GWS-Sydney-Carlton NAB Round 1 Review

So this is it! Last game of the three-way format before the real stuff kicks off next week (well as real as you can get for NAB). As always just use these results as rough guides.

Here are the results:

Game 1: Greater Western Sydney 0.5.2 – 32 def by Carlton 0.4.10 – 34
Game 2: Sydney Swans 0.3.6 – 24 def by Carlton 1.5.7 – 46
Game 3: Sydney Swans 1.3.1 – 28 def by Greater Western Sydney 0.7.10 – 52

Carlton:

Started slow against GWS but came out firing against the Swans and never took their foot off winning both games.

Next Game: vs Fremantle Saturday 2nd March @ Etihad

Gibbs (Mid/Def $473,300) – 36 and 34. Played both games in the middle, 18 disposals and 4 tackles, running absolutely everywhere attacking the footy. Absolute Lock if these games were anything to go by.

McLean (Mid $516,200) – 31 and 43. Could be an interesting POD pick but unfortunately his price will rule him out of a lot of teams. Chases the ball and will never get tagged with Judd and Murphy in the same mids. Keep an eye on him in your draft leagues though.

Rowe (Ruck/Fwd $108,500) – 44 and 16. Took the most of his opportunities in the first game. Could be an excellent cash cow but needs to impress more during this preseason to be a genuine option. Too much competition for his spot at Carlton.

Murphy (Mid $522,000) – 18 and 33. Another genuine option from Carlton for your midfield. Scored well considering he never looked like he got out of 2nd gear.

 

Scores for Carlton: (v GWS) Rowe 44, Gibbs 36, Casboult 35, Hampson 32, McLean 31, Robinson 26, Simpson 25, Yarran  24, Bell 23, Ellard 23, Laidler 23, Murphy 18, Graham 17, Walker 16, Lucas 15, Watson 15, Joseph 12, Curnow 11, Garlett 10, White 10, O’Keeffe 9, Collins 6, Duigan 6, Henderson 4.

Scores for Carlton: (v Sydney) McLean 43, Hampson 40, Jamison 35, Gibbs 34, Murphy 33, Carrazzo 32, Casboult 31, Yarran 31, Simpson 29, Betts 25, Dale 25, Ellard 23, Armfield 19, Walker 18, Henderson 17, Lucas 16, Rowe 16, Bell 15, Davies 13, Garlett 10, Robinson 10, McCarthy 8, Joseph 6, Tuohy 4.

 

Greater Western Sydney:

Unlucky not to come out of this round with two wins, showed lots of promise especially with Patton and Cameron working together in the forward line. Looking a lot bigger after their second preseason and continuing to look like they’re going to be a force in years to come.

Next Game: vs Brisbane Saturday 2nd March @ Wagga

Whitfield (Mid $183,700) –  Playing wide outside mid, GWS seem to have a lot of confidence in using him as their wing option when switching out of defense  Fantastic awareness for a first year player. 

Greene (Mid $495,700) – 29 and 66. Started slow in the first game but was everywhere against the Swans. Finished the evening with a combined 23 disposals including 2 goals, which is always great to see from a midfielder. Doesn’t look like slowing down this year and could be a great POD pick if you can fit him in.

Miles (Mid $346,400) – 70 and DNP. Plays a very fantasy friendly game in that he tackles and kicks a lot! Only played the first game against Carlton but managed 6 tackles. Unfortunately according to @RLGriffin85 he has been on the outer with the GWS coaching staff at the selection table. This is a shame but hopefully for us he can do everything right and break into their 22 because his scoring potential is massive.

O’hAilpin (Ruck/Fwd $157,700) – 8 and DNP. Confession time. I’ve been strongly considering O’hAilpin this preseason as I think he represents a lot of value. So I watched him closely today as he had more ‘facepalm’ moments than most players do in their careers. The moment that stuck in my mind was when he lead for the ball, dropped the mark, then dragged down his opponent without the ball to give away a free kick (and more importantly, lose 3 points). Hopefully he can improve and provide the value he is capable of but it wont be for my team.

Patton (Fwd $183,300) – 25 and 34. Goes against my rule of picking young KPP’s but this kid will be hard to ignore. Easily in GWS best 22 so guaranteed game time, very cheap and is very effective once the ball hits the ground for a kid of his size. Definitely worth a look.

 

Scores for GWS: (v Carlton) Miles 70, Treloar 43, Mohr 40, Tomlinson 37, Whitfield 32, Greene 29, Gilham 28, Palmer 28, Patton 25, Coniglio 22, Adams 21, Corr 20, Kennedy 20, Smith 20, Bugg 18, Scully 18, Shiel 18, Davis 16, Giles 16, Cameron 15, Hampton 14, Sumner 12, O’hAilpin 8, Buntine 4

Scores for GWS: (v Sydney) Greene 66, Smith 38, Ugle 36, Patton 34, Wilson 34, Reid 32, Cameron 30, Darley 28, Giles 27, Frost 26, Palmer 23, Mohr 20, Scully 20, Kennedy 16, Adams 15, Whiley 15, Tomlinson 13, Aylett 12, Hampton 11, Treloar 11, Edwards 9, Plowman 9, Davis 8, Golds 8.

 

Sydney:

Sydney were not impressive. Whether it’s because they don’t take NAB seriously or are a month behind everyone in preparation I’m not sure. But take their results and output with a grain of salt because this was a very rusty and almost uninterested Sydney.

Next Game: vs St Kilda Sunday March 3rd @ Etihad

O’Keefe (Mid $499,300) – 50 and 26. Put in a solid performance as always. Can’t be selected as a fwd this year so he could provide POD to your mids if you have the space for him.

Towers (Mid $107,200) – 18 and 37. Mature age rookie who got better as the games went on. Has a bit of pace about him which he used to sneak forward for a goal. Definitely worth watchlisting, so far looks the more likely of the Swans rookies for games.

Armstrong (Def $249,900) – 25 and 36. Looked good showing a bit of pace as a rebounding defender. Don’t think he’s in the swans best 22 yet but he did he chances no harm.

Lamb (Fwd $108,500) – 17 and 31. 20 years old and been on the Sydney list a few years, been very unlucky with injury/personal circumstances. Showed a bit of promise but I don’t think this is his year either. Sydney just have too many options up forward.

Cunningham (Mid $102,700) – 34 and 24. Looks a lot bigger this year and worked himself into the play quite a bit. Did his chances of playing no harm with these games but I still think Towers may be ahead of him for games.

 

Scores for Sydney: (v Carlton) McVeigh 59, O’Keefe 50, K. Jack 39, Johnson 38, Bird 35, Cunningham 34, White 27, Armstrong 25, Walsh 21, Lloyd 19, Lockyer 19, Parker 18, Towers 18, Grundy 17, Lamb 17, Richards 17, Biggs 16, Reid 13, Everitt 10, Rampe 10, B. Jack 6, Naismith 3

Scores for Sydney: (v GWS) Grundy 43, Towers 37, Armstrong 36, Hannebery 35, Johnson 33, Bird 32, McVeigh 32, White 32, Everitt 31, Lamb 31, Reid 28, O’Keefe 26, Parker 26, Rampe 26, Cunningham 24, K. Jack 21, Richards 21, Lockyer 15, Naismith 11, Biggs 10, Membrey 6, Richards 4, B. Jack 3, Walsh 3.

 

So that’s it! Did anyone surprise or impress you? Let me know who is now either on or off your watchlist/radar!

 

As always you can find me rambling on twitter @Anthonydsmith86