The Numbers – Round 15

Numbers… it’s what DT is all about. Price changes; averages; break-evens… the list goes on. Once again, I’ve stripped the records clean and scoured the AFL for 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.

Unfortunately I don’t have a crystal ball to peer into the future, but what I can do is look back at the past week in the AFL to give y’all this week’s numbers.

1 – People that actually liked the look of the Bomber’s ‘clash’ strip they played in against the Saints at the weekend. Not sure Hirdy even liked it, with many believing it was more grey than black – it was a definite fail in my books; and somewhat of an eyesore to watch with our HD TV. This was one of those times I actually wish my TV was black and white.

3 – Times that Captain Fantastic Matthew ‘Go Bother Griffen’ Boyd has graced the field for my team in 2012 (since his inclusion in R8). With most coaches opting for the reliable Ablett or Swan, Boyd often goes unnoticed. However he hasn’t let me down at all this year, with scores of 128, 133 and 133 in his games with the big C. Let’s hope he can back it up with another 130 in R16.

4 – At this point in the season there are usually two things we in the AFL world are sure of: who’s vying for a finals spot; and who’s the favourite for a spot in the Grand Final. But 2012 is different at least in one way. Like previous years, there’s a swag of teams in the running for September action – with Geelong, St Kilda, Carlton, Richmond, North and Freo all wanting one of those last few spots in the 8. But as at R16 we have 4 teams atop the ladder on 44 points. With Collingwood blowing the chance to be outright first, they now sit 4^th on % behind Sydney, West Coast and Adelaide in the first for the minor premiership. Whilst we’ve had the luxury of an outright favourite in Collingwood or Geelong in recent times, 2012 is a different scene – arguably the most competitive in a long time. You’d be a brave man to put money on the makeup of the top-4 or 8 at this stage.

5 – Cheers to Mick Cooper for this one. As a Pendlebury owner myself I have felt the pain each and every one these 5 weeks he’s sat on my bench with a ‘suspected 1-2 week injury’. In hindsight, it was a fractured tibia so we should’ve known better. But it doesn’t make us feel better when we could’ve side traded to a Watson or Thompson, giving us an extra couple of hundred points to boost our ranking…

7 – Number of potential top-8 match ups that Geelong face in their last 8 game run to September. Currently sitting on outright 7^th, the defending champions will have to work for their glory if they’re to go back to back in 2012. A loss against Collingwood next week could have them as low as 10^th, whilst a win may see them usurp Essendon in the top 6. With games against the Pies, Bombers, Crows, Hawks and Eagles in the next 5 matches – it’s time to see what this ‘once-in-a-generation’ Cats team is made of.

8 – The number 100 is a pedagogical symbol of achievement in the land of DT. To ‘tonne it up’ is synonymous with a good game as we know it. Keeping track of my scores through the year, I’ve also noted how many players in my team has been ‘tonne-ing up’ each week. With an average number of 100+ scorers just shy of 8, I’ve had a solid spread this year. However things are on the up with more premo’s taking the field. The past two weeks has seen team McRath tally 11 and 14 scorers above the mark respectively.

14 – 2012 has seen the GWS boys hold strong against opposition teams, traditionally only allowing in 3-4 100+ scores in any given week. However R15 saw them finally crack and go for their biggest losing margin in their short history. This consequently saw them give up 11 separate 100+ scorers and (finally getting to the number) 14 different goal scorers. If a few more blokes took advantage of their shots, it very well could’ve easily been as high as 19 goal scorers… Well done Hawthorn.

140 – Equal season-high score of one Brisbane premium Dayne Zorko. Now having a season avg of 98 and a 5-Round average of 114 (including last week’s 69), he is a bonafide star. F7 keeper? Try F4/5 Premo. With the 6^th highest DT average of the ‘forwards’ to date, he is there to stay. Should you play him over other guns such as WhiteX and Martin? It’s a yes in my book.

158 – I would love nothing more at this stage than seeing gutless ‘Pies midfielder Sharrod Wellingham sit on the sidelines for the remainder of 2012 after his high hit on Kade Simpson attracted the ire of many Blues’ fans (myself included). For the record, he was never going for the ball and the replay just makes it look even worse – with the vision of poor Simmo unconscious on the ground ingrained into the memory of spectators for good. Likely to now miss 4 weeks after breaking his jaw, thus will end the longest streak in recent times of consecutive games played – Simpson had now played every game since R15, 2005 and should return next month to begin his streak again.

162 – Unlike the Suns last year, GWS has managed to avoid regular thrashings at the hands of their more experienced counterparts. Aside from their shellacking at the hands of North in R2, their average losing margin is that of 77 points. However Sunday may have finally brought the young team to their knees, going onto smash the new boys by a season high 162 points.

Twatter – Your Numbers

 

 

 

After watching this game, I too was astonished at this stat. Usually eager to get at least a few +4’s, Jelwood had to earn his numbers in other areas as he had his first game in a while without a single tackle. Cheers Tom.

 

 

 

 

Not sure if this is a good number, or a terrible one Cam. But either way, the net DT output from this works out to be – 6. If only Frees For were worth +3… Then we’d all have a team full of West Coast Players (sorry Eagles fans, I couldn’t resist).

Send me your ‘Numbers’ for the week @McRathDT

Bone of Contention                                                                                                                    

After cursing myself for prematurely ditching Broughton early this year, he’s finally starting to justify my decision with a third consecutive week of sub-80 scores; Broughts continues his history of yo-yo scores with a 2^nd equal-lowest season score of 59. Fear not owners – he’ll be back at some stage… most likely after a few more aggravated coaches jump ship. Thus explains the rollercoaster ride that is GB. One things’ for sure with me: Never Again.

Close behind: Malceski, Waters, Heppell, Hargrave.

Low BE, High SP

With a tasty low break-even of 48, Adam Goodes is starting to hit his straps after returning from injury 3 weeks ago. With a huge 137 at the weekend in the bank, get on him now whilst he’s at a (surely) season low $369k. With a scoring potential of 110+, he’s a handy upgrade for a topped out Jason Porplyzia ($333k). I don’t have to harp on about it, but to put things into perspective – from Round 16 – Round 24 last year Mr. Double-Brownlow averaged 114 – more than any FWD is currently getting. Check out @Aki_DT for his Dream Team Stock Market later this week for more bargains.

Whore of the Week

Surprising, 2012 has not yet seen Dean Cox nominated for the aptly named Whore of the Week prize. However Round 15 saw the big man dominate North Melbourne, near single-handedly bring the North Supporter’s hopes and dreams back down to Earth with a dull thud. His 148 Points came from 21 touches, 24 hitouts and a team-high 3.1 goals in a well-rounded performance surely worthy of 3 votes.

The Round Up

Highlights – Matty Boyd breaking the 250 as captain yet again; Coxy and Jacobs building up a great ruck partnership for 270 not out; and Zorko showing everyone that last week was a one off with a huge season-equalling 140 to bounce back. R15 was an overall high round if you didn’t have Waters.

Lowlights – Being forced to field a team without 3 premiums is tough in any week. But when you have players like Beau Waters and Stevie Johnson withdraw late, the almost-manageable damage of having Goddard, Pendlebury and Martin out makes for certain carnage. Did anyone have all 5 of these at all?

Team McRath – I’m continuing my late run to the top 2000 by jumping another 3,000 spots in R15 to now sit around 7,000 thanks to my 2^nd highest season score of 2319. I’m feverishly low on trades so am praying that the suspensions and injuries will stop. Having the likes of Smedts (71) and Gibson (79) step up in the absence of premiums Goddard and Pendles is very handy though.

With R16 days away, many teams will be gladly welcoming back Scott Pendlebury onto their field, with Goddard and Martin remaining in the doghouse for one more week. With some juicy matchups in the AFL this week, I’m expecting another round of high scores as the season starts to heat up.

Also, if you’re not following me in the Twittersphere, say g’day @McRathDT