Get Off The Bench: Round 10

We all know that last week was one out of the box and that also included some of our fringe guys.  Lower had himself a very nice 119 which was better than some premiums!  Duigan also bounced back after a lot of us thought he had maxed out in price with a 97.  However, some of them stunk it up and my ex-forward (well he will be when I trade his arse on Friday) Tapscott with a 16, although he was injured.  One thing is for sure, these players are mostly first year guys and by default they will be very inconsistent at times which makes picking a winner one of the hardest things to do, particularly with so little to go on in terms of historical form.

One of the pleasing things for most coaches this week is the return for the rest of the year of the Gold Coast Suns.  Last week most of us had a heap of them sitting on the bench doing stuff all, so at least we will have some bench cover this week for the late withdrawals (Swanny maybe?).  I am also going to change the way I go about this column this week so let me know if you like it or not either in the comments or on twitter @pkd73

Just one overall factor that I have found (and it should be fairly obvious to most) is that these guys are getting more of a run against the poorer teams and are scoring well so if your guys are playing Port, Brisbane or Gold Coast it is a safe bet that they will score fairly well.

Start these guys

Nick Lower has reclaimed the mantle of the best defender of the rookies after a 119 against the Power.  He seems to like slaying those that are already dead with his second best score being in round 1 against the Lions.  So if he is able to be less accountable for an opponent he is playing the run off role very well.  Duigan is the other guy that put up his best score of the season last week with a 97.  Interestingly though his two best scores have come against Geelong and Essendon so he likes the ball coming at him consistently so this may make this weeks game against the Dee’s a lower scoring one for him perhaps.  However, I would still be starting him if you haven’t traded him out yet.

Stefan Martin of the Dees has been relishing his role with Jamar out scoring 108 and 110 whilst filling in for the big guy.  So whilst Jamar is out of the side I would be playing this bloke.  He is priced at $272k and has made his owners a tidy $127k already!  Another guy who will make big bucks for his owners is Ben Jacobs who has made it possible for us Power supporters to justify one of our players in our DT.  I saw him in person on Saturday and I liked what I saw, this kid knows where to be and will only get better with experience.  I expect he will become a premium in the near future.  He had a 91 after his debut 53.  The only risk is the humidity in Darwin may play havoc with his ball handling, but I think he will still score well.

Danny Stanley is one guy that has been solid throughout this season and he did ok against the Crows with 88pts.  I would expect him to be good for 60 – 75pts per game.  Brodie Smith is one of the Crows that scored really well against the Pies on the weekend with an 81. I like this guy as a scorer but in the two weeks prior he had a 53 against Melbourne and then a Green Vested 11 against Gold Coast. I think he is certainly a good bet and against Brisbane this week if he can avoid a vest he should score very nicely.

Tom Liberatore is learning his craft from the best.  From what I could see on Sunday night, he was wherever Boydy was.  And it showed with his scores.  He had 73 in a bad loss folling his 100 and with the poor form of the dogs he will have very good Job Security if you ask me.  One guy who has been very good and is back after an injury is Daniel Harris.  He is good for around 75 odd points.  His solid body around the packs is just what the Gold Coast need so he will continue to get the hard ball for them and score well.  David Swallow is also playing very well and has really found his feet recently in the big leagues.  His 101 in his last start was his best and he hasn’t dropped below 75 since round 2

Reece Conca has 99 in his last start and this was his highest.  They are playing Port Adelaide and we know what that does to their scores, but to temper that they are playing in Darwin which is known for slippery conditions due to the Humidity so he should be good but don’t expect anything special.  Andrew Krakouer is back at his favourite ground, the MCG.  He scores very well here and that is well documented.  He has had 80 and 66 since his 113 v the dogs.  I think he will score very well as long as he isn’t a sub.

Sam Iles seems to have shown his form is in the 60’s range with two of them over the last two weeks after a 74 and 47.  This guy is still learning and comes with big wraps and I think he will continue to be a solid scorer.  Shane Savage from the Hawks had a 71 to back up his monster 144, this is back to where I expect him to be fter his early games were around that mark.  However, he had a 35 in a full game against West Coast and has had a Green vested 30.  I would be confident with him playing against the Dogs.

Trent McKenzie has a bloody good kick doesn’t he!  Should take him out to that infamous Wheat Silo that Billy Brownless supposedly kicked over, I reckon he could do it.  Anyway, he has played every game and is scoring between 58 and 82 so he is very consistent.  I would trust him if I had to play him.  Matt Wright has done well recently after a Green Vested 27 in his debut.  He had 83 against the Pies after his highest score of 116 against Gold Coast.  I think given the way the Crows are going with injury and form he should have pretty good Job Security.

Another Power player who is doing ok is Jasper Pittard.  He has scores that are hanging around the 70’s and 80’s.  He seems to be a link up player across half back and has a run through the wing too.  I know he missed a game recently but I think given Primus’ youth policy he has fair job security I reckon.

Jack Darling is a player.  He should be on your field every week (except for byes of course). 

Tom Lynch from the Gold Coast (not to be confused with the one from the Saints)  has a pair of 90’s to his name and will be traded into heaps of teams this week (including mine).  I would put him on the ground if you are looking at getting him in to replace Tapscott!  Brandon Matera has been very solid this year with scores in the 60’s with an 84 in his Rising Star nominated game against… you guessed it… Port.

Zac Smith is going to be called upon by nearly every coach that still has him this week.  With Sandi going down, Zac will get out there.  And with the Cats leaving Ottens at home he should have a good score once again.

A Little Inconsistent or Too Early to Tell maybe?

Paul Puopolo has only played two games with an 85 and a 52.  I am going to cut him some slack because the 52 was at the SCG which in my opinion is a ridiculous game for AFL as it is too damn small.  Poops as he seems to be called in the forums these days wasn’t given any space to create and I am hoping that a return to Melbourne and a game against the hapless Doggies might lift his score again.  Note his 85 was against Port at AAMI.  Jesse O’Brien has recovered from the Green Vest over the last two weeks with a 67 and a 54  although he does seem a bit up and down for me and that I think his scoring range is in the 50’s if I had to predict it.  I also worry about his chances of getting a vest, I know he has only had one, but his versatility makes him a good candidate particularly with Claye Beams now out for the year.

Jake Batchelor from the Tigers has certainly put his game together after a slow start to the year.  His scores are still up and down yet he seems to do ok against the good teams with 83 against Freo (his best) and then 80 against Essendon last week.  His 3 worst scores were against Carlton, St Kilda and Brisbane, and two of those were in the first two weeks.  Nick Smith only had 39 against the Hawks which was his lowest with his previous worst a 57 v Carlton.  I think he will bounce back and I think it will be this week against the Roos where Sydney should do better than against the Hawks.

Jamison has had a couple of 60’s in the last two has him looking like a viable option after his 44.  He has also had a 91 and 71 so he could get a decent score. 

Ok well last week I was all over Mark Nicoski and this week I have dumped him his RVested 30.  I still think this guy can score, but he has just thrown a bit of a spanner in the works.  This was his worst since his 35 in Rd2.  Reid from Sydney is also very inconsistent, he had 85 against the Power, but a 38 against the Hawks, he also is in and out of the side and has a couple of Red Vests in the wardrobe too.

Rohan Bewick is far too inconsistent for me to play him with confidence.  He had a 68 and 73 early on but has 2 Green vests and 1 Red one in his last 4 games!  Another guy I am not so sure on is Simon Buckley I know he has had 2 good games in his last two, but prior to that round 1 against Port was his best with 54.  Still don’t trust him.

Shaun Atley hasn’t managed to keep up a reasonable score for coaches.  He started with two 40’s and his last two have been 30’s  so I wouldn’t play him unless you needed to and with them playing Sydney I reckon that poor scoring could continue. 

Luke Breust has had himself a pair of Green Vests in his first two games and scored a 70 when he came on in the first quarter for Hale but last week got a 30.  I will be keen to see him get another full game and see how he goes.  But at the moment I am just not sure.

Shaun McKernan had a bit of hype about him in the preseason as he played well for Adelaide in the NAB Cup and I also liked the look of him, but since then he has had an 83 in round 1 and not much better than mid 50’s since.  I wouldn’t play him, but some people may be forced to.   Alex Johnson from the Swans has a couple of games in the 60’s but his others haven’t been anything to write home about so I would stay away.

I Just Don’t Trust Em

Luke Thompson has had a 92 against the Saints at AAMI, but he has been steadily declining since then.  He has had no other scores over 56 so be careful with this guy.  Bryce Retzlafff is not someone I would look at.  2 x 40’s and a 16. 

Lukas Markovic has had a couple of 31’s and is on the extended bench.  Just don’t trust this guy, particularly with the Dogs sucking like they did.

Tendai Mzungu is going to be good, but I have him in this section because I think we just didn’t see enough last week in his one quarter at AAMI.  He got 21, but the game was shot at that point so he didn’t come under any real pressure.  I want to see a full game from him before I put him on the ground.  I also think he will still get  a Green or Red vest this week only because he is still recovering from that Knee injury and Mark Harvey will nurse him back to a full load.

The 3632 owners that have Evans from Melbourne should be congratulated, but I would love to know how many actually had him on the ground.  His 112 was great, but as with Tendai, I want to see another game from him before I rule out the Gysberts/Muston curse.

Sam Day is on the buble this week and has had a 26 and a 44 in his first two and with them playing the undefeated Cats this week I just wouldn’t risk him.  His teammate Dion Prestia is finally back, but I wouldn’t play him on the park just yet.  He has missed too much top level AFL he will probably be the sub and if not, he will take a bit to get back to the pace of the game.

The Rankings…..

 Defenders

1. Lower
2. Duigan
3. Stefan Martin
4. Stanley
5. Laidler
6. Brodie Smith
7. Jacobs
8. Puopolo
9. Batchelor
10. O’Brien

Midfielders

1. Liberatore
2. Harris
3. Swallow
4. Conca
5. Krakouer
6. Savage
7. Iles
8. McKenzie
9. Wright

Forwards

1. Darling
2. Krakouer
3. Lynch (GCS)
4. Matera
5. A Johnson
6. McKernan
7. Breust
8. Mzungu

Our mate @tbetta9 asked me to have a look at Shaun “Missy” Higgins in this article this week and I reckon I would put him in the “A Little Too Inconsistent” category.  His first game back after 3 weeks off last week resulted in 29 pts in a Red Vested effort.  Prior to that though he had a 90, 126, 109 and 76 so he is certainly a player, but the injury risk and the fact that Chopper gave him the Chop last night means I wouldn’t trust him.  In terms of a ranking I would slot him in just behind Krak in the mids and after Lynch in the forwards.  But if I had him, I would serioulsy consider trading him out.

I hope you liked the new format and let me know if you would like to see any other changes going forward or if there are other players you would like to hear about.  Tweet me at @pkd73 and I will see what I can do for you.