The Numbers – NAB Round 2

Numbers… it’s what DT is all about. Price changes; averages; break-evens… the list goes on. What I want to do is have a look at some numbers different to those we spend our days staring at… Staring at in the hope that one day we’ll all of sudden have a magic epiphany; and all of the secrets of the DT Universe will be revealed.

Let’s have a looks at this week by the numbers…

3 – # of facial injuries Jonathan Brown has now sustained in the past 12 months. Seriously – if he wanted to change his face, just talk to Nicholas Cage.

5 – % chance of Jack Grimes actually playing a full season without injury (okay maybe that’s a bit generous…)

10 – players who picked up an injury of some sort over the weekend.

19 – k:h ratio of Colin Garland in his game v Collingwood. He picked up 19 kicks and 1 handball to finish as the highest DT scorer on the field.

25 – hitouts young Port ruckman Jarrad Redden earned playing against the master Dean Cox on Saturday (note – Cox only got 13).

33 – amount of possessions P. Dangerfield racked up in his first match as acting captain for the Crows. He continues to tease us with his brilliance – but will it be enough to make us jump on?

51 – % of coaches currently on the Buddy Bandwagon – making him the most popular Dream Team players of 2012 to date – 8% more than SMJ and almost 22% more than Swannie!

53 – DT points scored by ‘Porps’ in his half of football against the Lions. In his first competitive game since R1 last year, he looked comfortable on his way to 16 second half disposals.

58 – pick that Lachie Neale was chosen in the 2011 NAB AFL Draft. Consequently the same pick that a certain DT Fantasy Pig, Dane Swan was chosen 10 years before.

87 – number of players subbed out of games on the weekend (from 8 games). The new NAB Cup rules have been heavily criticised throughout the week by players and coaches alike for its negative affect on rookie development as well as forcing players to stay on field longer due to the reduced interchange.

DT Whore of the Week

Goes to Jimmy Bartel… His 26d, 143 point demolition of the Suns outlined his prolific ability to find the ball. Also kicking 3.3 for the game; he made the most of junk time to tally the highest score of the round.

Value Pick

Based on a simple Dollars/Points ratio, I give you a simple way to display value (admittedly biased towards rookies due to their low starting cost).

This week it has to go to the young GWS Gun – Devon Smith. Based on his $121,200 price tag, he would only cost you $1102 per point for his 110 effort against the Hawks on Saturday. Compare this to DT Bad Boy Heath Shaw, who’s 104 point game gives him a weekly value of roughly $3404/pt – I think we’ve got a future DT superstar on our hands.

Waste of Space

Like many others, I have had Norwood-come-Carlton forward Sam Rowe sitting on the pine for quite a while. Now, whilst several factors come into frame like his recent AC join injury and lack of AFL experience; his 3 point performance (even after coming on after starting as a substitute) would have done little to instil confidence in him for the coming year. With the encouraging preseason form of Shaun Hampson (aka Mr. Megan Gale); Rowe ya boat may not be the R1 lock some thought he would be.

Something to Think About…

This week will see Essendon and St Kilda actually get a run after the gaffe that was the Wangaratta affair. This means we’ll get to see popular rookies Cory Dell’Olio, Elliot Kavanagh, Ahmed Saad and Beau Wilkes in action – among many DT stars like Goddard, Fisher, Hayes, Watson and Zaharakis.

Spare a thought for young Hawk Alex Woodward, who was enjoying a positive preseason; and was looking a possible downgrade target in 2012 – however has ruptured his ACL in Saturday’s NAB Cup game v GWS and will miss the entire 2012 season.

As always, thoughts and feedback appreciated. Let me know if this is something you’d want to see as a regular article through the year.

McRath