Round Eleven Review

(Written & Created By Dane)

North Melbourne vs Richmond

 

A new coach and another win for the Kangaroos, who sealed this game with a dominant 3rd quarter. Skipper Jack Ziebell played a great game in the midfield, racking up 26 touches with 7 tackles to net 110 points, but he was beaten by well renowned dairy farmer Ben Cunnington. The inside bull was dominant all night with 20 contested touches in his 31 possession game, and while he was handball happy (24), his DE meant he topped scored for the Roos with 133. The big forwards delivered for North, with Ben Brown (107), kicking 5 goals, and Mason Wood (99) kicking 4.2. Elsewhere Shaun Higgins (127) used his elite ball use to good effect, Jared Polec (104) provided good outside run and Cameron Zurhaar’s (108) tackling (11) really set the tone. Jed Anderson, Trent Dumont and Todd Goldstein all scored in the 90’s for their owners, but someone who really caught my eye was Davies-Uniacke, who several times throughout the night showed power and balance in tight, contested situations and looks a star of the future. The only sour part of the night came from a calf injury to reliable backman Jamie MacMillan.

 

Even with skipper Trent Cotchin back the Tigers couldn’t handle Norths pressure. Speaking of the skipper, he was modest on return but showed many glimpses of his usual self as he builds back match fitness, 23 touches and 69 Supercoach points for him. The real star for the Tigers was Bachar Houli, who despite early injury concerns still racked up 38 touches and only 3 clangers to score 139. Next best was the rejuvenated Martin, who kicked 3 goals amongst his 21 touches for 113 and at 512K, looks good value for any coach who is willing to take a risk. The only other Tiger above 100 was rookie gun Sydney Stack on 107, while other decent scores came from Baker (85), Prestia (92), Ellis (91), Caddy (86) and Edwards (84). Ivan Soldo doesn’t seem to have the consistency coaches would like, while Noah Balta couldn’t keep his form going, only scoring 47 on the night.

 

Question from the game: Does a new coach for North mean that finals footy isn’t out of the realm of possibility?

 

Supercoach query: Is Houli becoming a must have? Now averaging 110!

 

Collingwood vs Fremantle

 

A last gasp win for the second week in a row for Fremantle, with Michael Walters once again being the hero. The mercurial forward picked up 127 points courtesy of 24 touches and 2 goals, but he was bettered by skipper Nathan Fyfe (145), who did his usual thing with 32 touches (16 contested). On his second game back from long term injury, Connor Blakely (105) hit three figures due to his 27 touches and no turnovers, while Bradley Hill (100) continued his good form with 2 goals from his 29 touches. Other decent scores went to popular picks Lobb (98) and Ryan (95), while less traditional Supercoach players in Conca (94), Wilson (88) and Hogan (86) also played well. Premium forward David Mundy (40) was extremely disappointing, while second gamer Brett Bewley picked up 13 touches and looks like he’ll keep his spot for a few more weeks. Lastly bad news for Freo, with gun backman Alex Pearce seemingly picking up an ankle injury that may keep him out for a few weeks.

 

For the Pies, they’ll be 8-3 with Melbourne to face before their bye, so I’m sure many Pies fans will be pleased with how this season has gone so far. Supercoach wise, skipper Scott Pendlebury led the charge and seems to be the most consistent of the Pies star mids this season, and with 29 touches, 2 goals and 8 tackles, he returned a score of 135. Brodie Grundy (125) continued his excellent form with 21 touches and 47 hitouts, while the only other Pie to hit the ton was the big-kicking Maynard (105). Other than those coaches would’ve been raging at the scores of Crisp (73), Treloar and Moore (68) and Beams (34). Up forward De Goey (89) kicked 3, while across the wing Sidebottom (90) had 20 touches for respectable scores.

 

Question from the game: Are the Dockers on their way to a lower finals position?

 

Supercoach query: More trivia than question, but how many years has Pendlebury averaged 100+, and who is he equal with for that?

 

GWS vs Gold Coast

 

The Giants train rolls on with another big win on Saturday afternoon. Stephen Coniglio dominated, and I mean dominated. The man who has been questioned by many this season showed why he’s in the top echelon of players, with a huge game of 36 touches (29 kicks), 13 marks, 8 tackles, 3 goals, which resulted in a season high 207 Supercoach points. Ridiculous. A number of other Giants had massive games as well, led by Josh Kelly (138), with the smooth moving Giant matching Coniglio for disposals, but being down in other areas compared to his fellow mid. Jeremy Finlayson (131) was dominant up forward with 23 touches, 13 marks and 2 goals, while Cameron kicked 5 goals on his way to 109. Other Giants in three figures were Hopper (125), De Boer (116) and Davis (101), while just below them in the nineties were Reid, Shaw, Cumming and Deledio. Mumford, Taranto, Whitfield and Greene all returned below expected scores, but the letter two both suffered game ending injuries during the 2nd half, keep an ear open to any news.

 

Gold Coast’s promising season took a big hit with a pretty bad showing on Saturday afternoon, but some positives still came out. Co-Captain Jarrod Witts dominated Mumford all day, with 49 hitouts, 15 touches and 6 frees for to finish on a season high 127. Still don’t know what Darcey Macpherson looks like but he’s now had 3 100+ scores in his past 4, with this weeks being his season/career high of 119, but from then on scores really drop off. Fiorini and Weller were in the 90’s, but then the next best was 75 to Wright. Overall 14/22 players didn’t score above 60, so that really tells the story. Third-gamer King kicked his first goal and showed great signs with 7 marks, while the usually prominent David Swallow (55) was the next player in line to be De-Boered. Injuries throughout the day to Murdoch, Horlin-Smith and Bowes further soured the day, with Bowes looking the most serious.

 

Question from the game: Are the Giants premiership favourites?

 

Supercoach query: Will anyone better Coniglio’s score this year?

 

Geelong vs Sydney

 

A solid effort from the Swans but errant kicking hurt them in the end. Uncontested possession king Jake Lloyd picked up 34 of them amongst his 36 disposals and 13 marks, and used it at 88% for 123 Supercoach points. Rampe and Parker were both great all day, with the backman having 25 touches and 8 marks for his 135 points, while the bollocking mid had 28 touches and 4 tackles for his 135. George Hewett (103) shook off any concussion concerns in a 29 touch game, while Jordan Dawson continued his great campaign with a score of 96. Not too much else for the Swans with only Reid (92) scoring well enough apart from the above mentioned, but well done to McVeigh and Menzel on their respective returns to senior football.

 

Geelong’s form continues on and you’d back them to keep it going against Richmond on Friday night. Supercoach scoring was fairly spread for the Cats, with returning superstar Dangerfield top scoring on 130 due to his 2 goal, 29 touch (19 contested) game. Next best was the other inclusion of the week in Ratugolea, who also kicked 2 goals in the game to score 114. Parfitt’s solid season continues with 104, while Dahlhaus (102) and Duncan (101) returned welcome scores for their owners. Up forward Hawkins (91) kicked 4 goals but may have to answer for a stray forearm, while Kelly scored a point more than Hawkins. Down back Tom Stewart (99) had 23 touches, while fellow backman Tuohy had a knee concern throughout the game but played through it. Also, another congrats to Zac Smith who made his return to senior footy as well in this game.

 

Question from the game: Are the Cats premiership favourites?

 

Supercoach query: How much would Lloyd score if he had the contested game of Dangerfield?

 

Melbourne vs Adelaide

 

Bad luck for the Demons with Sam Weideman’s late shot at goal drifting left, and it now seems their season is officially done. Big Maxxy Gawn did his usual thing with 25 touches, 7 marks and 30 hitouts to lead the Demons Supercoach wise again with 158 points, while Clayton Oliver was second best on with his 122. Midfielders Jones (104) and Viney (99) tried their hearts out all night with 28 and 24 disposals respectively, as did James Harmes (95). A very good week for bubble boy Oskar Baker who continues to grow into his role, this week picking up 21 touches and 7 marks for 69 Supercoach points, continued growth coming his way. Not too much else of mention for the Dees Supercoach wise except for Brayshaw (91), Fritsch (85) and Hibberd (84).

 

6-5 now for Adelaide on the back of a come from behind win, making up for the previous week. Big news out of the game was a hamstring injury to Rory Sloane, which may see him have some time on the sidelines, but apart from that the Crows had a clean slate injury wise. Brad Crouch finally cracked the ton, due to his 3 goal, 29 touch game, with his 127 points top scoring for them on the evening. Tom Lynch was absolutely everywhere all night with 3 goals of his own, 26 touches, 10 marks and just the 1 turnover, although his score of 109 probably deserved a little more IMO. Rory Laird used his 31 touches extremely well (87% DE) for his 111, while fellow backman Jake Kelly was the only other Crow in triple figures, with his 10 tackles largely contributing to his 107 points. Brodie Smith (96) was back pumping out scores that coaches are hoping for, while Ellis-Yolmen kicked a goal and had 25 touches for his 88. Wayne Milera used the ball at 95% for his score of 97, while a point above him was Greenwood for his 20 touch, 7 tackle game. Up forward Betts and Jenkins kicked 2 goals each, while Gallucci kicked 1 and looked classy most of the night for his 82. Reilly O’Brien (55) was dominated all night.

 

Question from the game: Can Nathan Jones go around in season 2020? I think so, but this second half of the season will dictate it.

 

Supercoach query: What will people now do with Rory Sloane?

 

Brisbane vs Hawthorn

 

Brisbane recovered from a shocking 1st quarter to pull out a great win on Saturday night. Harris Andrews starred, with the intercepting backman top scoring on the night with 131 courtesy of 20 touches and 9 marks and all at 85% DE, two great weeks in a row for the bloke. Next best was Jarryd Lyons, who I hardly noticed during the game but he was apparently everywhere with 33 touches (23 kicks) and 4 tackles for 127, 5 points above little man Lewis Taylor. Lachie Neale (114) quietly racked up 30 touches (10 contested) at 86% in another solid display that could mean some Brownlow votes, while Mitch Robinson (102) continues his solid 2019 campaign with a 22 touch, 1 goal game. Darcy Gardner had 21 touches and 7 marks to score 115, but I doubt many coaches have him. Martin had 89 and Zorko registered 85, but after that scores dropped off. Up forward Cameron, Hipwood, Rayner and Mathieson all kicked 2 goals, and lastly a congrats to Archie Smith who made his return to senior football after 2 years out.

 

Hawthorns topsy-turvy season continued with a mid-game fade out to the rampaging Lions. Shaun Burgoyne wound back the clock with a 21 touch (85% DE), 1 goal night to top score for the Hawks on 127, while Sicily (108) did his usual distributing role very well all night (although a few jabs to McCarthy early may be look at). Other than that no other Hawks hit the ton, and only another three scored above 80, those being the consistent trio of Henderson (97), O’Meara (95) and Worpel (99). Nothing much else for the Hawks except for the injuries to Gunston (finger) and Wingard (hamstring), which may cause some selection changes on Thursday night.

 

Question from the game: Does Burgoynes AAMI insurance advert play after every goal?

 

Supercoach query: Any risky coach looking to bring Harris Andrews in?

 

St Kilda vs Port Adelaide

 

Port delivered a 70 point smacking over in China to put themselves back on the winners list. Travis Boak answered his critics with a huge 33 (13 contested) touch game that also included 2 goals and 6 tackles to net a team-high 131. Matching him for amount of disposals was the ever-improving Jarrod Lienert, who picked up heaps of uncontested footy and used the ball at 83% for 112 Supercoach points. Star forward Robbie Gray kicked 3 goals, had 28 touches (19 contested), 8 clearances and laid 5 tackles for 122, while recruit Lycett played extremely well for his 115. Twin 98’s came from Houston and Amon, while Byrne-Jones kept up his hot run of scores with another 90. The same can be said for Xavier Duursma (92), who had 23 touches, 10 marks and a goal, while Bonner kicked 3 goals for his 94. Anyone still with Zak Butters (112) would be very happy after he churned out his first ever 100, while other notable scores went to Howard (93) and Rozee (83)

 

The Saints just didn’t turn up on the day but Rowan Marshall definitely did. The Saints big man was everywhere with 26 touches, 7 marks, 4 tackles, 24 hitouts and a goal to record a game-high 139. Next best was Jade Gresham who continues his hot form streak with a 3 goal, 20 touch effort that resulted in 105, with scores dropping severely from there. Only Membrey (86) scored above 80, so it was a dirty day for the Saints. Injury concerns to Young and Brown further hurt them

 

Question from the game: Do people enjoy us spreading the game first through New Zealand and now China?

 

Supercoach query: Is Duursma making a case as a keeper at D7-8?

 

Carlton vs Essendon

 

Same slippery and wet conditions as the previous week for Essendon, but this time they came away with a win. The star on the day Supercoach wise was Dyson Heppell, who had the ball on a string with 36 touches (22 contested) and kicked a goal to lead all comers with 153 points. Hooker and Parish had 31 touches apeice, but Parish’s 2 goals meant he scored higher (129) than Hooker (106). McGrath is looking like a lock next season, especially if he is listed as a defender, as he picked up 32 touches all over the ground on Sunday to score 101. No one could get past Hurley who patrolled the backline all day to score 132, while up forward McDonald- Tipungwuti (105) kicked 3 goals. Many other Bombers scored well, including Guelfi (96), Langford (97), Merrett, Zaharakis, Laverde (85), Bellchambers (88), McKenna (99) and Clarke (99). The last of those names, Clarke, may well be in the Brownlow votes after picking up 23 touches, 10 tackles and keeping Cripps completely out of the game. Clarke is a former Under-18 All-Aus, leading disposal getter in TAC Cup and has dominated the VFL of late, so from the outside he looks a great rookie pick in the coming weeks. Sidenote he dominated my own and many other teams throughout juniors for years on end, keep an eye on him, Matt Priddis type.

 

Another shocking showing for the Blues and it seems the focus is now on getting games into the younger kids. The only Blue to reach triple figures was Kreuzer, who had 22 touches (17 contested) and 32 hitouts for 121 points. Only other notable scores were Cripps (89), C.Curnow (95) and Petrevski-Seton (85). Rookies in Walsh (67) and Setterfield (64) were OK, while Levi Casboult’s late bump may cost him a week.

 

Question from the week: Will Carlton cull many players come the end of this year?

 

Supercoach query: Is Cripps about to be brought in by every single coach?

 

West Coast vs Western Bulldogs

 

A dominant 3rd quarter from the Eagles ensured their 5th win on the trot, and it was led up forward by Jack Darling. The big forward kicked 6 goals to lead all comers on the ground with 135 points, while Andrew Gaff (121) is building a great campaign after a delayed start, another 36 touches for him. The only other Eagle over three figures was consistent small forward Cripps, who kicked 2 goals amongst his 19 touches for 107 points. Decent scores came from Yeo (90), Hurn (85), Sheed (91), Shuey (97) and Vardy (86), and up forward tall targets Kennedy and Waterman both kicked 3 goals.

 

While the Dogs didn’t get the win they still had solid contributors across the ground. Dunkley continues his hot-streak with another 119 points courtesy of his 33 touch game, while Caleb Daniel (124) could be in the All-Aus squad of 40, another 34 touches (94% DE) for the Dogs little man. Fellow backman Johannisen is surely being considered by many coaches for his scoring consistency, another 116 for him from 32 touches. No one else over 100 but scores like those of English (96), Liberatore (83) and Macrae (84) wouldn’t have made coaches too angry. First-gamer Gardner (41) played well with 9 disposals and should hold his spot.   

 

Question from the game: How many games will newbie Gardner play?

 

Supercoach query: Dom Sheed a tad hard done by to not hit three figures, even without registering a tackle?

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