Big Hamish McIntosh ($327,800) could be a great option in your ruck line-up after a great performance today at Casey Fields kicking a couple of goals. Aaron Edwards kicked 4 goals with great forward line support from Nathan Thompson and David Hale. Melbourne was well served by Nathan Jones, Simon Buckley and DT gem, James MacDonald. Russell Robertson kicked 3 goals in the final term and was reported for high contact. This was Robbo’s second report in 2 weeks.

Brisbane beat the Swans by 10 points at Manuka Oval with Barry Hall being a late withdrawal (don’t we friggen love them) with “a bit of a sore, creaky old back” according to Paul Roos. Jonathon Brown came off the ground in the 1st quarter with a knee injury scare, but was soon back on dominating again! For the Swans, Ed Barlow, Kieren Jack, Craig Bird and Jarred Moore were the standouts.

Posted by Warnie | 5 Comments »

DT Talk’s man on the outer in Adelaide, Chad, went to Port’s game against the Dockers today… here’s what he saw:

Port Adelaide controlled most of the game to win by 50 points over Fremantle at Noarlunga Oval (south of Adelaide). Danyle Pearce put in another solid performance, and the Cornes boys were their usual self.

In very hot conditions Port started well, but Fremantle came back in the second quarter. From half time Port controlled the match to run out winners by 50 points. Tredrea looked impressive with 3 goals after a solid pre season. Rhys Palmer didn’t have a stand out, but was servicable and should have put his hand up for Round 1.

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In the Eagles win over the Bombers at Subiaco, Brent Stanton gathered 36 possessions and snagged 4 goals! It was reported that Essendon were “guilty of over possessing in the second half“. Guilty? Nah, great DTing! Bacher Houli (26 touches), Jay Nash (24 touches) and Jobe Watson (23 touches) racked up the stats also. Premium Eagle ruck Dean Cox, was dominate with 23 touches and 25 hit outs. Andrew Embley showed class with his 32 possessions and 13 marks, while Ashley Hansen kicked 5 goals for the victors.

A Shepparton, Dane Swan and Heath Shaw were “prolific in the middle” for the Magpies and Tim Clarke, Rick Ladson, Chance Bateman and Luke Hodge ran the midfield for the Hawks. Vin’s mate, Lance Franklin, slotted 3 goals. Campbell Brown rolled his ankle, but misses round 1 through suspension anyway.

Again, for all Dream Team stats from these games, sign up to the Fantasy Freako email!

Posted by Warnie | 10 Comments »

Down at MC Labour Park today, Chris Judd made a great debut in the navy blue guernsey and more importantly, there were signs that the Juddernaught could be a bargain buy ($369,200) of 2008! He amassed 20 possessions, of which 4 touches came in the opening 70 seconds of the game! He also nailed a goal. Brendon Fevola booted 4 big ones - a good sign with improved delivery from a better midfield. Could he be a value adder to your side at $308,400?

Down at the Cattery, Geelong thumped Richmond with rookie forward, Ryan Gamble($83,500), kicking 3 goals after a positive pre-season performance. Apparently, Brent Prismall ($218,300) and Harry Taylor($83,500) were solid contributors, but are they in Geelong’s best 22? For the Tigers, Jake King ($302,600)was a shining light. Potential cash cow (if fit), Mark Coughlan ($195,800), played his first game, kicking one major, after being sidelined since mid-2006.

For the all important Dream Team stats for these games, you’ll have to sign up for the Fantasy Freako email from Champion Data and get them in your inbox exclusively! This is the must have resource for any DT coach wanting a chance at the top prize!

Posted by Warnie | 4 Comments »

A heap has been happening of late, here are some highlights:

• Chris Judd to debut this weekend. [more]
• Nick Stevens should be right. [more]
• Chris Masten a Round 1 Starter? [more]
• Andrejs Everitt injured. [more]
• Round 1 not secure for Mark Johnson [more]
• Peter Everitt to miss Round 1 [more]
• Nick Riewoldt has tendonitis [more]
• Lachlan Hansen to step-up? [more]

Posted by Warnie | 4 Comments »

Just a few players to watch in tonights St.Kilda vs Essendon game! 

Essendon

Brent Stanton- First game for the year, good scoring midfielder, worth watching but could cop the no 1 tag this year.

Andrew Welsh- Likes to get the ball and run off the half back line, hamstrings a problem last year though.

Kyle Reimers- Played 3 games last year and apparently will win the hard ball, might be a spot for him in the Essendon midfield with that other shit Johnson gone to Freo.

David Hille- I know i put him in last game, but has been solid so far and still should be watched for a ruck option if thats where your problems lie like me.

Angus Monfries- Should cement his spot in the midfield or a forward flank this year, lots of potential.

Courtney Johns- Oh dear!

St.Kilda

Nick Riewoldt- First game for the year, not sure why this bloke doesn’t get more of a run or even rate a mention by my fellow DT Talk friends, but he is a gun, lock him in, will travel up the ground to look for a kick and is certain captain material, just ask Vin.

Steven King- First game for his new club, should be the saints no 1 ruck option which will also allow Kosi to go to the goal square which is another thing to look at.(But  I just saw Kosi isn’t playing sorry.)

Lenny Hayes- I had Lenny a couple of years ago before all the injuries and he was awesome, another lock in captain if he can find his old form and stay injury free.

David Armitage- Had 80 DT’s last week against Geelong, listed as a centre so might struggle to get in the midfield in this team, at $133k not a bad bench option.

Steven Milne- Already talked about Stevie last week but I really hate him, the only thing big about this guy is the number on his back.

Posted by Tit-ed | 7 Comments »

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.

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Adelaide

James Sellar- Only 17 years old and an Adelaide native, kicked 3.1 last week against the pies.

Ivan Maric- Plenty of game time this year you would think given the injury to Rhett Biglands, still learning the game apparently but an option in the ruck maybe.

Simon Goodwin- Will he play more up forward this year? A massive option if he does cause he is a gun who will get heaps of it wherever he plays, and goals are a bonus for a midfielder.

Jason Porlyzia- Played off the back flank last week and kicked a goal, would be more used to playing up forward as he did in the SANFL.

Nathan Bock- We all know what this bloke can do, 90 odd one week and 20 odd the next, Dt talk love him though.

Fremantle

The Pav- Everyone knows how good this bloke is, only problem is working out if you go with him or JB.

Arron Sandilands- Bit of a weak ass **** according to Vin, but some people will get tricked into him again this year cause he’s real tall, not me though.

Des Headland- Doesn’t win enough of the ball for me but can be a game breaker, bet he wishes he stayed at Brisbane.

Rhys Palmer- Young midfielder who dominated the U18’s in ‘07, might get a run in the midfield with Haselby gone.

Jeff Farmer- See Steven Milne

Sorry this one is a bit crap, but Fremantle dont have many big DT number winners other than Pav, will try better next time.

P.S. bit hung too!

Posted by Tit-ed | 3 Comments »

Ok, Tit-ed is so bloody good at these, but he is busy playing in a touch final this arvo… so Roy and I will look at some of the dudes to keep an eye out for in tonight’s Hawks v Blues game.

Hawthorn

Grant Birchall - Big Birch cruises around the half back line and pushes up into the forward 50. Rarely seems directly opposed to a man. Maybe for a posession winning back, worth looking at for $343,300.

Brad Sewell - Now… apparently he is number 12, we are to see what tis bloke looks like… but word is that he’s not going to have the ugly ‘tagger’ role anymore! He’s a ball winner, so worth looking at!

Cyril Rioli - Cheap rookie, named as a forward. Keep an eye on time on the ball. He has covered a lot of ground in the games we have watched at York Park chasing the pill

Carlton

Shaun Hampson - He runs hard end to end. Capable of kicking a goal and being not much more expensive than Kruezer, could be the real Carlton ruck answer.

Darren Pfeiffer - Lead the Blues DT points last week. Watch game time, role and posessions. He is a cheap back, so could be a goodun.

Paul Bower - You can get him as a back but can play on a wing… watch this bloke!

Jason Saddington - Surely he won’t get a game for Carlton when he wont even make the extended interchange in an intra-club practice match of one of our teams. Don’t do your eyes an injustice by watching him!

Sorry for not being as informative or as funny as Tit-ed, but here are some blokes we think you should look at!

Posted by Warnie | 1 Comment »

Right, lets hope some of them actually do something tonight, thanks Ricky Dyson and Bachar Houli!

Geelong

Tom Lonergan- Everyone remembers when some melbourne dude (Brad Miller I think) put his knee almost all the way through Toms back, remarkable recovery and dominated the VFL GF, very cheap at something like $92,000, lets hope he hasnt lost his courage.

Mark Blake- Whinged and moaned all the way through grand final week when he got dropped, should be determined enough this year. Struggled last week  vs Jeff White.

Travis Varcoe- Speedy forward who likes to chase and tackle in the forward line, a dt coaches favourite thing. Wants a run in the midfield this year, good luck with that.

Max Rooke- The cats sent this bloke to Germany or somewhere over there to have his hamstring fixed, they must rate him pretty highly…..hard to get a kick in that backline though.

Tom Hawkins- Has apparently trimmed down and got a bit more speed, should take over from where the SOOK Nablett has left.

Who dont you watch in this team, except most of them are to expensive to get.

St.Kilda

Leigh Montagna- Solid finish to last year, is starting to mature a bit and flies under the radar for the saints.

Michael Gardiner- Hasn’t played alot of footy in the last couple of years, might stay away from the Underbelly dudes in Melbourne and go alright in the ruck.

Justin Koschitzke- With Gardy there might play less in the ruck and more up forward, needs to keeps his head out of the way from other players.

Aron Fiora- Coming on a bit later in his career, great left foot and a good runner, see Montagna above.

Fraser “The Ape” Gehrig- DT Talks unofficial ambassador, he just doesnt know it yet, we have, everyone has, they love it!

Steven Milne-The most hideous man in the AFL, isnt even any good just scabs off eveyone else then gets one kick for the game which might be a goal and thinks he’s the shiz……got news for you Steve, You aren’t…..

Posted by Tit-ed | 9 Comments »