Injuries are already taking their toll, opening up opportunities for the likes of Demon James Frawley.
I am including injury, suspension and retirement lists for each team, including the two official additions to the long term injury (LTI) list. Keep in mind that these are all projected for round 1, so that some who are currently injured are not included because I expect them to recover in a month’s time.
Richmond
FB: Jordan McMahon, Will Thursfield, Kelvin Moore
HB: Chris Newman, Luke McGuane, Andrew Raines
C: Matthew Richardson, Shane Tuck, Richard Tambling
HF: Joel Bowden, Cleve Hughes, Brett Deledio
FF: Mitch Morton, Jack Riewoldt, Nathan G. Brown
Fol: Troy Simmonds, Nathan Foley, Daniel Jackson
Int: Angus Graham, Matt White, Shane Edwards, Dean Polo
In: Graham, Polo
Out: Kane Johnson, Adam Pattison
Iffy: Edwards, White, Polo, Tambling
Waiting: Adam Thomson, Ben Cousins, Jake King, Pattison
Injured: Graham Polak, Trent Cotchin, Mark Coughlan, Johnson
Terry Wallace’s pronouncements on radio SEN during the week – most of which were about Dream Team, funnily enough – included an endorsement of Graham as second ruck over Pattison. Johnson’s knee injury will see a like-for-like swap – no, not for the outside play of a Cousins, but for the inside game of a Polo or Thomson.
Carlton
FB: Chris Johnson, Michael Jamison, Bret Thornton
HB: Paul Bower, Jarrad Waite, Heath Scotland
C: Shaun Grigg, Chris Judd, Kade Simpson
HF: Ryan Houlihan, Matthew Kreuzer, Andrew Walker
FF: Eddie Betts, Brendan Fevola, Chris Yarran
Fol: Cameron Cloke, Bryce Gibbs, Marc Murphy
Int: Shaun Hampson, Richard Hadley, Adam Bentick, Mitch Robinson
In: nil
Out: nil
Iffy: Scotland, Bentick, Hadley, Yarran
Waiting: Jordan Russell, Dennis Armfield, Brad Fisher, Sam Jacobs
Injured: Andrew Carrazzo, Robert Warnock
Suspended: Setanta O’hAilpin, Nick Stevens
Jacobs is not far away from this side, with the imminent return of Fisher further clouding the perpetually murky area at centre half forward for the Blues. Kreuzer and Cloke are lurking thereabouts, with a committee situation most likely. There are a number of sides rumoured to be thinking of a highly inexperienced ruck combo for the regular season to allow their nominal #1 ruck to plug a hole elsewhere in the team structure, though Hampson and Jacobs might be pushing this theory too far. Warnock is aiming at round 2 or 3, and his return will make the whole mess a lot clearer. Yarran returns this week in the NAB Challenge, so Garlett fans will be watching his numbers to see if he really is over that rolled ankle.
Hawthorn
FB: Brent Guerra, Robert Campbell, Campbell Brown
HB: Luke Hodge, Thomas Murphy, Grant Birchall
C: Chance Bateman, Sam Mitchell, Clinton Young
HF: Cyril Rioli, Lance Franklin, Stuart Dew
FF: Mark Williams, Jarryd Roughead, Michael Osborne
Fol: Simon Taylor, Brad Sewell, Travis Tuck
Int: Brent Renouf, Mitch Thorp, Ben McGlynn, Jarryd Morton
In: Renouf, Morton
Out: Stephen Gilham, Jordan Lewis
Iffy: Campbell, Hodge, Brown, Birchall
Waiting: Josh P. Kennedy, Cameron Stokes, Brendan Whitecross, Garry Moss
Injured: Trent Croad, Xavier Ellis, Tim Boyle, Rick Ladson, Gilham, Lewis
It looks inevitable to this Hawk fan that Campbell is going to have to play in defence and let Taylor and Renouf handle the ruck, while he covers for the MIA tall backs. It leaves Campbell open to further pulverising hits like he got from Fev on the weekend, though, so he may stay closer to goal on players like Lonergan and Hall so that the gorillas don’t have as big of a run up from behind. Out at centre half forward there is a big problem, though: Murphy is too small, Thorp too inexperienced and unsuited, Brown needed elsewhere, and Brown and Birchall probably not fit enough. The first three rounds see the likes of Mooney, O’Keefe and Petrie standing at forward 50, and they’re likely to have field days if one or more of the remaining Hawk defenders can’t stand up. Elsewhere, the varying reports are averaging out to Lewis missing round 1, with half a dozen other midfielders underdone, so Kennedy, Stokes and Whitecross are every chance to play, even if as emergencies who come in for late withdrawals. That’s not going ot help much for fantasy purposes though.
Geelong
FB: Josh Hunt, Matthew Scarlett, Harry Taylor
HB: Darren Milburn, Andrew Mackie, Corey Enright
C: Joel Corey, Joel Selwood, Jimmy Bartel
HF: Steve Johnson, Cameron Mooney, Paul Chapman
FF: Ryan Gamble, Tom Lonergan, Mathew Stokes
Fol: Brad Ottens, Gary Ablett jnr, Cameron Ling
Int: Mark Blake, Simon Hogan, David Wojcinski, Max Rooke
In: nil
Out: nil
Iffy: Hogan, Gamble, Wojcinski, Milburn
Waiting: James Kelly, Dan McKenna, Shannon Byrnes, Travis Varcoe
Injured: Matthew Egan, Tom Harley, Tom Hawkins
Not much change from their dominant second-half display against the Power. They’ll smash the young Blues this weekend too. There is talk of Ottens moving forward and allowing Blake and Trent West to shoulder the ruck load, with Steve Johnson to rotate more through the midfield, though personally I think Stevie J is far more damaging inside forward 50. I’m strongly considering picking him this year in the hope that the Geelong hierarchy look back at the 2008 GF DVD and realise that much of their problem was Johnson played too far out from goal. News that they’re considering going the other way with Stevie is not filling me with confidence.
Collingwood
FB: Simon Prestigiacomo, Nathan J. Brown, Tyson Goldsack
HB: Heath Shaw, Ben Reid, Harry O’Brien
C: Nick Maxwell, Scott Pendlebury, Tarkyn Lockyer
HF: Leon Davis, Travis Cloke, Alan Didak
FF: Dale Thomas, John Anthony, Anthony Corrie
Fol: Josh Fraser, Shane O’Bree, Dane Swan
Int: Cameron Wood, Marty Clarke, Ben Johnson, Sharrod Wellingham
In: nil
Out: nil
Iffy: Anthony, Wellingham, Rusling, Corrie
Waiting: Shannon Cox, Brad Dick, Dayne Beams, Steele Sidebottom
Injured: Paul Medhurst, Anthony Rocca, Sean Rusling
Medhurst returns from rehab in the NAB this week, so Corrie’s spot in the 22 is under threat if he gets through that okay. Sidebottom has his chance to stake a claim for a round 1 spot too.
Adelaide
FB: Graham Johncock, Ben Rutten, Brad Moran
HB: Andrew McLeod, Nathan Bock, Jared Petrenko
C: David Mackay, Scott Thompson, Chris Knights
HF: Simon Goodwin, Nick Gill, Richard Douglas
FF: Tyson Edwards, Kurt Tippett, Scott Stevens
Fol: Ivan Maric, Nathan Van Berlo, Brent Reilly
Int: Patrick Dangerfield, Michael Doughty, Robert Shirley, Bernie Vince
In: Petrenko
Out: Jason Porplyzia
Iffy: Rutten, Van Berlo, Tippett, Petrenko
Waiting: Taylor Walker, Andy Otten, Aaron Kite, Brodie Martin
Injured: Brett Burton, Brad Symes, Greg Gallman, Porplyzia
Porps is scheduled to resume contact work in “mid-March”, which tells me that he’s going to struggle to gain enough match fitness to be worth Neil Craig picking in round 1. Yes, I know he hasn’t got much else to play with in the small forwards, so that is undoubtedly why he has been trialling Petrenko as not only a designated kicker from halfback, but also as a small forward. Don’t underestimate Douglas’ potential to step up into that role either.
Brisbane
FB: Lachie Henderson, Daniel Merrett, Joel Macdonald
HB: Josh Drummond, Joel Patfull, Jed Adcock
C: Tim Notting, Bradd Dalziell, Travis Johnstone
HF: Luke Power, Jonathan Brown, Jared Brennan
FF: Tom Collier, Daniel Bradshaw, Rhan Hooper
Fol: Matthew Leuenberger, Simon Black, Michael Rischitelli
Int: Mitch Clark, Ashley McGrath, Troy Selwood, Daniel Rich
In: nil
Out: nil
Iffy: McGrath, Selwood, Clark, Rich
Waiting: Albert Proud, Jason Roe, Cheynee Stiller, Scott Clouston
Injured: Jamie Charman, Pat Garner, Todd Banfield, Daniel Murray, Joel Tippett, Sam Sheldon
Things are looking rosy for the Lions, especially from a Dream Team point of view as the Fantasy Freako newsletter pointed out this week, with Brisbane’s DT pointscoring rate going from 16th last year to 3rd through the first two rounds of the NAB.
West Coast
FB: Brett Jones, Darren Glass, Mark Nicoski
HB: Shannon Hurn, Mitchell Brown, Adam Selwood
C: Brent Staker, Daniel Kerr, Chris Masten
HF: David Wirrpanda, Ashley Hansen, Andrew Embley
FF: Ben McKinley, Quinten Lynch, Mark LeCras
Fol: Dean Cox, Matt Priddis, Tyson Stenglein
Int: Mark Seaby, Brad Ebert, Chad Fletcher, Sam Butler
In: Butler
Out: Beau Wilkes
Iffy: Butler, Hansen, Embley, Ebert
Waiting: Josh J. Kennedy, Jamie McNamara, Matt Spangher, Tom Swift
Injured: Beau Waters, Adam Hunter, Matt Rosa, Nick Naitanui, Patrick McGinnity, Luke Shuey
Word out of Subiaco is that Brown is going to be used at centre half back. With LeCras back to somewhere near full fitness and Lynch returning to form with four big goals in his his now-customary roving role against the Crows last weekend, the foursome of Lynch/McKinley/Hansen/LeCras is apparently their version of the four pillars policy. The roof of that particular building may be leaning down on one side due to the uneven height of the fourth pillar, but who are we to argue with that win over the Crows? Then again West Coast beat Adelaide last year when they were crap, so maybe it’s a wood-related thing.
St Kilda
FB: Matt Maguire, Max Hudghton, Farren Ray
HB: Raphael Clarke, Sam Fisher, Brendon Goddard
C: Jason Gram, Lenny Hayes, Leigh Montagna
HF: Jason Blake, Nick Riewoldt, Sam Gilbert
FF: Stephen Milne, Justin Koschitzke, Adam Schneider
Fol: Steven King, Nick Dal Santo, Luke Ball
Int: Michael Gardiner, Jarryn Geary, David Armitage, Steven Baker
In: nil
Out: nil
Iffy: Ray, Geary, Armitage, Baker
Waiting: Clinton Jones, Colm Begley, Xavier Clarke, Tom Lynch
Injured: Jarryd Allen, Sean Dempster, Robert Eddy
The Saints are apparently resting 10 of their senior players from their NAB Challenge match this weekend, instead using them in an intra-club match against their VFL affiliate Sandringham. Is it just me, or are clubs showing less and less respect for NAB praccies? Riewoldt was scheduled to return this week but is being held out for another week, which is not a good sign.
Sydney
FB: Lewis Roberts-Thomson, Craig Bolton, Paul Bevan
HB: Nick Malceski, Ted Richards, Martin Mattner
C: Amon Buchanan, Brett Kirk, Rhyce Shaw
HF: Jarred Moore, Ryan O’Keefe, Jarrad McVeigh
FF: Patrick Veszpremi, Barry Hall, Heath Grundy
Fol: Darren Jolly, Jude Bolton, Adam Goodes
Int: Jesse White, Craig Bird, Ed Barlow, Kieren Jack
In: nil
Out: nil
Iffy: White, Grundy, Shaw, Bird
Waiting: Daniel Currie, Mike Pyke, Jared Crouch, Daniel O’Keefe
Injured: Leo Barry (LTI list), Henry Playfair, Tim Schmidt, Michael O’Loughlin, Luke Ablett
Retired: Tadhg Kennelly, Nic Fosdike
Playfair’s hamstring injury is listed by the Swans as indefinite, which firms up Barlow’s prospects. That second ruck spot is the only one that is under serious structural debate at this stage.
Melbourne
FB: James Frawley, Stefan Martin, Colin Garland
HB: Matthew Whelan, Jared Rivers, Jack Grimes
C: Brad Green, Brock McLean, Cale Morton
HF: Cameron Bruce, Matthew Bate, Aaron Davey
FF: Colin Sylvia, Brad Miller, Lynden Dunn
Fol: Paul Johnson, James McDonald, Nathan Jones
Int: Mark Jamar, Simon Buckley, Brent Moloney, Clint Bartram
In: Frawley, Bartram
Out: Paul Wheatley, Michael Newton
Iffy: Rivers, Bartram, Dunn, Moloney
Waiting: Ricky Petterd, Matthew Warnock, Addam Maric, Rohan Bail
Injured: Russell Robertson, Austin Wonaeamirri, Wheatley
Wheatley is apparently not rehabbing quickly enough for him to be right for round 1, which opens up some interesting fantasy scenarios. Warnock’s DT ton in the NAB on the weekend puts his hat in the ring, especially if Rivers succumbs to his various ailments. Grimes’ form has him in the 18 for mine, and probably pinching a fair few of Wheatley’s fantasy points. Petterd’s preseason numbers continue to underwhelm. Meanwhile, Bate has been talked up during the week as a key forward, whcih is all the excuse I need to drop the disappointing Newton from this 22.
North Melbourne
FB: Daniel Pratt, Michael Firrito, Josh Gibson
HB: Jesse W. Smith, Lachie Hansen, Gavin Urquhart
C: Adam Simpson, Daniel Harris, Daniel Wells
HF: Matt Campbell, Drew Petrie, Lindsay Thomas
FF: Corey Jones, David Hale, Jack Ziebell
Fol: Hamish McIntosh, Brady Rawlings, Brent Harvey
Int: Andrew Swallow, Sam Power, Scott McMahon, Leigh Harding
In: nil
Out: nil
Iffy: Smith, Urquhart, McMahon, Swallow
Waiting: Ross, Josh Smith, Ed Lower, Scott D. Thompson
Injured: Robbie Tarrant
Suspended: Aaron Edwards (club)
Hard to get a read from the huge numbers in the 100-point flogging of the Freo kids, so I’m not going to make any snap judgements based on big scores to Josh Smith or Ross. One very worrying sign was Jesse W. Smith’s injury which had him iced up at half time and looking very proppy afterwards, according to several supporter reports. His ongoing fitness is a real concern.
Port Adelaide
FB: Michael Pettigrew, Alipate Carlile, Nathan Krakouer
HB: Peter Burgoyne, Troy Chaplin, Domenic Cassisi
C: Travis Boak, Chad Cornes, Kane Cornes
HF: David Rodan, Justin Westhoff, Danyle Pearce
FF: Daniel Motlop, Warren Tredrea, Brett Ebert
Fol: Dean Brogan, Steven Salopek, Shaun Burgoyne
Int: Brendon Lade, Josh Carr, Paul Stewart, Robbie Gray
In: nil
Out: nil
Iffy: Stewart, Gray, Krakouer, Salopek
Waiting: Jacob Surjan, Marlon Motlop, Toby Thurstans, Wade Thompson
Injured: Jackson Trengove (LTI list)
My early call on Krakouer last week looks good. There is some question over whether Port would be better suited with Thurstans instead of Pettigrew, though I don’t rate Thurstans. Surjan would be unlucky to miss this side.
Essendon
FB: Sam Lonergan, Dustin Fletcher, Courtenay Dempsey
HB: Adam McPhee, Patrick Ryder, Andrew Lovett
C: Hayden Skipworth, Jobe Watson, Bachar Houli
HF: Jay Neagle, Scott Lucas, Scott Gumbleton
FF: Alwyn Davey, Matthew Lloyd, Leroy Jetta
Fol: David Hille, Brent Stanton, Mark McVeigh
Int: Tom Bellchambers, David Myers, Jay Nash, Angus Monfries
In: Nash
Out: Kyle Reimers
Iffy: Dempsey, Lonergan, Nash, Myers
Waiting: Jason Winderlich Tayte Pears, Ricky Dyson, Michael Hurley
Injured: Andrew Welsh, Jason Laycock, Brent Prismall, Reimers
Reimers has quadricep tendonitis with no long-term prognosis on last report, so I think the Essendon hierarchy will want to tread softly. In Winderlich they may have a ready-made replacement, though again with him they might want to ease him in slowly via the VFL due to the long-term nature of his injury last year. It is good to see Hurley in the Friday team.
Fremantle
FB: Michael Johnson, Antoni Grover, Marcus Drum
HB: David Mundy, Luke McPharlin, Roger Hayden
C: Garrick Ibbotson, Paul Hasleby, Byron Schammer
HF: Kepler Bradley, Matthew Pavlich, Daniel Gilmore
FF: Chris Mayne, Chris Tarrant, Des Headland
Fol: Aaron Sandilands, Rhys Palmer, Ryan Crowley
Int: Brett Peake, Stephen Hill, Steven Dodd, Clayton Hinkley
In: nil
Out: nil
Iffy: Peake, Hinkley, Hill, Headland
Waiting: Scott Thornton, Josh Head, Nick Suban, Greg Broughton
Injured: Hayden Ballantyne, Andrew Foster
Suspended: Dean Solomon
I am still listing Pavlich and Tarrant in the forward spine even though both are supposed to be shifting further up the ground. The problem with that is that the tall forwards who are supposed to fill in those holes are all injured – Adam Campbell and Mayne with an ankle – or crap, as Ryan Murphy has shown himself to be in the preseason. Grover is clearly not the answer, so are we going to see McPharlin in the forward goalsquare with Tarrant at CHB? That sounds like crazy talk to me. Pavlich has apprently toned down this preseason to assist his midfield tank, and also to prevent the sort of hotspots and stress reactions he was getting last season from running around with excess muscle on his frame. With Headland also struggling with a calf problem and Ballantyne already ruled out, Freo has a real problem in figuring out who is going to kick its goals. It certainly won’t be the midfield, based on past numbers.
Western Bulldogs
FB: Andrejs Everitt, Brian Lake, Ryan Hargrave
HB: Lindsay Gilbee, Dale Morris, Callan Ward
C: Ryan Griffen, Daniel Cross, Nathan Eagleton
HF: Robert Murphy, Mitch Hahn, Daniel Giansiracusa
FF: Shaun Higgins, Brad Johnson, Jarrad Grant
Fol: Ben Hudson, Adam Cooney, Matthew Boyd
Int: Will Minson, Jarrod Harbrow, Dylan Addison, Josh Hill
In: Harbrow
Out: Tom Williams
Iffy: Eagleton, Everitt, Hill, Ward
Waiting: Tim Callan, Sam Reid, Stephen Tiller, Jason Akermanis
Injured: Williams
Rodney Eade admitted this week that Williams is highly unlikely for round 1. Aker is struggling with a calf problem, so his progress in the NAB this weekend should be monitored.
Alright, start the m0nty bashing. Cousins, Kelly, Beams, Otten, Aker… whoever your favourite is, defend your boy! You know you want to.
WOOFTA
March 6, 2009 at 7:53 pm
J Polkinghorne,Brisbane?
L Anthony,North Melbourne?
Consider yourself bashed.
m0nty
March 6, 2009 at 9:46 pm
No on Polkinghorne, too many in front of him. Probably a good point on Anthony, his form has been good enough to be waiting at least. Who would you leave out of the 22 if you think Anthony should be in, Woofta?
David
March 6, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Monty, you know your stuff although I’d be pretty surprized if Cousins and Aker don’t play Round 1. Channel 10 will be down at Punt Rd pleading with Terry Wallace to play Cuz R1.
WOOFTA
March 6, 2009 at 11:07 pm
I mentioned these players because you didn’t,not as necessarily being 22 worthy.
Anthony would find it difficult,depending on the fitness of J W Smith and the form of S McMahon,oh and the Laidley youth policy.
J Polkinghorne IMO is in the 22 as a sml fwd/mid.B1,B2 and M Clark as 3 tall fwds leaving no room for T Collier and/or L Henderson.A McGrath has been playing back,R Hooper has lost form,and dare I say D Rich appears a little slow and not quite ready.
Tristan
March 6, 2009 at 11:13 pm
What about Hentschel? I’ve got a team going with my dad back home and he was adamant about his decision to get rid of Skipworth for Hentschel, much to my irritation. I know you like Skipworth, so do I. But is there any chance that Hentschel plays round 1? You haven’t even got him mentioned as “waiting.”
m0nty
March 6, 2009 at 11:16 pm
Brisbane do have a weakness at small forward, it’s true Woofta. I think they have to play Hooper, though. Henderson will play as third back, possibly to allow McGrath to stay forward. If they’re looking for a younger player there, don’t you think Scott Harding would be in front of Polkinghorne given his two impressive NAB games at that very position?
m0nty
March 6, 2009 at 11:19 pm
Tristan, I don’t think Hentschel is anywhere near ready to play one full AFL game, let alone a string of them to deliver you enough cash cow moola.
steven
March 6, 2009 at 11:20 pm
hey monty any chance you can throw up a SC and DT structure post similar to the one you did last year? would be interested in your thoughts for this year
Ash
March 7, 2009 at 12:11 am
After tonights game Monty do you think Bryan, Beams or sidebottom are any closer to a spot in the 22? Could they be in fromt of Cam Wood, Sharrod Wellingham, Anthony Corrie, Ben Johnson?
Pingback: Over the Hille: 2009 NAB round 3 review, 1 of 2
m0nty
March 7, 2009 at 12:23 am
Ash: Sidebottom for Corrie is looking tempting.
WOOFTA
March 7, 2009 at 1:47 am
As we know Brisbane have a new coach and game plan.(They would have finished deep into the 8 last year if not for player unrest over the Mathews style.)Both J Polkinghorne and S Harding have excellent NAB form and one or both will fill the Collier/Hooper/Rich spots.For mine its Polkinghorne because of his speed and defensive pressure.
elliot
March 7, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Brennan is injured
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25151282-19742,00.html?from=public_rss
gothepower
March 7, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Monty, you may not rate Toby Thurstans, I may not rate Toby Thurstans, but one person does rate Toby Thurstans and unfortunately for Port supporters that somebody is Choco. He’s nearly a definite Round 1 starter. Also I’d think Thomson would be ahead of Polo, but I’m probably a bit biased.
dylan
March 7, 2009 at 2:47 pm
still missing walker from the crows =)
kicked 2 goals last week much better then what gill did
fryzie
March 7, 2009 at 3:30 pm
dylan, I just put Walker into my squad based on your post. If he doesn’t play round 1 I am holding you personally responsible.
Brad
March 7, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Rusty and Beams in for Wellingham and Corrie, lock it in Eddie.
west
March 7, 2009 at 5:50 pm
John Anthony may keep Rocca out of the team for a few rounds after kicking 7.
Monty how long can Mitch Thorp stay in the team? Worth a 9th spot in the FWD line?
rooke33
March 7, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Do you have good mail on cousins not playing? Or are you just being stubborn and continuing to leave him out?
Narkee
March 8, 2009 at 2:18 am
Monty,
Quick question.
Bearing in mind, I know minimal about Dangerfield, what is your logic behind his inclusion in Adelaide’s Round 1 side considering he has not seen any pre-season action?
dylan
March 8, 2009 at 10:05 am
Narkee, thats a interesting point you have with him been in the side. Not sure what he has done to make Monty want to put him in the side. I’m not sure Danger will get a spot in the round 1 team since he missed a few weeks of pre season which put him a fair bit behind. I think a few of the other players are a bit ahead of him at this stage.
lol Fryzie, i hope he plays as well. He kicked 3 yesterday but it was not really against a AFL squad so not sure if that really counts. I am expecting him to get Tippett like scores this year.
Covo
March 8, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Monty, give it up mate. Walker is playing round one for the Crows and every round after that unless he’s injured.
Raf
March 8, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Half fit Cousins is better than Polo, but we all know this is just a running gag now.
Kelly for Hogan or Wojo. I know that in the first NAB Cup game Kelly didn’t do much and Hogan got a lot of time, but since then Kelly has been in his usual slot for the Cats. Kelly is a sure thing. The only way Hogan gets in is for Wojo, not Kelly.
Walker for Adelaide probably? Don’t know enough about Adelaide.
JW Smith won’t be fit for round 1, and Liam Anthony and Ross strongly in contention for the spot. McMahon was on edge for round 1 but may have kept his spot in a good performance in the praccy match against Port. I would have thought Corey Jones spot should be in doubt, but he’ll probably get a few games in the regular season first before that call is made.
Wheatley is a trap waiting to happen for the people who make the mistakes of picking last year’s clever picks a year late.
Aker is playing round 1, he’s had a run in two games in a row now, he’s fine.
Winderlich will play for Essendon. Lucas should come back through the reserves, but who knows.
Ian
March 8, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Out: Dangerfield, Moran, Gill
In: Walker, Hentschel, Porplyzia (or Otten if Porsche’s not ready)
Brodie Martin is not even waiting. He’s behind about 15 guys for a spot at the moment.
Fryzie, you have nothing to worry about. I guarantee you, TEX WALKER WILL PLAY ROUND ONE.
I bet m0nty does have him and is just trying to scare everyone else off haha jokes.
The Chief
March 8, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Hentschel Kicked four goals against “Hawthorn” yesterday and looked good. Rethink your crows forward line Monty.
Blackbooker
March 8, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Corrie wont play for Collingwood round one, regardless of whether Medhurst is fit or not.
Wellingham and Reid would be 50/50 at best. Cox, Beams, Cook, Sidebottom are competing for their spots.
I can’t see room for Presti, NBrown, OBrien, Maxwell and Reid all in the same backline. Reid will be the one who misses.
Also, Skipworth wont last long in the bombers side if he continues to serve up performances like that. You cant afford that many turnovers and clangers in todays game with clusters and zones. It was the first time I had seen him play this year. Was his disposal better in the earlier rounds??
Blackbooker
March 8, 2009 at 6:20 pm
The Chief, Hentschel kicked four goals against the “Box Hill Hawks”. Surely Walker and Tippett are in front of him. Would they play all three??
Brad
March 8, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Blackbooker that was by far Skipworth’s worst performance this pre season.
Up until now his work in close and his decision making have been rock solid.
His disposal was very poor against Collingwood but was not a reflection of how well he has been going.
If you only watched the Collingwood game no way on earth you would have him in your fantasy side, or any other Essendon player for that matter, but i still have him in my s/c team based on his first 2 games and will just right off the Collingwood game as a bad night, he wasnt alone though, Essendon were woeful all night.
peppers
March 8, 2009 at 8:05 pm
there’s too many other good rookie options in the forward line this year, so if skippy’s in your team he probably fits best in the middle.
Macca
March 8, 2009 at 8:43 pm
You’ve changed your tune about Petrenko m0nty 😉
steve
March 8, 2009 at 8:56 pm
what do you guys feel about SC selection. ie number of premium mid price and rookies per side / line ?? Winning formula !!
Muppet Executioner
March 8, 2009 at 11:57 pm
SC SC – To Steve – I’ve only got 3 premium mids in mine. Gazza Jr is overpriced at $712K. This will go down – and whilst this happens, cheaper players will go up. And I’ve developed this disrepect thing wuth Gazza Jr.
Unlike popular conjecture, he aint the best player going around. Pav is a better all round player. The way he carried on, on Brownlow night when Cooney got the chocolates was less that impressive. Like Gazza – what do you expect? Miss 4 games of AFL footy and still expect to win the medal/ Please. And the the sookie la la he stacked on after the GF when Hodgey won the Norm Smith – terrible.
Pav is a tough bloke. Gazza is precious. Bartel is a mans player. Though Gazza missus is top shelf.
I’m quite concerned about Jesse at North. I rate this guy up with Pendlebury but his body is his achilles heel. If only I had a magic wand. My Kanga’s need him bad 😉
Gazza – harden the f.ck up
Muppet Executioner
March 9, 2009 at 12:03 am
Apparently he had a hissy when Corey won the 08 B&F at Geel. Typical Gazza Jr – his old man should teach him the way of Gazza Sr. Like how to puncture blokes lungs and party at the Tunnel till 4 am then go and get Best On later that day in the Prelim. Gazza Sr is like Chuck Norris, Gazza Jr needs to be more like the old man. Legend.
Q
March 9, 2009 at 11:28 am
In yesterdays paper (Sunday Times – WA) there was an article that Headland has gone too hard at training and made his injury worse. He is likely to be sitting out till around Rd 6.
hairy
March 9, 2009 at 1:54 pm
agree with the g.a jr comment and the pav comment and hope des stays out all season would be good for the docs not to have him
Johnny Bee
March 9, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Monty, tough job attempting to guess teams up front, hat off to ya. BUT, Winderlich will be one of the 1st picked at Bomber land
Mr Footyman
March 9, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Davenport has got to be a chance? what about Danny Meyer to come off the rookie list?
Benny
March 9, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Very doubtful Scotland will play round 1 for Carlton. Has been very restricted over the preseason due to rehab from an operation. Had his 1st hit out for the Bullants on the weekend and reports were that he looked very under done.
Sparlo
March 9, 2009 at 4:50 pm
No love for Rance Monty?
I know the fight for a spot in the Tiges backline is turning into an absolute bunfight but worth considering.
Also agree about Winderlich, he will be in.
Davenport was almost BOG for Port on the weekend and would have to at least be considered now.
Wellingham and Corrie would have to be out after Beams and Rusty’s game on the weekend and how can Rusling be iffy if he isn’t even in the 22?
Bo
March 9, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Ross they’re calling ‘little boomer’, he showed glimpses of brilliance last year, if anyone is on the cusp of sneaking into the team pocket forward its probably him.
Davenport will struggle to squeeze into that midfield, probably the 2nd best midfield in the competition.
Skippy is a lock, forget his disposals in that one game, he’s actually been one of their best players over the NAB cup. Winderlich has probably been their best player over the NAB cup.
I think pies might be regretting taking corrie right now tbh with the wealth of junior talent they have through the midfield.
I concur with Rusty. Corrie wellingham out beams sideass in.
Keep up the good work monty !!
PS:
(((Muppet, i agree that gablett is a crying little girl, and i dont particularily like him, but his 2008 was quite possibly the greatest season stat wise of any individual …ever.
Last year he made his dad look slack 🙁 ))
Narkee
March 9, 2009 at 11:30 pm
Gary Ablett is a GUN!
Those people who think otherwise clearly know very little about AFL football! He will again show this year that he is a superstar!!
XztatiK
March 10, 2009 at 12:22 am
Went to Berri the other day and Hentschel looked fantastic.
Worth noting that Sellar played (extremely well) in defence and should play round one if Rutten doesn’t, and maybe even if he does.
Brodie Martin is not even waiting, he is no chance in hell.
Simon
March 10, 2009 at 8:49 am
Gazza number 1 by a mile imo and he will prove it again this year. Did Gazza actually do any whinging or is this a perception by the media and a minority group of the public who like to knock our champions (aka, Ponting bashers?
Rob
March 10, 2009 at 11:19 am
Love your work Monty, but would it be that hard to list the teams in alphabetical order?
Fatty
March 10, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Only a muppett won’t have Junior. And that’s all he’ll be executing. Have a whine son.
Fatty.
fryzie
March 10, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Rob, it’s listed in the order they play round 1.
Azza
March 10, 2009 at 2:46 pm
hey wat u guys think about colin syliva this year. a lot of ppl have been mentioning him and he performed pretty well in the NAB cup games… soo yea can u guys help me he is only 360K and he is gd a for a forward cos he is listed as a mid so can rack up a few posesions there
Brad
March 10, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Hey Azza,
If history is correct and players break out or reach the top of their powers in their 6th season then Sylvia will be a very good option at that price as he is entering his 6th season.
He is a very good contested mark and gets a lot of outside posessions when he pushes into the mid field.
Could be his year to to make a significant increase on his averages.
Brady
March 10, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Michael Newton kicked 3 goals for the Dees on friday night and was named as there best player.
ETOH
March 10, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Sylvia’s way too injury prone for mine, Newton’s too much of a dud