The Friday Scramble: NAB R3

Two weeks down and only two weeks left to see what teams are planning for round 1.  From what I have heard around the traps this week is that there are a few teams that are playing round 1 sides this week.  Looking at Adelaides selections this week they have brought back most of their big guns to play Collingwood.  On the other hand we have St Kilda and Essendon who haven’t played a real game yet and need to see what is going on.

A Giant Gamble….

Whilst the lockout countdown clock ticking we only have about two weeks to work out which of the GWS giants we are going to pick as they play the Swans on the 24th of March, an entire 5 days prior to the “traditional season opener” game between Carlton and Richmond.  The issue we have here is that whilst we will know the round one Giants squad, a luxury we didn’t have last year, we won’t know who has made the cut in the other teams and potentially we won’t know all of the upgraded rookies as some clubs will only do that just before they select their round 1 lineups, so we won’t know if The Magnet or Pfeiffer in particular have been upgraded.  So do we select a GWS kid that has been named in round 1 or do we leave that spot for the potential of a rookie being upgraded during the following week?  The risk we have is that once those GWS guys and the Sydney guys have been locked in on the 24th, we are stuck with them thanks to the partial lockout (more on that from Calvin in his first episode of Calvins Captains in a few weeks I would suggest).

Never Ever Ever Again….  or maybe?

I am sure a few of us have our Never Again lists and some of the players on them would be the same across all of us DT Talk coaches… Missy Higgins being number 1 I would suggest.  But are you starting to consider some of these guys?  Here are a few that I have found that people are looking at when I am sure I heard them say towards the end of last year… never again!

• Greg Broughton was a popular selection last year only to get stuck in a negative role.  Many people traded him out only to see him come good (average of 120 in 6 games mid year), I even know some guys that traded him back in!  But once he got relegated to the backs again his scores dropped and they all said… Never Again.  However, with talk of a permanent midfield role are you reconsidering him?  His scores as a permanent mid were great, but do we know what Ross Lyon has planned?  102 last week against the Tigers in the midfield speaks volumes to me.
• Jason Porplyzia is someone that a lot of people were hurt by after his 6 minutes of game time last year.  Many said they wouldn’t consider him, but he scored 53 in a half in Alice Springs… he was apparently looking healthy, do you reconsider?  The Crows don’t really have a lead up target with a strong grab and good leg so they will look for the Porpoise on most occasions I would think.  Will be watching him with intent on Friday night.
• Heater has been the bone of many a contention over the years with his idiocy.  Many people have said never again and he now has his own DT rule named after him with reversible trades.  But despite how stupid he can be, the guy can flat out score.  98 last week just shows yet again that you will get value for that $454k.
• Robbie Gray is another guy that has screwed many a dream team over the last few years and inconsistency and missing games doesn’t help.  However, last year he addressed this and didn’t miss a game and looked very good in his first hit outs in NAB1.  This week against Freo in Victor Harbor will really show us if he is the real deal.  But are we just being tempted yet again?
• Chris Masten is a bone of contention for our mate Tbetta (just read Tbetta’s deck of DT article on him).  However, many have said never again to this guy, but he has been getting it done over the preseason and at only $278k if he can knock out 90’s each week he will quickly make you some cash to upgrade him to someone else.

So there are a few guys who you may cross off your list very early in the piece, but they have shown that they are well worth a look.

NAB Round 3 Selection Issues

 Just a few things of note from this weeks selection table… a tweet from Tbetta said it all…

 A few interesting absences this week. No Hall, Devon Smith, Treloar, Shiel, Saad, Morris or Darley. These guys are in a lot of teams #hmmm

Followed up by this from our resident Rookie expert Chook….

Hmmm, Ellis and Webberley in Richmond side but no Morris. In other rookie backline battles, Bugg gets his chance to go ahead of Darley.

What does this tell us?  Well firstly there are a few teams that are tinkering with their lineups… but the closer we get to the end of the silly season, the more settled coaches will want their lineups to be.  So make sure you do your research on why some of these guys are out and keep your ear to the ground over the weekend and eyes on DTTalk as you will maybe find out what has happened.

Have a great weekend of Footy Viewing guys.  Unfortunately no GWS Giants on tv this week so we will need to hope for an online feed somewhere (legal one of course) like the Adel v Bris game last week or just some detailed reports from someone that is there.  Unfortunatley I can’t get to the Power v Freo game down in Victor this weekend but I am trying to find someone that is going that can give me some updates on our rookie relevant guys.

See ya on Twitter @pkd73