Weekend Forecast – Round 3

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I can’t believe that we are already at round 3, time has flown by. In saying that, we have another week of important trades to fix up any rookies we missed out on, or maybe a restructure to get better rookies on the field, or maybe it is another week or forced trades for coaches. Don’t worry though, as we will discuss that and plenty more as we look ahead to round 3.

 

We had another game last night, so lets quickly recap what happened:

Western Bulldogs vs Sydney @ Marvel Stadium

Tim English (138) – Speakano continued his great start to the season, this time going big with a 138, taking his average to 115 so far this season. Without Stef, he will be great, but will Stef come back into the team at some point? The way English is playing, he doesn’t need to.

Josh Dunkley (132) – Dunks is back! Hasn’t scored under 100 in his 3 games this season, but this was the first game where he really looked back to his best. 11 tackles was also very impressive, taking it over the 130+. By the way, also had another massive quarter, in the 3rd quarter he had 12 disposals and 7 tackles for 59 points!

Lachie Hunter (112) – Played really well, and looked back to his best on the wing. Good for draft.

Bailey Smith (108) – Came back into the team after missing his first game through injury since his debut, and picked up right where he left off.

Nick Blakey (106) – Could Blakey be an option in defence for us to consider? Swans really want the ball in his hands and hasn’t scored under 80 this season, and will still be under 600k next week. One to watch.

Marcus Bontempelli (100) – Hasn’t quite put up huge fantasy numbers yet, scoring 100, 96, and 100 in his 3 games. With Dunkley back fit and firing, maybe Bont doesn’t reach his numbers like he did last year, but still a superstar.

Isaac Heeney (95) – Didn’t have a lot of the ball last night, but Heeney filled the stats sheet with 8 marks and 6 tackles. Only needed the 1 goal as well to still nearly hit 100. As we have said, looks the best he ever has and is still a good target to bring into our teams.

Jake Lloyd (93) – Did what he had to do last night, but I don’t think we are going to see the 110+ Seagull Lloyd this season with the Swans trying to get the ball in Blakey’s hands.

Adam Treloar (88) – Did the job last night, had 27 touches when I didn’t really notice him.

Callum Mills (78) – A quiet night for Mills in the end, was busy early but faded more in the 2nd half. I still think he will be close to the top 8-10 mids, but this score will mean he gets cheaper for us to bring him in.

Jack Macrae (75) – What was this effort! On 76 at 3QT and I thought he would get to another ton, for him to go and have -1 point the last quarter! Has Macrae ever scored 0 points or less in a quarter? I don’t know, but I (and many others) paid 972k at the start of the season for this? Not good enough, I gave him a rocket on Twitter so hopefully that works and he rebounds next week because this wasn’t good, especially seeing him on a wing, forward and the bench in the last quarter.

Paddy McCartin (41) – Gave 3 free kicks away meaning it could have been 50 and looked much better, but 41 doesn’t look great. Only 2 points in the last quarter didn’t help either. I think he is still fine to field till round 6 when we can put Nick Daicos back as our D6.

 

Now, lets get into the rest of the Weekend Forecast.

 

Melbourne vs Essendon @ MCG

Weather Forecast

Around 17°C, partly cloudy

Team Lineups

Melbourne

IN

 

OUT

Toby Bedford (Medi-Sub)

Essendon

IN

Nic Martin, Andrew Phillips, Dylan Shiel

OUT

Devon Smith (Omitted), Nik Cox (Injured), Zach Merrett (Injured), Aaron Francis (Omitted)

 

Players to Watch

Nic Martin

Martin is back and ready to make us a heap of cash! I think he will be good, I don’t think he actually got the Vid so there shouldn’t be any issues with that. Great option to play on field.

Jye Caldwell

With Merrett out for a while, Caldwell could be the main beneficiary. Shiel back in the team may mean he has the same role, or maybe McGrath goes back in the middle, so I would want to see Caldwell this week before bringing him in.

Christian Petracca

Has been a monster to start the season, 142 and 136 in his 2 games if you don’t mind. In hindsight, him as M1 over Macrae and Steele was the play, I just didn’t do it, like many. If you are in the 25.4% of coaches that own him, enjoy. What a star!

Max Gawn

Gawny has had a rough start to the year, scoring back to back 79’s and coaches want to and are swinging the axe. I would not want to trade him though, because as TBetta said on Twitter, Gawn and Grundy are “Set and forget”, so you set them in your team and forget about them and fix your other players. Should get his first ton of the season against the Bombers, who are one of his favourite teams to score against, avergaing 108.2 in his career 6 games against them.

Jake Bowey

Is what we saw last week maintainable? I would want to see another week from Bowey because Simon Goodwin said he played really well, but didn’t play much different to round 1, he just got more of the ball. Score in round 1: 38.

Other players to watch: Tex Wanganeen, Joel Smith, Jake Stringer, Andrew McGrath, Clayton Oliver, Darcy Parish

Adelaide vs Port Adelaide @ Adelaide Oval

Weather Forecast

Around 17°C, clear skies

Team Lineups

Adelaide

IN

Rory Laird, Lachlan Murphy, Billy Frampton

OUT

Jake Soligo (Medi-Sub), Nick Murray (Omitted), Rory Sloane (Injured), Luke Pedlar (Omitted)

Port Adelaide

IN

Jed McIntee, Sam Mayes

OUT

Josh Sinn (Omitted), Jeremy Finlayson (Omitted), Xavier Duursma (Omitted)

 

Players to Watch

Zak Butters

I really love the way Butters goes about his footy, crash and bash for such a small guy. 11 tackles with 137 last week was great, and should be good again this week in the Showdown.

Jordan Dawson

Since half time in round 1, has looked really good for the Crows, scoring 53 points (2nd half against Fremantle) and 111 last week. They want the ball Dawson’s hands, and is a great option in defence to bring in.

Rory Laird

My boy Lairdy is back! (words can’t describe how happy I am) Really expensive at 937k but will be interesting to see how he goes with Matt Crouch in the midfield with him. Hopefully and should still average around 110+.

Ben Keays

132 and 131 to start the season, 1 of only 2 players to score 130+ in both games along with Christian Petracca, elite company, yet he is only in 1.7% of teams. Laird back really makes things interesting, but if Keays continues this red hot form, we need to start thinking of him as a legitimate option to look at.

Matt Crouch

Increased his time on ground from 66% to 74%, but was over 80% in the first half, and his scoring also increased with a 104, but a quiet last quarter meant he couldn’t quite hit a 110+. He is normally a 75%ish game time player, but hopefully he can up it to 80% over the next few games.

Other players to watch: Ollie Wines, Dan Houston, Josh Rachele, Sam Skinner, Travis Boak, Jackson Mead, Jed McIntee

 

GWS vs Gold Coast @ Giants Stadium

Weather Forecast

Around 20°C, cloudy

Team Lineups

GWS

IN

Lachlan Keefe, Jake Stein, Braydon Preuss, James Peatling

OUT

Jarrod Brander (Omitted), Phil Davis (Injured), Matt Flynn (Omitted), Daniel Lloyd (Injured), Jake Riccardi (Omitted)

Gold Coast

IN

Lachie Weller

OUT

Sam Flanders (Omitted), Darcy Macpherson (Omitted)

 

Players to Watch

Lachie Whitfield

Another player who coaches want to trade out of their team, but again, I would be hesitant to do so. Whitfield is normally a player that averages 100+, and hasn’t hit 90+ yet, but a matchup with Gold Coast is a good opportunity to finally do just that.

Touk Miller

Well, he proved my doubts wrong. I thought maybe Rowell might affect Touk a little so he averages closer to 110-115 but based on last week, I don’t think he is slowing down at all.

Braydon Preuss

Preussy finally gets his Giant’s debut, and as solo ruck! People are tempted to go Gawn down to him, but I would want to watch this week first before considering anything.

Tom Green

Back to back tons to start the season has seen Tom Green already increase 92k. Still has a low breakeven of 45, so you can still jump on.

Matt Rowell

A dirty 46 last week has had some coaches think about trading him out, but surely he doesn’t tag again and goes back to being the big bull he is and hunting his own footy.

Other players to watch: Tim Taranto, Stephen Coniglio, Josh Kelly, Jake Stein

 

Collingwood vs Geelong @ MCG

Weather Forecast

Around 16°C, cloudy with periods of light rain (79% chance of rain)

Team Lineups

Collingwood

IN

Reef McInnes, Brayden Maynard

OUT

Beau McCreery (Injured), Tyler Brown (Omitted), Nathan Kreuger (Injured)

Geelong

IN

Sam De Koning, Shaun Higgins

OUT

Luke Dahlhaus (Omitted), Zach Guthrie (Omitted), Quinton Narkle (Medi-Sub)

 

Players to Watch

Jack Crisp

Exactly what we wanted to see, and is why you don’t trade your premiums after one game. He had passed his round 1 score midway through the 2nd quarter, and looked a completely different player. Hopefully last week is a sign of things to come.

Mitch Duncan

Only scored an 80, but it was just good to see Duncan back on the park. As long as he plays most, if not all the games for the rest of the season, should be a top 6 forward and an upgrade target for us.

Jordan De Goey

For the 2nd week in a row, attended the most CBA’s for the team (except Grundy). Considering he had a limited preseason and a new coach, I didn’t see him getting so much midfield time early, but he has and is an option to consider bringing in. Only selected by 6.2% of coaches at the time of writing.

Tom Stewart

Only scored 75 last week, but I didn’t realise he only played 60% game time after being stuck off the ground with the Buddy 1000 goal celebration, so that score could have been a lot better, and he should be fine and set for a big score this week.

Brodie Grundy

Similar to Gawn, hasn’t set the world on fire to start the season. Should be fine, and hopefully we see more this week.

Other players to watch: Tyson Stengle, Taylor Adams, Steele Sidebottom, Sam De Koning, Patrick Dangerfield, Cam Guthrie, Nick Daicos, Reef McInnes

 

Brisbane vs North Melbourne @ The Gabba

Weather Forecast

Around 22°C, mostly clear

Team Lineups

Brisbane

IN

Mitch Robinson

OUT

Harry Sharp (Omitted), Jaxon Prior (Omitted

North Melbourne

IN

Ben McKay, Eddie Ford, Jaidyn Stephenson

OUT

Luke Davies-Uniacke (Injured), Aiden Bonar (Omitted), Charlie Lazzaro (Omitted), Tarryn Thomas (Injured)

 

Players to Watch

Dayne Zorko

Only on one leg last week, but Zorko still went massive with a 145. Gets heaps of +6’s playing off half back and should get Def status if this role continues. Should be in store for another good one this week against North Melbourne.

Aaron Hall

Only scored 92 last week, but that could be his lowest score of the year because he is that good. Tough matchup but should still be good. Expensive, but you get what you pay for with Hall.

Jarryd Lyons

Hasn’t played the heavy midfield time that he did last season, and his scoring is suffering because of it, with back to back scores of 83. Not sure exactly how much time he is spending forward, but hopefully it is enough to add forward status after round 5.

Lachie Neale

I did say last week, if Neale can get back to playing high game time (near or above 90%) he will go big, and he did just that. Played 93% game time for a massive 145, and looks back to his very best. Great matchup this week again, and has a great history against North Melbourne, averaging 106.5 in his career 11 games, but also averages 108.5 in his 30 career games at the Gabba. Great captain option again this week.

Tristan Xerri

If you haven’t jumped on X-Erri yet, this is the week you need to. Breakeven of -5 means he will most likely be over 400k next week, and looks to have the no.1 ruck role based on the first 2 games.

Other players to watch: Jason Horne-Francis, Daniel Rich, Jy Simpkin, Noah Answerth

 

Carlton vs Hawthorn @ MCG

Weather Forecast

Around 17°C, cloudy with some light rain (81% chance of rain)

Team Lineups

Carlton

IN

Adam Cerra, Luke Parks, Lewis Young, Jordan Boyd, Jack Martin

OUT

Oscar McDonald (Injured), Mitch McGovern (Injured)

Hawthorn

IN

Ned Long, Will Day, Daniel Howe, Jacob Koschitzke

OUT

Tom Phillips (Omitted)

 

Players to Watch

Sam Docherty

Been one of the more consistent defenders to open the season, with scores of 95 and 106. One of the targets I would be looking at in defence, and a good matchup against Hawthorn this week so should be good again.

Patrick Cripps

Looks unstoppable at the moment, and with Carlton playing so well, I expect it to continue this week. Hawthorn have given up truck loads of points, especially to midfielder like we saw last week (Boak 152, Amon 148, Butters 137 and Wines 126). Looking forward to fianally seeing all of the Blues midfield together and what it does with all their point scoring.

Josh Ward

Played a lot better than in round 1, and his scoring reflected that with a nice 85. Carlton have been harder to score on this season so far, but is still a good rookie to have on field.

James Sicily

Impey and Day coming back into the team will make it interesting to see how Sicily scores and if it changes much.

Tom Mitchell

Hasn’t hit a ton in his first 2 games, which is odd for Titch, but with his groin injury just before the season, you can forgive him. Isn’t attending as many CBA’s as we would like, but I expect a big game from him this week. If not, he could be on the trading block next week, if he isn’t already.

Other players to watch: Zac Williams, Connor Macdonald, Corey Durdin, San Walsh, George Hewett, Adam Cerra, Matt Kennedy

 

St Kilda vs Richmond @ Marvel Stadium

Weather Forecast

***Roof closed***

Team Lineups

St Kilda

IN

Paddy Ryder, Dougal Howard, Ben Long, Dean Kent

OUT

Cooper Sharman (Omitted)

Richmond

IN

Dylan Grimes, Jack Riewoldt, Maurice Rioli

OUT

 

 

Players to Watch

Jayden Short

Similar to Crisp, rebounded from a poor round 1 and scored a big 131. Good matchup against St Kilda so he should be good again and continue from last week.

Daniel Rioli

Really cheap at 500k, and looked good last week with 101. Like Bowey, I would want to see another good week from Rioli before I really consider him as an option, but 500k and a breakeven of 33, he is an option.

Jade Gresham

Played a fair bit again in the midfield last week but only scored the 76. He is an option as a forward, as it looks like he is playing through the midfield, but he is just at an awkward price at 564k.

Jack Steele

Hasn’t quite looked like the Jack Steele we saw last season. Didn’t register a mark last week, but still laid 13 tackles to get another ton, but for a guy priced over 1 million, you expect a little more. He will be fine, and hopefully he can get back to his best this week against Richmond.

Jack Hayes

Keep an eye on the trimmed teams later today, because Paddy Ryder is back in the team which means Hayes might not make the cut. I think it would be really harsh, but teams have tended to struggle with 3 talls in their team (look at North Melbourne round 1 with Xerri, Goldstein and Coleman-Jones).

Other players to watch: Brad Hill, Jack Sinclair, Rowan Marshall

 

West Coast vs Fremantle @ Optus Stadium

Weather Forecast

Around 27°C, cloudy with showers (70% chance of rain)

Team Lineups

West Coast

IN

 

OUT

 

Fremantle

IN

 

OUT

 

 

Players to Watch

Really hard to write about many players from this game as we have no clue who will play or won’t play. Andrew Brayshaw went bananas last week with a 181, but when will he start copping attention? I think potentially sooner rather than later, but hopefully not for the 9.1% of coaches that own him. Not sure if I would bring him in now as he is 946k, but his owners would be glad he won’t be bought by too many coaches. Patrick Naish looked good again for West Coast last week, and played heavy minutes with 93% game time. Considering he has been there barely a month, it is impressive, but maybe too expensive and too risky to  look at now with all the COVID uncertainty at West Coast. Still has a low breakeven 0f 2 and will continue to make coin if he plays. Tim Kelly looked good early last week but faded as the game went on. Keep an eye on him as he is cheap at 699k and could be an option for us to consider soon. Caleb Serong didn’t train yesterday, and hasn’t scored great so far this season, so could be an excuse to trade if you weren’t already. Hayden Young looked good again last week with a 102, same with Will Brodie scoring a 109 but still only played 61% game time which baffles me. Hopefully Nathan O’Driscoll gets a game in the 22 and not the medi sub, which mean he is a good downgrade option in defence, but teams for this game won’t be released until Saturday 2:30pm AWT/5:30PM AEDT so be aware if you have any West Coast or Fremantle players.

 

My Trades

Lipinski -> Xerri

Milera -> Dawson

My trades have been really hard to make this week, as I don’t have a great amount to do. Having McCartin and Skinner/De Koning on field needs to be fixed with Milera out again, so in order for me to get someone I want, I need to sacrifice someone, and it sucks that it might have to be Lipinski considering I only brought him in last week, and I will get in the only cash cow I don’t have yet, being Tristan Xerri as I feel he is a must have being the no.1 ruck. Doing this trade give me enough money to trade Milera and bring in Jordan Dawson, who has looked good in his last 6 quarters for the Crows, and I said earlier, they want the ball in his hands. I have considered keeping Lipinski and going Milera down to Nasiah Wanganee-Milera who held his spot this week, and go Hough on my bench to Xerri so I have this week to look at exactly who I want to trade next week to bring in a defender but I feel the Dawson/Xerri option is the way to go, but not 100%  locked in yet. Who knows what could happen with players potentially being out at any point.

 

Anyway, thanks again everyone for reading the Weekend Forecast. If you have any questions about your starting teams, or anything else, leave your questions in the comments section below or hit me up at my Twitter or Instagram (links provided below).

Good luck for round 3!

Instagram: @baileyirrgang

Twitter: @baileyirrgang