Crows / Demons / Power NAB Review

Our mate Dunny was on the ground reporting for DT TALK on all things Dream Team from the opening games of the NAB Cup at AAMI Stadium. If you are heading to any of the NAB matches, feel free to email in a report to warnie@dreamteamtalk.com

Thank God!  Footy’s Back!  Me and my mate Peto couldn’t wait for the season to start and to check out all the tasty rookies on offer at AAMI stadium with the Dee’s, Crows and Power running around.  The first thing we noticed was that no one liked the new rules.  The last touch free kick for out of bounds rule was terrible!  It should be abandoned immediately!!  Also the shortened games made it difficult for players to get into a rhythm and play their regular game.  Anyway enough of this, on to the important bit.  What did we learn about the players??  Well here are a few notes that we came up with on the Fantasy relevant players that were out there.

Melbourne

They started slow but really came into it after their first 5 mins out on the park.  They slipped under a few radars last year, but if they continue this form, they will be pushing for a top 6 finish.

Colin Sylvia – Warnies boy did not disappoint.  He was fantastic and should be a lock in any good team.  He was very clean out of the middle and that was where he spent the majority of his time.  Set up a lot of forward attacks only scored 39 in the second gamebut he really was starting to take over.

Jack Watts – This boy has really come along from being the guy who got the softest free kick as his first possession in footy to being a strong lead up forward.  The defenders really had trouble stopping him, he seems to have put on a bit of bulk and presented well and worked well on the ground.  He was the main target up forward and as a result should get plenty of looks at it.  If this form continues and at the price of $224,500 he could be a good option for you in the forward line.

Jack Grimes – Jack was playing the true quarterback role in the same way as our other DT favorite Luke Hodge.   He was taking all the kick ins, but importantly was playing on a lot from the kick in which means that kick isn’t a wasted stat and it counts for you!  At $340k he isn’t cheap but you will get good reward from him.

Brad Green – Brad was solid, he was mostly up forward but did go in the mid for some of the game.  He racked up a nice number of possessions and points and will still be a go to guy for the young Dees.

Jack Trengove – Jack was all over the midfield and without Tom Scully to take up the possessions he racked up some good points.  I am a bit worried about him being in his second year now, but if he can continue like this he will be worth the $316k.

Adelaide

The Crows played two very different teams on the night.  Against Melbourne the played a lot of youngsters and seemed to be experimenting quite a bit.  However, against the Power they were playing what my Crows supporting mate Peto thought was pretty close to their best side.

Shaun McKernan – This boy had two very good hit outs on the night.  He was a lead up target and was grabbing everything in his area!  Mr. Fantasy thinks he will be in the SANFL, I think he will play more games in the Crows than anywhere else.  At a lovely $97k watch his form for the rest of the NAB Cup and if he continues like this he will get a regular game as there were no other obvious targets up forward for the Crows.

Andy Otten – Andy will be in pretty much every Dream team.  There is a good reason for this, he is way underpriced and he played mostly in the midfield!  He did drift to half back and from that point he will be the setup guy who starts all of the attacks from the back.

Phil Davis – Phil had a good 2010 and was on a lot of teams, he was a bit missing against the Dees but against the Power he was very solid and was the link up guy across the backline which meant he got plenty of it.

Kurt Tippett – Kurt only played the second game but he looked all at sea.  He was easily covered by Carlisle and just couldn’t take a grab.  I was predicting him for a breakout year, but he really needs to get more of the ball and also learn to kick goals.  Keep an eye on him, he is cheap and should improve, but if he doesn’t I would be looking elsewhere because there wasn’t much improvement on last year’s form.

Richard Tambling – No.  That is pretty much it.  The Andrew McLeod role is pretty much his for the taking but he didn’t do enough for mine and if Craigy thinks he isn’t in the best 22, he didn’t do anything to dispel that thought.

Scott Thompson – Didn’t play the first game, but in the second game, he lit it up!  He racked up about 50 DT points and played really well.  With some of the other big names like Goodwin and Edwards gone from the midfield, the points are his for the taking.

Ian Callinan – I was really looking forward to seeing this guy.  He has been put in just about every team on the planet as everyone thinks he will get a game.  He is only $80k and has DPP as aFwd/Mid.  I just don’t know if he can bust into the best 22.  Also we need to remember that unless elevated from the Rookie List he won’t get a game at all!  Watch him over the pre season as I think he will get better.  He got caught out a couple of times with the speed of the game, but did look ok in patches.  He was certainly better against Port and that may go a bit of a way to getting him on the list.

Brodie Smith – Played on a wing so may get some time on the ball.  He was selected at 14 in the draft and looks a player.  He is $108k and certainly looks like he can play.  If he can continue with this form he may find his way into the team.

Port Adelaide

The Power were disappointing but they did have a large stack of first choice players out and tried a lot of youngsters… just what us DT’ers want!

Chad Cornes –Chad certainly looked like he was a reinvigorated player, he was running around like he did 2 or 3 years ago.  He spent the majority of time up forward and this could be a sign that he is going to settle back to a forward role.  He did this in the first game even though the regular CHB in Chaplin didn’t play.  I still think he is most likely to be used as the Sub given his versatility but keep an eye on him.

Jackson Trengove – I think that Jackson showed what we are likely to get from him, a backman who will swing onto the ball occasionally.  He looked good taking a couple of good grabs.  He is priced at $219k and has Def/Ruc eligibility.  He may be a good option as 3^rd ruck but it is a lot of money to have on the bench.

Jarrad Redden – This guy is a popular pick as a 4^th ruck and he is a mountain of a boy!  He is only 6cm shorter than Sandi but he is a huge 20kg lighter, if he can get that sorted he could be a guy of the future.  He moved ok but did struggle around the ground.  At the moment he is more a tap ruckman than anything else.  He will spend most of the year in the SANF unless there is an injury to Brogan or Trengove.  I think Zac Smith is a better option at the moment.

Matthew Broadbent – Broadbent is another that people are looking at and he spent a lot of his time on the ball.  He averaged 60 last year and I don’t think this will change.  There was a lot of Port’s midfield missing and I can’t see him pushing Boak, Salopek and Hartlett out of the Mids if they are all fit.

John Butcher – He was another guy I was keen to see.  He played in both games but didn’t do a great deal.  He needs to put on a bit of weight as he looked a bit thin to compete as a key forward.  As I mentioned in my team preview I think he will spend the first half of the year at the Port Magpies but may get his opportunities later in the year.  He is a definite downgrade target.

Kane Cornes – He only played the second game and scored 31 points and did everything that he would normally do.  He won’t get massive scores still but he will still be good for 95 a game.

Danyle Pearce – Danyle had a good second game but he wasn’t being tagged.  That is when he struggles so I want to see more of him in the preseason before I even look at him!  Don’t be fooled by the 51pts in that game against the Crows.

Most of the DT relevant Power players (other than Kornes) didn’t play so I would keep an eye on their NAB Challenge form.  This includes players like Boak, Salopek and (dare I mention him) R Gray.

Cheers all and if what I saw is a guide to the rest of the NAB cup I think my team will be changing with every game I watch!