Power v Dockers NAB Cup Review

NAB 3 – Fremantle v. Port Adelaide, Victor Harbor

The lads and I (proud coaches of the Smooth Movers, Raiders and Last Kids Picked) headed down to Victor on Saturday to have a look at the Port/Freo game and to suss out some of the DT relevance running around. We thought the best way to do it would be to pick a few players from each side and see how the each of us rated them, where they played, what they were doing and whether they looked like they loved the pill or not. Bear in mind that some DT-man-crushes have developed over recent years, and some will be very evident throughout this article.

Fremantle:

Nathan Fyfe ($486,600 – MID/FWD – 111 Points):

Smooth Movers – For most of the day Fyfe cruised around with little to no regard for having an opponent and was the only player to find a decent amount of space on the smallish Victor ground. He spent most of his time in the midfield with brief spells across half forward and off the bench. The only time Freo looked like scoring was when he got it and kicked it to Pav. Put your life savings on him for the Brownlow, and do yourselves a favour and set and forget him in your forward line because this bloke is an absolute jet and loves the prune.

Matthew Pavlich ($466,200 – FWD – 103 Points):

Raiders – Bear in mind these opinions on the Pav may be biased by the fact I’m going out with his cousin and she will beat me with a stick if I write a negative comment. In saying that, there’s nothing negative to report, throughout the game he looked a class above every other player on the ground. Troy Chaplin was enjoying a tinny behind us on the hill, so there no-one that looked close to be able to curb his influence. He looked super fit and spent most of the day starting in the forward 50 but he pretty much went wherever he liked up into the midfield to get kicks at will. Took strong marks and kicked long goals even though he missed a few late that would’ve put the cherry on top. Looks as though age has not had any effect on him whatsoever and if you’re looking for a consistent forward then do not hesitate on locking him in for the rest of the year.

Paul Duffield ($347,200 – DEF – 81 Points):

Raiders – After being a favourite in the DT community a few years back being a dirty pig picking up +6’s on a regular basis, the Duff was shocking last year. That does however provide us with a somewhat tasty price tag for 2012, if he can give us a reason to pick him. Played across half back for most of the day with seemingly little impact on the game but still notched up good numbers. The positive was that his team mates looked for him coming out of defence for the quarter back role. To put simply he is significantly underpriced and if you’re looking for a high risk high reward defender the Duff could be your man.

Greg Broughton ($416,200 – DEF – 75 Points):

Last Kids Picked – We were particularly interested in Broughts on the weekend and we went to Victor hoping to get an insight on where he will be playing this year. All we got out of watching Broughts is that Ross Lyon must be smoking cones in the box, because he started him up forward, down back and in the midfield at different stages of the game. When in the middle he was playing that sit-back-sweeping-DT-slut role that we know and love, but next thing you know he’s back on the last line of defence tagging Travis wants a smoke Boak and doing sweet FA. It was so frustrating watching it and it has turned me off starting him this year, my mental state isn’t strong enough to ride that roller coaster again this year. Sorry Broughts!

Lachie Neale ($98,700 – MID – 26 Points, Subbed in Q3):

Smooth Movers – Before his injury in the 2^nd quarter, my boy looked busy, in and under everything while getting maximal midfield time. He was starting in the guts at most centre bounces and rotated through the forward lines for a spell every now and then. Lachie was doing all the right things and we now understand why Ross has a crush on him. Early diagnosis on his ankle is 2 – 3 weeks but keep an eye on it, because if he looks like he will play Round 1 or even 2, jump on as this kid can really play.

Port Adelaide:

Jarrad Redden (104,200 – RUC – 82 Points):

Last Kids Picked – The big 205cm ruckman was my main watch for the day after out doing DT royalty Big Cox last week scoring an impressive 84. He now has scores of 48, 84 & 82 with that 48 coming from the Round 1 novelty games. With Sam Rowe falling in popularity over the past week or so I’m convinced everyone with half a DT brain will have this kid on their Ruck bench, and so they should. He looked good yesterday up against Zac Clarke and Jon Griffen and was a presence wherever he lugged his frame around the ground. The most notable stat line to look at however is that of Brent Renouf – supposedly the walk up #1 Ruckman – he had 3 hitouts and 1 touch (which was a goal), pretty slim output really and this might suggest Redden is closer to that #1 spot than we think. Lock him in on your Ruck bench now!

John McCarthy ($251,000 – MID – 64 Points, Subbed at HT):

Smooth Movers – Coming off a 99 last week, McCarthy was smashing it in the first half and seemed everywhere. He played through the mids and was going in hard when the tough stuff came knocking but also found space when he needed it, as evident with his 11 kicks out of 14 disposals. Unluckily for us he got subbed off at half time so we didn’t get a chance to see what he is capable of. Price at around $250k is too awkward for me so he won’t be donning a Smooth Movers guernsey, but if you have a decent set of balls the reward could be huge!

Chad Wingard ($157,200 – MID – 51 Points):

Raiders – Played mainly across half forward with some time on the wing also. Before yesterday his light frame had me concerned whether he could hack it with the big boys straight away, but he won his own ball when it was his turn to go. Has a silky left foot that Primus should be using more and more as the season goes on. Let’s be honest Port will be down the bottom half again this year as they continue to rebuild and the No. 6 draft pick should play most if not all games in 2012. Port’s new Chad is super talented and don’t let the awkward price tag deter you and should only get better with more experience.

Darren Pfeiffer ($117,800 – MID/FWD – 30 Points):

Last Kids Picked – I’ve been on this bloke from day one but as of late last night he no longer deserves a spot on the LKP list for 2012. Despite his AFL-ready body he failed to make much of an impact on Saturday and would’ve gone missing completely if he didn’t have a horrible hair cut, seriously that shit’s horrendous. He only had the 9 touches and at times looked slightly out of his depth. At $117k there seems to be better options out there à la Cameron, Smith & Hampton.