Get Off The Bench: Round 12

 

This week we are looking at a round where all of your bench guys who are fit and in form should be available.  The only players that you should not be considering due to the bye are Jasper Pittard or Ben Jacobs.  If you have any other Power fringe players on your list, just go straight to the Delete My Team button now.  But even with this wealth of avaialable talent this week we are still hamstrung on the field with guys missing for various reasons such as Swan, Montagna, Thomas and maybe Buddy (even though named, he isn’t a certainty apparently).  You should also be now right in the midst of undertaking all of your upgrades so you hopefully only need one of these fringe players on your ground in each position. 

Put your faith in these guys

Heppell and Hibberd are two guys that most of us would have as they are up there with the best of the best in this year’s rookie class and this week they get to have a run on the now famous Patterson’s Playground.  I expect these boys to relish the wide open spaces given their pace.  The only question mark is which Dockers team they will face, the good one or the crap one.  Either way I will have both of these guys on the ground on my team.  In that same game we have Nick Lower and for those that haven’t traded him out, he has turned out to be a very solid player averaging 97 over his last 3 games.  I would expect scores in the high 70’s to low 90’s from him most weeks.

Whilst in the west, Jack Darling is another that I think most people will be looking at as a keeper for their last spot in the Fwds or first spot on the bench.  He bounced back to his normal scoring level last week after his 50 against the Pies and this week he is in Adelaide against the Crows.  The worry here for Adelaide is who to play on him.  If Rutten goes to Kennedy or the Q Stick as you would expect, I don’t know if they have anyone else strong enough to go with big Jack.

Another bloke that bounced back was Nick Duigan.  Many thought he wouldn’t score because against Port the ball wouldn’t be down his end, well that only happened for one quarter and he wound up with a respectable 78.  He may be in the same predicament this week against the Lions so you may want to temper your expectations.

Stefan Martin continued his good run for Melbourne as did his teammate Evans along with new boy Howe (but don’t play this kid just yet, watch him for another week).  This week they come up against the Pies though, so I don’t expect the high scores from the se guys this week, but they will still be solid for you and probably score in the 60’s – low 70’s.

Trent McKenzie has put together a very tidy season and has been smashing out scores in the 60-80 range consistently and had his first ton on the weekend.  I like him for a good solid score.

Puopolo got amongst it again against the Dockers with 70pts.  He isn’t going to be a massively high scoring machine, but once again he is a steady option for you with only one score under 60 in his 5 outings.  Ed Curnow came back and managed 69pts.  He had his shoulder tested out a few times too by the Power boys and he held up.  So I think he should be back to form shortly.

Z Smith is a bloke that with Sandi down, you should have on your field.  He came up against the best Ruckman going around last week in big Cox and still smashed out a 107.  This week he has Goldstein and Petrie, but I think he will show them up around the ground and score very well again.  The other ruck that people have covering Sandi, Petrie has been playing very well also.  He is up against Z Smith and the GC boys and if he stays forward I think he will get Bock on him so that may curtail his scoring a touch.

Swallow is one that I would think a lot of people would be playing if you need to, he can be a very nice cover sometimes.  He has had two lower games over the two games after the bye with 62 and 53.  I can see him coming back this week with a nice good player.

Krak seems to have now settled into a rhythm and is scoring in the 65 – 80 range which is what I see as his average going forward, however, with Swanny and Daisy out this week, look for his production to step up a bit.

Stewart Crameri is still going well with an 82 which follows up his 46 prior to his bye last week.  Tendai Mzungu had to play for a lot of us last week with Buddy and Chappy out, and he was ok with his 59.  Perhaps not exactly what we had hoped for but he is a good choice if you are looking for an emergency.  He is back at Pattersons this week and I would hope that he can lift that score again.

Reece Conca had a crap 29 in his last game, but that was in Darwin in that loss to the Power.  Prior to that he has been very reliable and I am prepared to give him another go.  They are up against Sydney in Sydney though, so this will be a test for him.

Alex Johnson from Sydney has had two 83’s in a row now and this backed up on a 62.  The more this guy plays the better he gets!  He flew under a lot of radars and is only in 15,586 teams at the moment, but I bet a lot of those people didn’t have him from day 1. 

You’ve been ok but I just don’t trust ya…

Luke Thompson and Matthew Wright from the Crows are guys that I just don’t know about at the moment.  They have all scored well but have had some bad games too and with the form of the Crows at the moment I just wouldn’t run the risk of these guys.  They would be ok as an Emergency but that is about it.

Whilst looking at teams, Brisbane favourites Bewick and O’Brien have been trading vests over the last two weeks and their scores have been pretty average.  They were staples but I would get rid of these guys if you still have them particularly since BOTH have been dropped this week.

Dan Harris and Danny Stanley now these two boys have been favourites of mine but Harris has let me down over the last couple of weeks and Stanley did last week.  To be honest, it is time to upgrade these boys as they have reached their peak.  If you need to I would play them but if you can upgrade them that would be a better plan.

Shaun Atley has finally had a reasonable score after a run of 30’s.  But with them up against  Gold Coast away I just don’t have the faith.  Simon Buckley is back in the Collingwood squad, but since they play Monday we won’t know their final 22 before lockout, so play him with EXTREME caution.

Keiran Harper had a good first up game and he has dropped off a bit since then.  And the coach agrees with me cause he has been dropped.  His mate Pedersen finally got another game last week with a nice 76.  But given that was his first game for 4 weeks we can’t get a form line on him.  I think he can score well, but can he do it consistently.  On the Roos, C Rich hasn’t played for 6 weeks now, dump him!

Alot of us brought in Thomas Lynch from the GCS a couple of weeks ago after his 95 and 92 but since then he has had 66 and 31.  Gotta say he cost me last week and that pissed me off!  So I think at best he will be an emergency for me.    Prestia is still in there, but I bet ya he gets the bloody vest again and won’t make us any cash!  Sam Iles is a guy that a lot of people like, and he has been solid, but just hasn’t been getting the big scores that people had hoped.

Jake Batchelor has been fairly up and down.  He just doesn’t have the consistency for me.  His last 5 have gone 31, 83, 52, 80, 43.  So on average he should have a good score this week, but don’t bet on it.  Nick Smith is another that has been in this boat of late.  He has had 87, 39, 55, 27 in his last 4, once again, not enough consistency for me.

Another guy I got a bagging for recommending was Mark Nicoski Over his last 6 has seen him get 90, 90, 75, 30, 73 and 70 with that 30 being red vested.  I don’t know that I would rate him as highly as I did a few weeks ago, but he could be used at a pinch.

Libba and Wallis are two guys that have been a concern of late.  Libba was on fire and then came in with a 26 and then a week off with soreness.  Wallis has had 64 and 73 in the last two weeks but prior to that he wasn’t consistent.  I just don’t know if I can trust them, particularly with the form of the Doggies at the moment.  This week Libba won the raffle and is in with Wallis out.  Whilst they are not getting consistent games you can’t trust their form.

So there are plenty of options for you for this week.  I have put some rankings together for you below, in working them out I have had a look at the form of the guys as well as who they are playing and where they are playing.  But feel free to debate them in the comments below and tweet me on @pkd73 if you want any other assistance leading up to lockout.

Defenders

Heppell
Lower
Duigan
Hibberd
A Johnson
Puopolo
Martin
Stanley
Pedersen

Midfielders

Heppell
Curnow
Hibberd
Krakouer
Swallow
Crameri
McKenzie
Mzungu
Conca
Harris
Iles
Evans

Forwards

Darling
Krakouer
Petrie
A Johnson
Lynch (Suns)
Mzungu
Howe
Prestia

Rucks

Z Smith
Petrie

Cheers all and best of luck with your games on the weekend.