Its the last week of the pre season, meaning the 2010 AFL Premiership Season is just around the corner. Teams will be looking for that last little bit of preparation in this weeks games. Lets see who is facing off.

Brisbane vs. Hawthorn

Both teams had indifferent weeks last week.

The Hawks lost two crucial players (Sewell & Taylor) to injury and the Lions didn’t even get to play due to the crazy Melbourne storm on the last weekend.

After the injuries of last week from the Hawks and the less then adequate match-practice that Brisbane have had; I’d expect this game to be used just to get some miles into the player’s legs before the season proper.

Players to watch for Brisbane

Luke Power – This will be his first game back from his groin injury, and given that the Brisbane midfield is their most obvious weakness, a solid game from Power will be a good grounding for his season.

Simon Black – Exactly the same applies for Black who was the walking wounded in last years finals series. He is unbelievably important to Brisbane’s midfield so a productive, but incident-free game is a must.

Players to watch for Hawthorn

Ryan Shoenmakers – With two power forwards named in the squad, this is a good time to face one to gain more experience without any consequence.

He’s looking like he’s ready for a big year.

Wayde Skipper – With Simon Taylor out until the mid-point of the year, Skipper will need all the ‘free’ game time he can get. A lot will be asked from him now.

Carlton vs. Adelaide

This match is yet another Friday twilight match at Visy Park against 2 teams, who is the past 2 weeks have won 1 and lost 1. Carlton has defeated the Brisbane Lions by 13 points and then last week lost to West Coast by 39 points. Adelaide has been beaten by Collingwood by 22 points and defeated Melbourne, but by only 2 points.
The Blues have been struggling with a lack of a big target up forward and might continue to struggle over the coming weeks. The Crows on the other hand look like they are in good form with good forward targets and even despite losing to the Pies in torrential rain in Alice Springs a couple of weeks ago, should get over the line against the Blues.

Players to watch for Carlton

Mitch Robinson – Is still a young player, but will be interesting to watch as the Blues seem to want to build him into a solid forward target. So watch out for how much time he spends up forward and how he goes.

Brock McLean – He returns this week to the Blues line up which seems to look strong. In his first match against the Swans he didn’t do so well, but was up against Brett Kirck, so it’s sort of understandable. He is going to want to have a much more solid game this week to prove he was worth it.

Players to watch for Adelaide

Nathan Bock – The Crows defender returns from injury this weekend, after only having played one game this pre-season and his first match since August last year. It will be interesting to see how he goes, considering we have only seen him play once this season.

Ivan Maric – Maric also returns from injury this week after missing the past 2 matches. Maric returning to the team will allow Kurt Tippett to also push forward. Although Maric was dropped for games last season, he was able to accumulate a career best 358 hitouts for the season. In order to avoid being dropped again, he will need to keep up his career best form.

Sydney vs. North Melbourne

The match might not mean anything in the long run, but both these teams will be looking for a win to try and use the momentum heading into the 2010 AFL Premiership Season after each one had a disappointing 2009. Sydney are coming off a win against an undermanned Essendon side, whilst North Melbourne are coming off a thumping of Hawthorn after keeping the 2008 Premiers goalless in the first half. This game could go either way with each side looking pretty good at the moment.

Players to watch for Sydney

Rhyce Shaw – Shaw made a good return from a knee injury last week against the Bombers. He should continue to find his feet just in time for the season to begin.

Mark Seaby – Seaby has been enjoying his new found freedom after moving to the opposite side of the country. He is getting more game time and looks good for the Swans number 1 ruck spot.

Players to watch for North Melbourne

Daniel Wells – He returned last week after recovering from osteitis pubis, kicking three goals in the first half before subbing off. Look out for him if he continues his first game form.

Ryan Bastinac – A highly rated midfielder before the 2009 draft and the Kangaroos snapped him up early in the second round. He impressed last week and if he can impress again he might stake a claim for senior selection early in the season.

Fremantle vs. Geelong

The last hit out for both clubs before round 1, Fremantle are coming off a heavy loss to the Saints while the Cats are a week behind schedule after last weeks challenge game was cancelled due to bad weather. Both teams are expected to name strong line ups with Geelong playing 19 of the 22 premiership players from last season’s grand final. This shapes as a good contest for Fremantle who have the chance to put forward a good showing against a good team in Geelong.

Key Players for Fremantle

Aaron Sandilands – Has been named to play this week and will have a great chance to really dominate the Geelong rucks. Hasn’t played a huge amount of football but you would expect him to have an impact on this match.

Adam McPhee – New club and an opportunity to show what a valuable recruit he can be. Should really play round one but again should be looking for a good performance. Coming up against one of the best mid fields in the competition has a big job ahead.

Key Players for Geelong

Cameron Mooney – The Big forward for Geelong has looked good so far during the pre season to date. Geelong lacked fire power in the game against Richmond in which Mooney didn’t play. Still is Geelong’s best big target up forward.

Josh Hunt – Massive chance for Hunt to re cement his position in the starting 22 for the Cats. Has played every game so far during this preseason and will have benefited from that. If he can have another good showing this week expect a round one position reserved for Hunt.

Melbourne vs. West Coast

Melbourne have suffered some setbacks during the week after sustaining injuries last weekend. Liam Jurrah is most notable, who now requires a full shoulder reconstruction and will miss 4 months. Despite the injuries it was just a narrow two point loss to Adelaide last week for the Demons. West Coast on the other hand have shown some good form in the NAB Cup and NAB Challenge, giving them some momentum they will be hoping to continue through well into the season.

Players to watch for Melbourne

Cameron Bruce – Bruce is set to return to the senior side having recovered from a hamstring injury. He will add some much needed experience to the young side.

Austin Wonaeamirri – “Aussie” played for the reserves last week, and although he and Jurrah were looking forward to playing together that now has to wait. Still, his return to the senior side is exciting for Demons fans.

Players to watch for West Coast

Luke Shuey – Shuey has impressed during the NAB Cup and NAB Challenge series’ and is surely starting to push for senior selection early in the year, perhaps even round 1. Keep an eye on him to see if he continues to put his hand up.

Dean Cox – Cox has been eased back into the swing of things this pre season after missing much of the second half of last year with injury. The Eagles will be looking for him to take up the number 1 ruck spot again in season 2010 but he needs to stay injury free at the same time.

Richmond vs. Essendon

Its a classic rivalry match, but in the pre season. Regardless of the time of the year, however, you can expect these two teams to go at it hard. Both teams are coming off losses, with the Bombers losing to Sydney and the Tigers going down to Collingwood. Essendon have named the return of many senior players, including Jobe Watson, Dustin Fletcher, Brent Stanton, Jason Winderlich, and Andrew Welsh. Richmond will be looking for something to take them into the season and a win will be a priority but I can’t see them beating the Bombers this time around.

Players to watch for Richmond

Brett Deledio – Easily one of the Tigers best players, if not the best. Deledio will be looking for some personal form leading into a season that should see him lead the Tigers by example if they want to get anywhere.

Jack Riewoldt – Last time these teams met Riewoldt ran riot kicking 6 goals. He will be looking to do that again, not only for his own confidence but for his teams.

Players to watch for Essendon

Jay Neagle – Neagle will be looking to take the Full Forward position for the Bombers permanently with the departure of both Scott Lucas and Matthew Lloyd. He looked dangerous last week despite hitting the post twice.

Scott Gumbleton – “Gumby” is definitely looking for a stepping stone for senior selection during the season, and after being riddled with injury since joining the Bombers he will also be looking to stay injury free.

Port Adelaide vs. Collingwood

Visy Park has been enjoying the attention of spectators throughout the NAB Cup and this will be the last practice match of the pre season. Despite losing to the Western Bulldogs in a tight 3 point match, the Powers average winning margins in the first 2 weeks of the NAB Cup were 67 points. Their opposition Collingwood has won their last 2 matches by an average of 25 points after losing to St Kilda in the first round. Should be a good match to watch, both have been playing relatively well in the past few weeks so it will be tough, but it seems the Pies have a stronger side.

Players to watch for Port Adelaide

Robbie Gray – Probably the Powers bet last week against the Dogs, he did a good job on Cooney when he was on him, but once freed gather 21 disposals. He is likely to get matched up on Dane Swan, Scott Pendlebury or Luke Ball, so his game will be one to watch to see how he goes.

Kane Cornes – Has been playing consistently over the NAB games in the past few weeks, so continue him to do so. Just look out for a possible injury niggle on his left knee, which was re-strapped during the semi final match last week.

Players to watch for Collingwood

John Anthony – Last week was Anthony’s first game back and he was solid with 2 goals. Lets hope he can continue to provide strong leads for the Pies and a good consistent target up forward and allow the likes of Paul Medhurst and Travis Cloke move up the ground.

Dane Swan – These stats speak for themselves. Last time the Pies played Port, they won by 38 points and Dane Swan was magnificent collecting a massive 48 disposals (22 kicks and 26 handballs), he took 8 marks and kicked a goal. A repeat of this anyone?

Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 7:01 pm | Uncategorized | Comments RSS