappointment: Going to throw this out to Callum Mills (97) which is a tad rough but he’s only had two tons so far in 2023 and is yet to really prove his pre-season price tag. More down to role and coaching decisions though.

Rookies: Samson Ryan was popular this week as he found himself in a great role with no Nankervis or Lynch. Still finding his feet at AFL level let alone solo rucking, so 56 from 8 touches and 16 hit-outs isn’t a bad effort. Mansell (68), Clarke (64) and Young (62) all saw nearly 30K increases on the back of these scores. Roberts (93) showed what he could do without the sub vest, having 14 touches @ 92% DE with 4 tackles. A couple of debuts for the Swans too, with Corey Warner (37) slotting 1 goal from 8 touches on debut, while one of the most popular names, I’d say ever, in SuperCoach finally got on the ground. Will Gould (39) had 9 touches in 47% game time (not the sub), and to be honest, I’m just stoked he finally got on the park.

Injuries: The injuries are pilling up at the Swans and this week it was Amartey with a hamstring. Cotchin the tactical sub for the Tigers.

 

Brisbane (22.20.152) defeated North Melbourne (12.5.77)

1. Lachie Neale (176). Admittedly had a quiet start to the season but went and dominated on Saturday arvo resulting in this young seasons best score. Had a clean 37 touches (17 contested) plus 13 clearances at 86% DE with just 1 clanger.
2. Josh Dunkley (133). Got dropped by some this week but then went off for a season best score on the back of 25 touches, 6 tackles, 13 contested possessions and just 1 clanger.
3. Joe Daniher (117). Most dominant forward on the day, kicking 5 from 8 shots on goal. 13 marks and 18 touches to top it off.
4. Dayne Zorko (110). The former skipper did a bit of everything, finding 22 touches with 8 marks, 5 tackles and 1 goal playing through the middle.
5. Jack Ziebell/Eric Hipwood (106). Ziegull did his thing down back, having clean touches (24) and heaps of metres gained (582, team best), while Hipwood was another dominant forward in the trashing, kicking 4 goals from 15 touches and 10 marks.

Other 100+ scores: Darcy Fort/Harry Sheezel (100)

Disappointment: It’s been a super slow start to 2023 for Coleman (64), who is averaging just 57 so far.

Rookies: Plenty of popular rookies playing here, with all of them hitting their breakevens. Sheezel (100) did what he’s been doing all year, scoring another ton from 31 touches, while Phillips overcame a shoulder knock and was clean with his 19 touches to score 74. Comben (59) was pretty threatening up forward with 2.3 from 9 touches plus 5 tackles, while Brisbane backline pair McKenna (55) and Wilmot (68) were fielded on plenty of teams this week. Ashcroft (72) had 23 touches but just 2 contested, while finally Joyce (62) had 13 touches and 6 marks.

Injuries: Important midfielder Simpkin was dominating before a hand injury ended his day, while Berry was the tactical sub for the Lions.

 

Essendon (15.14.104) defeated Melbourne (11.11.77)

1. Zach Merrett (134). Led from the front in the Bombers big win this weekend, collecting 35 touches (14 contested) with 7 tackles and 550 metres gained. Personally, brought him in for Mackenzie which felt great, until he copped 1 week for a tackle on Sparrow. Smiling through the pain.
2. Brodie Grundy (128). Doing his thing while solo rucking, Grundy went big again against the usually restrictive Draper. Had 18 touches (12 contested) with 24 hitouts.
3. Clayton Oliver (115). Non-owners were pleased when he had a super slow first half (I think it was 9 touches?), but in typical Satan fashion, he went just found the pill and finished with 41 touches (25 contested), 9 clearances and nearly 450 metres gained. Think he had 20 in the last term alone, when the game was done.
4. Jack Viney/Christian Petracca (110). Stellar efforts in the middle by these two. Viney had 28 touches and 7 tackles, while Petracca grabbed 27 touches and 1 goal with 11 clearances and 18 contested touches.
5. Jayden Laverde (109). Really clean in defence, using his 20 touches @ 90% DE with just 1 clanger within that. Also had 8 marks and over 450 metres gained.

Other 100+ scores: Darcy Parish (108), Kyle Langford (106), Dylan Shiel/Andrew McGrath (104), Sam Draper (103), Andrew Phillips (100)

Disappointment: POD option Redman was quiet this weekend, only finding 16 touches for 72 points.

Rookies: McVee continues to impress in this Demons team, this week scoring 63 from 14 touches (10 contested) playing roles in the backline. Chandler (56) has made over 150K so far but needs a big score soon to keep that ticking over, while Van Rooyen enjoyed a nice first increase thanks to this 7 touch, 1 goal, 52 point game. Jye Menzie (19) was very quiet in the Bombers forward line.

Injuries: A concussion ended Spargo’s day, while Jones was subbed off due to an ankle injury.

Port Adelaide (10.10.70) defeated Western Bulldogs (8.8.56)

1. Zak Butters (146). Kicked the sealer which boosted his score but was influential all game with 32 touches (17 contested) and 565 metres gained with 7 clearances
2. Marcus Bontempelli (145). Has been close to massive score and got it here. Very clean all game with no clangers and ran @ 78% DE despite doing heaps of work inside, having 23 touches (15 contested) plus 12 clearances.
3. Tim English (139). Wet weather doesn’t matter for the best scorer in the game. Another massive effort of 23 touches, 6 marks, 27 hitouts and 1 goal.
4. Dan Houston (123). Led the game with 677 metres gained from his 22 touches at half back that included 19 kicks. Also had 5 tackles and snagged 1 goal.
5. Jason Johannisen/Jack Macrae (112). JJ had clean distribution off half back, running at 75% DE from his 28 touches, while it was the tale of two halves for Macrae, who finished strong with 24 touches and 6 tackles.

Other 100+ scores: Aliir Aliir (105), Tom Liberatore (101)

Disappointment: A couple of tons over rounds 3 and 4 but it was back to the disappointing scores for Bailey Dale (57). Role seems to inconsistent to own him this year.

Rookies: Popular pre-season pick McLean saw some game time in this one, but was the sub and could only register 3 tackles for 7 points. Baker was quiet but 53 saw him go past his breakeven so can’t complain too much. Jones (23) didn’t get involved up forward, only having 5 touches, while Bruce (42) was subbed off with a rib injury. Just Williams for Port, he was steady for 10 touches and 51 points and is on the bubble this week.

Injuries: There was the previously mentioned rib injury to Josh Bruce, while Lycett (tactical sub) was subbed off for Port.

 

Geelong (21.10.136) defeated West Coast (13.11.89)

1. Tom Hawkins (151). Didn’t catch any of the Sunday games, but this was a smacking in the first half and Hawkins had a ton before then. Finished with 14 touches, 6 marks, 6 hitouts and 4 goals.
2. Tom Stewart (135). Popular grab for Docherty owners and no complaints should come from this. Had 24 touches and 7 marks down back, running @ 92% DE.
3. Mark Blicavs (124). Had a bit of a tag on Kelly by all reports but is so versatile that he can score from a variety of roles. First ton of the year from 17 touches, 4 tackles, 2 goals, 8 clearances, 27 hitouts and no clangers.
4. Jeremy Cameron/Jake Waterman (119). Cameron kept his hot streak going, slotting 4 goals from 18 touches, while Waterman was a shining light for the Eagles, snagging 4 goals from 20 touches and having 7 marks for a career best score.
5. Patrick Dangerfield (118). Apparently had a tag from Culley but broke that to record 23 touches (15 contested) with 6 clearances.

Other 100+ scores: Oscar Allen (113), Brad Close (111), Liam Duggan (109), Jermaine Jones (101)

Disappointment: Not outstanding games from mid price defenders Yeo (44) and Bowes (66).

Rookies: In the backline, Ratugolea produced another great score (even better if he was covering Witts), finishing on 88 from 14 disposals and 9 marks. Noah Long continues to put up serviceable scores for a rookie who’s playing forward in one of the bottom dwelling teams, this week reaching 55 from 13 touches. Ginbey (51) kicked his first goal but word is he needs a rest, maybe the reason he was subbed out. Edwards (66) is on the bubble this week but has an increased price tag.

Injuries: Ginbey was the sub as previously mentioned, but Stengle had a nasty wrist injury which ended his day before half time.

 

GWS (10.17.77) defeated Hawthorn (11.9.75)

1. Jai Newcombe (121). Season best from Newcombe who led the Hawks midfield in a close contest, finishing with 31 touches (15 contested), 10 clearances, 5 tackles and 1 goal.
2. Toby Greene (120). Super important all day long, pushing up the ground to collect 24 touches, which resulted in 3 important goals to his name.
3. Ned Reeves (117). Career best score for Reeves, who probably had plenty of hitouts to advantage from his 32 taps, also gathering 10 touches with 4 tackles.
4. Sam Taylor (115). 20 touches and 8 marks with 12 contested possessions for the key defender this week, with what I’m assuming was plenty of intercept possessions too.
5. Connor Nash (110). Tagged Green to a sub-ton after not giving attention in the first half. Finished with 31 disposals (18 contested), 7 clearances and 9 tackles. Career best.

Other 100+ scores: Isaac Cumming (104), Stephen Coniglio (102), James Worpel (100)

Disappointment: Not a great return on Sunday from the usually reliable Josh Kelly (80), who was quiet with 21 touches for the game.

Rookies: Two rookies were subbed on here, with Mackenzie (14) and Rowston (42) having limited time on ground. Hawthorn forward rookies Greene (76) and Brockman (70) were busy with 9 and 16 touches respectively, while both hit the scoreboard. Ned Long had his first game for season, kicking 1 goal from his 10 touches to score a nice 67, while debutant Seamus Mitchell (67) had an impressive stat line with 17 touches and 9 contested possessions, one to keep an eye on next week. Buckley (78) continues to make cash, a great pick for those that started with him, he’s already made 155K. Finally, number 1 pick Cadman (31) made his debut here and finished with 6 touches and 1 goal. 

Injuries: Match report had Breust with a corkie, and Wingard with a cut tongue. Kennedy the tactical sub for GWS.

 

Collingwood (10.10.70) defeated St Kilda (9.10.64)

1. Callum Wilkie (156). Once again, didn’t get to catch any Sunday action, but I’ll assume Wilkie was elite down back and surely had plenty of intercept marks. Overall, he had 24 touches @ 91% DE plus 11 marks for this career best score.
2. Nick Daicos (128). Massive game again from Daicos who surprisingly didn’t get a tag from the Saints. 42 touches, 1 clanger, 76% DE, 7 marks, 856 metres gained.
3. Rowan Marshall (123). Great game against the makeshift Collingwood rucks, dominating with 25 touches, 7 marks, 5 tackles, 32 hitouts and 7 clearances.
4. Brad Crouch (116). Third ton of the season for Crouch who was splendid for the Saints, finishing with 33 disposals (16 contested), 9 clearances and 2 goals.
5. Tom Mitchell (107). Rounded out the top 5 with his fourth ton of the year. 28 touches (12 contested) with 6 tackles and 1 goal for the former Brownlow medallist.

Other 100+ scores: Josh Battle (103), Josh Daicos (101)

Disappointment: Unfortunately another sub ton for Sinclair (90), dipping below 550K with an average of 98 thus far.

Rookies: Forward duo Phillipou (67) and Caminiti (44) both hit their breakevens and the scoreboard for the Saints, but the latter will face a nervous wait on how many weeks he will miss, after striking Murphy behind the play. Bytel played after seemingly suffering an ankle injury last week, but was the sub again and only scored 14. Shoutout to Stocker (78) who has made 100K with 5 scores all ranged between 70-78.

Injuries: Collingwood’s injury list added another tall with McStay being subbed out with a finger injury. Murphy I think had a concussion from the Caminiti hit but don’t quote me on that, keep an eye on teams/injury reports later in the week.

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