The Weekend Wash-Up – Round 9

After weeks of carnage we finally had some high scoring this week! Well, I should say some did… I’m here to take you through the highs and lows of Round 9, it’s time for the weekend wash-up!

LEGENDS

Walsh (143) – Totally dominant, it was clearly a huge mistake passing on him. The man is a beast and a clear top 8 mid.

Petracca (134) – I thought Petracca was on track to becoming a full time tik toker at quarter time. How wrong was I. Forward DPP?? 5 goals and an epic performance up forward, it’s something to monitor.

Cripps (123) – Three out of four ain’t bad Patty, what an epic performance again. Is it Carlton’s year? 2024 is whack.

Gawn (109) – The fact it’s a little disappointing says all you need to know about Max Gawn’s season. Yes it wasn’t a huge captains score, but he’s still awesome.

Oliver (99) – 26 disposals, 8 tackles. I said I only needed to see one ton, now we’ve basically seen two. He’s primed. Huge value.

Wines (133) – My hand is up. Ollie, I am sorry. 33 touches, 9 clearances and clearly best on. Yes Rozee was out, but god damn he was amazing.

Butters (128) – 34 disposals and a huge ton… That’s more of what we like to see! Rozee out clearly elevates his ceiling.

Holmes (101) – Homma was immense again, clearly tracking for a 120… Before he went down hurt. Of course he did. My first bullet of the season! Maybe? Just a light cork? I’m slightly concerned, but he’s a gun. It’s a shame he couldn’t run out the last term.

Sharp (118) – HOLY junk time. Sharpie had to go, you can’t do anything about these last couple of scores. That final term was wild. Good on him and finally a break of fortune for those forced to hold him.

Serong (107) – What a HUGE first half, and a bitterly disappointing second. You can’t complain with a ton, but man that looked like another 140.

Heeney (106) – Heendog just keeps ticking them over. The definition of a bloody legend. Our forward line is completely dire without him.

Marshall (164) – Dog. This performance actually had me infuriated, because don’t get me wrong… It’s one of the best individual performances I’ve seen. 23 contested possessions, 12 clearances, 11 tackles. So… WHERE WAS THIS 3 WEEKS AGO? Why did he act like he tore every ligament in his knee? Brave, please. Certainly a top 3 ruck.

Steele (131) – No strapping Steele hits different… 33 disposals to go with his 13 tackles. As a non-owner, the amount of cheap ‘secondary’ hugs drives me nuts. But as an owner, I’d absolutely love it. King.

Bonner (129) – Let’s face it, Bonner is just bloody good! Those thinking he would get dropped and then vested need to have a wander down the hall of mirrors I reckon. I will say though, I’m questioning the Saints game plan… There was way too much chippy chippy, as much as we love it.

NWM (119) – Chippy chippy seagull. 3 contested disposals and just 4 inside 50’s. Ugly stuff but elite fantasy.

Meek (124) – Marshall and Meek combined for 81 hitouts this week, so it was clearly an ugly stoppage fest. Which fell right into the lap of big Meeky. I could never do it, but respect to anyone that did.

Martin (121) – Genuine gun. My only concern is how effective these defensive tags have been lately, Nic Martin will be in the crosshairs.

Treloar (154) – I always say Trelly has this in him… 41 touches, what a field day. The inevitable injury scares just scare the sh*t out of me, especially this year.

Richards (141) – No Libba and finally midfield Ed comes to the party… I thought it should have been Sanders but Ed said have that one!

Harmes (134) – When Chompers goes 134, that’s when you know it was a training drill.

Bont (126) – Better… But almost unders in this game. Let’s see him go back to back now.

Clohesy (100) – Funny things happen in Darwin…… This was clearly the week of the rookies. I don’t know if I’m ready to rely on Clohesy for these kind of scores, but he’s a genuine gun. What a cannon of a right foot.

Daicos (131) – What a total disaster it was not getting him 2 weeks ago. Better to go early than be late to the party… And I’ve almost missed it all together.

Crisp (130) – Jack Crisp is suddenly a full time midfielder again with Tom Mitchell out. He’s now averaging 111 in the last 2 weeks, with a BE 41…. As a 680k defender. Interesting.

Dawson (118) – Just a totally dominant force. His ceiling is capped with only 50% CBAs, and an injury to a midfielder would send him to the moon. However I’m a very happy owner. Now, go check Adelaide’s fixtures… Pies, Eagles, Hawks, Richmond…….. It’s Crom time.

Crouch (117) – My crows saved the day for me. 13 tackles!!! 8 clearances, Crouchy was huge. Thank god I held him, I’m buzzing for this run of fixtures.

Dunkley (114) – I’m ready to call it, he’s back and a legitimate uber premium option. Only 22 touches but 9 tackles and a goal, Dunks is just a pure fantasy jet.

Zorko (109) – Dirty dirty behaviour. I just wish he had that role in pre-season! Now I’m waiting on a Yeo…

Berry (110) – BERRY AGAIN?! Jarrod now carries a 5 round average of 112. What alternate universe is this.

LOSERS

Cerra (74) – Worst keeper pick ever. The poor bloke just can’t stay healthy, truly a walking hospital ward.

Howes (48) – It’s been a good ride, but the time has come. Farewell soldier.

McKay (48) – If I’m going to praise Harry for his dominance, I also have to call out this performance. A combination of Melbourne’s defence and conditions created the perfect storm. I’m still backing him in as a 90 guy.

Hewett (30) – Nobody is safe from the vest at Carlton! Incredible scenes. If Cerra is out injured again, Hewett and perhaps more importantly Kennedy should be safe options.

Stewart (64) – OK. What’s going on here. Holding our premiums has been a consistent theme this year, but this is a trainwreck. Is he playing a different role? Truly ugly stuff. He moved onto the wing late but in general he just had a stinker. Another stinker.

Guthrie (63) – Cross him off your lists. In fact forget he exists entirely. El finita.

Dempsey (49) – At this point Ollie is just hanging around like a bad smell. He would have been gone 3 weeks ago without the carnage. So glad I chased him. Disgraceful.

Roberts (39) – Speaking of over staying your welcome. Genuinely lighting money on fire with some of these rookies. Here’s the door champion. Embarrassing. (He has been awesome)

Fyfe (58) – From back to his best to washed within 2 weeks. Just like Harley, that rest served him well! It should be noted, the circumstances under which Fremantle had to play that game were extremely tough. Something I may have forgotten about when assessing their performance on the pod… Back Fyfey in.

Jackson (73) – Not even close to the standard. 12 hitouts to 33 in an embarrassment no matter how you spin it. God he looked good as a midfielder in the first half though!

Clark (57) – James Jordon must be fun at parties. That was truly bizarre stuff, even with 2 minutes to go in junk time he wouldn’t give Clark an inch. Hopefully it’s a one off tag, I’m just concerned how effective it was… One week to turn it around, and it’s against the Saints. Now is where you go 130 Jordan!

Sinclair (59) – In THAT game he could only manage 59… With good midfield clock in a stoppage fest. That is as grim as it gets honestly, huge bullet dodged for me. Pathetic.

Merrett (87) – So that’s it, apparently Zach’s new role is to stand off the back of stoppages with his d*ck in his hand. Awesome. Some seem to think that has been his role all season, but I do not understand how he could have been averaging 120. Disgusting. 24 touches, 5 tackles. There was no tag. That’s not Zach Merrett.

Parish (60) – Well I certainly DID NOT see this coming. After dominating last week, Parish only managed 12 CBAs, splitting midfield clock with Durham, Stringer and Perkins. Abysmal. My two favourite targets totally bombed, you’ve been warned.

Whitfield (77) – Hard tagged again and he just does not have the minerals to break them. The blueprint is there, and quite frankly it’s scary. Shut down the seagull and you shut down GWS. He owes me a 150. Minimum.

Thomas (14) – Could you just drop him already please… Firstly I need a forward loop option. And secondly I’d love him not to bleed back to 200k. Thank you, signed a concerned fantasy coach.

Powell (77) – This is what Tom Powell is. A very average footballer. He only had 12 CBAs, less than WILL PHILLIPS. Congratulations Clarko, you’re on fire at the minute mate.

Sheezel (71) – This absolutely drove me up the wall. There was a point in the second quarter where the commentators remarked on how quiet Sheezel had been. Well CONGRATULATIONS GUYS, YOU WANTED THIS. You could hear them realise and have to stop before suggesting they should move him up the ground to find some more of the footy. Weird, who would’ve thought Sheezel’s 40 touches wouldn’t just translate to the forward line? Embarrassing stuff. Completely embarrassing. Best narrative.

Xerri (57) – Oh boy… Darwin boys… Bloody Darwin.

THIS GAME SH*TS ME

This is a little bit of a chance for me to get on my soap box this week, as I don’t want to bore you with Rowan Marshall complaining for the third week straight. The holding the ball rule. What are we doing? 10 years ago it was ‘strength’ to stand up in the tackle and get rid of the ball, and that was fair enough. Do you also know what happened 10 years ago? Less actually. Bryce Gibbs pinned both arms and 360 degree slung a blokes head into the ground and we thought he was stiff to get 2 weeks. Now it might be 8. YOU CAN’T TAKE A PLAYER TO GROUND! Which by the way, I have no issue with. So why the hell do you get 5 seconds to dispose of the ball while tackled? Ignoring the fact it’s done illegally half the time. You can’t tackle players to ground, so can we wake the f**k up and just make a ball up or holding the ball decision within 1 second please. It is so obvious. And such an easy fix. Sorry but that’s been on my nerves all year. Stop robbing my players of tackles!!! This game sh*ts me.

THE OTHER BITS AND PIECES

2168, sliding me down 500 spots to 3.3k. We’re just not cut out for it. It should come as no surprise when it’s a good week, my team doesn’t have the minerals. No bullets, no chance. Again it was another nearly story for me, my players just HATE big scores. I see Walshy 140, Daicos 130… Steele 130… some other bloke scored 160. Meanwhile I have Gulden and Merrett for 80’s and 90’s. My captain crawls to a ton. It’s just not nearly good enough.

My trades next week? I genuinely can’t bring myself to pick a single forward, so I think Clohesy might move to the bench and I’ll chase the real value in Clarry.

Dempsey -> Richards

Graham -> Oliver

Good luck next week legends, as always may the luckiest man or woman win! Be sure to check out the podcast too, we cover it all in depth and more! Cheers legends.

Matt