Get Off The Bench: Round 16

Well well well, wasn’t last week bloody hard to pick these blokes!  I copped a heap last week for not having Isaac Smith as the only bloke you should play, I was concerned about his form against a good side.  And what do ya know, he struggled his way to a 53.  I only mention this as I reckon it is about the only time I have been right all year!!  However, I did rate him higher than The Gu who pulled in a lovely 108 against the Suns.  I was also bagged for having Krak higher than Smith, and he did score better, alright, it was only by 5 points, but as they say… a win is a win and I will take it!  I guess what I am trying to say is, these blokes are inconsistent and that is what makes this selection of your last guys on the field the hardest one in DT if you ask me! 

Now this week we are “helped” out a bit by it being a multi bye round, the only help that gives us though is that this week we have fewer choices that we can make!  Adelaide, Fremantle and Melbourne are all sipping cocktails by the pool this week and for some they will probably score better than they have been on the field!

Give the kid a run

That is exactly what the owners of Rohan Bewick are screaming at Vossy, the kid has copped 6 vests in his 11 games and in his last 3 games has had 73, 70 and a Green 40. Now the poor kid has been dropped for this week.  Pat Karnezis is another new guy up there and had his first Non Vested game this week and pulled in a 64.  I watched all of this game (it was painful towards the end for me though) and he really looked good, I didn’t know too much about him before then, but he did ok.  Jesse O’Brien seems to be back in favour and has had a couple of 60’s in the last couple. 

Simon Buckley returned with a 91.  He has had a couple of weeks off (one from the bye) and before he left he was scoring well with a couple of 70’s and a 98.  He should certainly be playing, he has only had one green and one red vest so far and from memory, the red was an injury.  Teammate Andrew Krakouer put in his lowest score since round 4 last week but it was still a servicable 58.  Certainly not what I expected, but I have changed those expectations now, I think he is a 55 – 80 kind of player now, however, he is up against the Roos where you would expect a massive score (like the Mad Irish Pirate does for Swannie and Pendles this week), but in round 2 when they met he could only net a 48, BUT that was Green Vested and at the Dome, so on the G, I think he will be a better option to light it up.

The Bombers, well stuff me if they didn’t cost me some cash this week!  Not only that, Heppell  and Hibberd continue to stuff me up, so I won’t predict which one will do better this week, odds are that with all the bye action you are going to need to play both if you have both anyway.  Heppell has certainly come ood after a bit of a slump with 81 and 100 in the last two and he has handed the slump to Hibberd who has had 51 and 68 in the last two!  Last time these two played Richmond they had 108 and 80.

Sam Iles has shown a good run of consistency lately, his last 6 have an average of 72 with a high of 92.  Certainly worthly of a game.   Didn’t the week off and rest do Trent McKenzie the world of good!  He belted out a 122 against Freo.  I do have reservations though as his previous game was a 49 (his worst score).  Hopefully that was a blip on the radar.  His mate Danny Stanley has been pumping out the good scores with another 90 last week to bring now his 4th game in a row of 79 or better.  David Swallow will be a lock for those teams that have him I would suspect this week on the back of another good performance of 88.  To round out the Suns  in this section we have ZMith.  Be careful with him give that injury.

Once again, put Shane Savage to the top of the list.  Right next to him you can put Puopolo who is continuing to rip in the good scores.   The chipping around the backline game is really helping him get the points.  Now Isaac Smith is still a fair bet to score well, just don’t expect 138 out of him everyweek, I think we have learnt that now.  However, they are playing Brisbane at Hawk Park so I am expecting at least 70+ from him.  Breusty is also maintaining his formwith another 68 last week.

Nick Duigan has come back from injury.  He is safe to play, but not as safe as he would normally be.  He may even cop a vest?  So be wary. 

Once again we have a Power player worth having, Lobbe has really shon in the absence of Brogan.  He has a 95 and 94.  He is up against Big Boy McEvoy this week, but his other scores were against Goldstein and Leuenberger, so he has done well.

Luke Dahlhaus is continuing to impress me.  The boy just needs a haircut.  His scores I do like that is for sure, since his first game vest he has had a 76, 68 and a 71.  The kid is a goer and that is what you want in this game.

 Scraping the barrel are we??

Sam Sheldon has had two 60’s in the last two but has been inconsistent before that with a 17 in there for good measure (un vested too!).  Another that is starting to drop from the top is Ben Jacobs, he had a 47 after his 96 so inconsistentcy is starting to creep in.

Zach Tuohy is a name I have seen in a few teams of late, and I can’t understand why, He has only had one good score and that was  a 73, other than that he has had 3 scores out of 5 under 40.  Stewart Crameri had a good one, but he has been a bit inconsistent and has been in and out of the team.

Brandon Matera copped the Green vest last week as we all suspected and only knocked out 30 points.  If he plays this week, make sure you study the team and make a good assessment whether you think he will get it again.  Dion Prestia is a bit up and down still, his last 4 unvested games read 79, 28, 66, 49.  Certainly nothing there that makes me think he is a safe bet.  Tom Lynch is another that I worry about with form, his last 5 are 66, 31, red18, 86 and 58.  The kid has talent, but doesn’t score consistently enough.

Nathan Vardy graced a lot of fields last week, but sadly he didn’t get it done, his bold start with two 70’s in his first two full games are about where it has ended.  Hopefully he can bounce back if we lose another ruck option.  Allen Christensen showed a bit of promise but only scored about half his score the week before.

The Kangaroo issues are back on, Atley, Harper and C Rich have all been named again, Harper and C Rich are struggling as they are on the extended bench with Atley named on the field.  Don’t let it fool you, but he seems safer than the others.

 Batchelor dove from his 83 back to 39 and Conca is back, but I reckon he will get the green vest.  His last was a red27.  Vickery dropped from 79 down to 41 also, just don’t know how to read these Tigers.

Sam Reid from the Swans has dropped off from his previous form which is a touch disappointing.  He has had 43 and 59 in the last two.  Although the 59 was in shit conditions in Adelaide.  Alex Johnson came back too and he was in the 50’s.

Jack Darling is back from a bye and I am a bit concerned as to which Jack we will see.  Most have traded him and that may be the best option.  However, his last was a 66.  I want to see another good score before I put him back up the top.

That is it for this week, some of our favourites are having the week off an a few others are having a rest!  Here is the rankings for this week, However, I get the feeling that most of us won’t have too many choices to make with a distinct lack of players.

Defenders

1. Puopolo
2. Heppell
3. Stanley
4. Hibberd
5. Duigan
6. Buckley
7. Pedersen
8. Jacobs
9. O’Brien
10. Batchelor

Midfielders

1. Savage
2. Krakouer
3. I Smith
4. Heppell
5. Swallow
6. Iles
7. Hibberd
8. McKenzie
9. Buckley
10. Atley

Forwards

1. Krakouer
2. I Smith
3. Breust
4. Lobbe
5. Darling
6. O’Brien
7. Tom Lynch (GC)
8. Dahlhaus
9. A Johnson
10. Karnezis
11. Prestia

So there you have it.  Look forward to the discussion this week.  And yes, even though Smith and Krak didn’t do so well last week, they are both playing at their favourite grounds and are playing teams that they should smash.  Catch ya during the week on twitter @pkd73