Contenders or pretenders?: Round 12A wrap (Sunday)

A determined Brisbane Lions embarrassed Hawthorn in Tassie with a 42 point thrashing.

The Lions set up their win in the third quarter, kicking 4.4 to 1.1 against the wind. The Lions had more tackles (83 to 53) and won more contested ball (129 to 95), and out coached the Hawks in the second half. Hawthorn fans who were expecting a fight back in the last quarter would have been bitterly disappointed with the insipid capitulation. Brisbane had as many, if not more, critical players missing through injury as Hawthorn. The Hawks coaching panel have a lot to think about over the break, including the tactic of going into a game with three rucks.

The Lions, already missing three important defenders, lost Troy Selwood to injury in the first quarter. Luke Power (DT154/SC162) started in the back line then moved to the centre, and accumulated a game high 36 disposals. Jonathon Brown (99/130) stepped up when it mattered most to kick four second half goals in a low scoring game. Most Lions players wanted the ball more than their Hawthorn opponents did. Brisbane scored 1766 to 1536 in SC, with an amazing nine players scoring tons.

For the Hawks, Sam Mitchell (132/142) and Brad Sewell (95/120) tried hard, but too many Hawks were missing in action. Lance Franklin (32/23) suffered from bad delivery and an overly negative game plan that dragged Hawthorn’s forwards up the ground, leaving him outnumbered. Just when you thought his price had bottomed out, it seems there will be at least two more price drops. When he finally turns it around, he will be at unbelievably low price.

The match up of Beau Muston (52/27) and Daniel Rich (74/102) would have left many fantasy coaches in a no win situation. Those coaches that have kept Rich will probably decide he’s too good to trade out now. In the last three weeks he has averaged 88 in DT and 108 in SC.

In Adelaide, the Crows won a rain-affected gain against the Kangaroos by 44 points. The wet conditions disguised what was really an extremely dominant performance by Adelaide. It was 65 inside 50s to 34 and 23 scoring shots to nine. The win means Adelaide have jumped at least three spots on the ladder, passing Port, Hawthorn and Carlton.

Michael Doughty (132/139) continued his impressive form and will be a tempting upgrade for fantasy coaches. Andy Otten (92/122) returned to form and should be retained by those coaches who still have him.

For the Kangaroos, Hamish McIntosh (106/116) did amazingly well in the conditions, with 20 disposals and 23 hit outs. For those brave coaches who chose him, Nathan Grima (90/113) is proving to be an excellent rookie defender. Sadly, Jack Ziebell (23/10) went down with what may be a serious leg injury. For the 80,000 fantasy coaches who still have him, his price will drop by about $26k in DT.

So with Part A of round 12 finished, how is your team going? What type of score are you heading for?