The Long Road Home: Forwards

In the last of four articles on the long road home, I look at the Forwards. Those annoying guys that will score huge points one week, followed by a dismal effort as they sit in the forward pocket and have a cry that people play too rough. It’s the moment we’ve been waiting for, where the age old question will be answered. Is Adam Goodes really the last half of the season machine everyone says?

So, which of your players will come home strong, and who should you be looking at to fill out your team?

Bradburys

The guys who come home strong.

	Ave for Rounds 1-11	Ave for Rounds 12-22	Difference
A Goodes	92	111	+19
C Sylvia	89	105	+16
A Didak	93	107	+14
L Franklin	83	95	+12
B Harvey	88	96	+8
C Rioli	80	86	+6

It’s true, the guy is a machine. Like a cylon in Battlestar Galactica, something switched on in this guy’s head and turns him into an absolute jet. Adam Goodes lifts his average by a whopping 19 points in the last half of the year. I guess this raises another question though. Why the hell can’t he play like that for the whole year? Big mentions to Sylvia, Didak and Franklin who also tear it up in the last half of the season. Maybe the forward is where we should be looking to upgrade for the run home?

Lay Down Sallies

The guys who drop off when the going gets tough.

	Ave for Rounds 1-11	Ave for Rounds 12-22	Difference
P Chapman	129	111	-18
S Johnson	100	92	-8
S Higgins	89	80	-9
N Riewoldt	108	103	-5

While Goodes is a machine in the last half of the season, Chapman seems to turn into a cream puff. His average drops nearly as much as Goodes’ goes up. He still averages over 100 though, so is worth having if you can put up with his sookie la la weeks off. Stevie J joins Ablett, Bartel and Chappy as another Cat who hangs up the boots early, so they can prepare for finals. Ablett’s in a new side now, so things may be different, but the others are a concern.

Who would have thought Higgins would be in the list of Lay Down Sallies? OK, everyone did. Time to go Higgins!

Steve Moneghettis

The guys who keep it steady from start to finish.

	Ave for Rounds 1-11	Ave for Rounds 12-22	Difference
R O’Keefe	90	93	+3
B Green	95	97	+2
J Riewoldt	80	79	-1
M Pavlich	95	92	-3

Ryan O’Keefe is a roller coaster week to week, but like Heath Shaw, tends to keep his overall average pretty steady for the year. Brad Green is coming into form and the stats above indicate he should be pretty consistent with that for the rest of the year. J-Roo and Pav drop off slightly, but are still pretty consistent overall.

So that ends “The Long Road Home”, looking at premium players and upgrade targets across all positions and whether or not they can put you in the seat of a brand new Cruiser. If there are any forwards that you’d like looked at, let me know in the comments, and I’ll check them out.