We’ve all been checking out the NAB Cup stats to find the 2008 version of a Matt Priddis. We’ve also been seeing some of our favourite DTers coming up with disappointing results. Well, I don’t think we can read too much into thes figures.

Firstly, the way a team lines up could be hella different to round one of the real thing. Like, the Blues are missing Chris Judd, among others, at the moment and you’d think he’s a sure thing in their midfield come the season opener. Players are tried in different positions, in new roles and many have much different time on ground (TOG) than normal. With the new interchange rule, which personally I find stupid and contradicting, we find 8 onn the pine, but only 16 changes are allowed per quarter. So, like what the Hawks did with our mate Josh P. Kennedy, players can see themselves on the pine for a long time! What is the point of Pre-Season games if you can’t play dudes when and and for how long you want?

Another thing is that players don’t get full value for all of the things they do on the ground. Joel Bowden would be suffering with the “no marks if the ball is kicked backwards in the back half of the ground“ rule. Also, the ball has to travel 20 metres for it to be paid a mark, rather than the normal 15 metres (this will make Daniel Cross handball even more because he can’t kick it 20 metres). Don’t forget that the games are shorter… by almost 20 minutes!

While they are some of the negatives, this is where we can see the potential of some players! Nick Stevens’ 133 DT points on the weekend showed us he is still capable of massive scores and that some first gamers, like James Sellar and Craig Bird, can mix it with the best! So, they don’t really mean diddly squat, but be aware of this sort of thing when you see a usual DT superstar well below their usual average.