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North Melbourne vs. Carlton – Round 18 match review

Friday, July 31st, 2009

North Melbourne – 11.18 (84)
Carlton – 14.10 (94)

Carlton, in the most unconvincing fashion managed to do enough to deny Adam Simpson a win in his last game by 10 points at the Dome tonight.
It was a fair arm-wrestle for most of the game with the main momentum shift coming in the 3rd quarter when Carlton kicked 6 goals to North’s 4 which gave the Blues a slender 4 point lead into the 4th quarter.
North had plenty of chances to win it in the last half kicking a disgraceful 0.9 to Carlton’s 2.3.

Big moment
With goals at a premium in the 4th quarter, Mitch Robinson took a mark on the wing’, took off at full pace and then booted it long into the forward-50 one out to Fevola who couldn’t mark it.

He did however manage to juggle the ball onto his foot send it on it’s way to goal with Thornton at the goal-line who claimed the goal.
That goal gave them a 12 point lead, late in the 4th quarter.

Key players for North Melbourne
Liam Anthony – He just accumulated possessions at will finishing with 33 possessions.
Brent Harvey –He was exceptional in the first-half running himself into the ground. So much so that he had minimal influence in the last quarter. Finished with 32 possessions.
Drew Petrie – He gave it his absolute all, as shown by that all or nothing “slips” mark in the dying seconds. Finished with 4 assists and 8 inside-50s.
Lindsey Thomas – Can’t go past his 4 goals.

Key players for Carlton
Marc Murphy – Ran forward well to kick 4 goals whilst getting the ball 23 times.
Bryce Gibbs – Used the ball beautifully tonight and was the player that looked almost a class above his team-mates. Kicked 2 goals; one of them was an excellent set-shot along the boundary.
Nick Stevens – Played well in his return match playing in the midfield whilst also roaming behind the ball. He would have been handy last week with his skills. Finished with a team-high 25 possessions.

Musings from the match
• Nine behinds North?!?!?! You can’t be serious……….
• One player who really tried in vein to drag North over the line in the last bit of the 4thquarter was Andrew Swallow. His desperation was excellent.
• Adam Simpson did remarkably well for an old man playing with a torn-calf muscle. He finished with 20 possessions and 2 assists.
• Carlton are going to be doing nothing in the finals going by this game and the form they have shown since the split-round.
• Levi Greenwood did an excellent job on Chris Judd, restricting the captain to 7 first-half possessions and forced Carlton to move him up forward.
• There were some enjoyable one-on-one contests on the ground; Fevola vs.Thompson, Kruezer vs. McIntosh and even (stay with me here) Campbell vs. Armfield.

SuperCoach news
The biggest scorer of the night was Andrew Swallow with a score of 145pt’s, much thanks to his 9 tackles and 3 assists.
Other big scorers included Brent Harvey(133pt’s), Hamish McIntosh (122pt’s) and Lindsey Thomas (120pt’s).
Carlton didn’t have big scorers at all. The highest score was 113pt’s which was scored by both Marc Murphy and Chris Judd.
Leigh Harding went off injured with a hamstring injury.

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Posted in Carlton, Match Reviews, North Melbourne, Round 18 2009 | No Comments »

Jack Watts’ first three games in perspective

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

To say that Jack Watts hasn’t had the best first three games of an AFL career is a bit of an understatement. He has been criticized unfairly in the media for his, as of now, very short career.

I put to you that three games at the highest level is not the best yard stick to measure great players by. Some of the greatest players ever had shocking debuts or just generally were not that good to begin with.

Let’s go through some of the past number one draft picks and see how good they were in their first three games and then compare that to Jack Watts.

2000 – Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda)
Roo only had 3 disposals in his first game, followed by 13 and 19 touches but had not yet kicked a goal. He didn’t play until round 15, later than Watts, and averaged 9.5 touches for his first season. He was not really setting the world alight, only scoring two goals in 6 appearances.
First three game average disposals: 10

2001 – Luke Hodge (Hawthorn)
Blooded in round 5 and had 12 touches in his first game, 8 of which were handballs. His next two games were disappointing with just a single touch in one of them and 8 in the other. He did finish off the year well though averaging 16 possessions.
First three game average disposals: 7

2002 – Brendon Goddard (St Kilda)
Goddard had a good debut with 11 touches and a goal and continued that form for the next two matches. Strangely (considering they just had finished last and got the number one draft pick) the Saints were playing well though and won in his second and third matches, which probably boosted his numbers.
First three game average disposals: 14

2003 – Adam Cooney (Western Bulldogs)
Cooney played 19 games in his first season and played round one. His first game was okay with 8 disposals and a goal. The following two games were equally as impressive, but Cooney didn’t really set the world alight until round 20 against Port Adelaide where he collected 28 touches a goal in a losing side.
First three game average disposals: 10

2004 – Brett Deledio (Richmond)
Deledio had 6 marks in his debut match along with 9 disposals followed by 12 and 14. He went on to play all the matches in the season averaging 15 touches in them.
First three game average disposals: 12

2005 – Marc Murphy (Carlton)
Murphy had the best start to a career of the lot. He averaged 17 in his first three games and 18 for the season (including the game he was injured with just 3 touches to his name); he is the exception to the rule.
First three game average disposals: 17

2006 – Bryce Gibbs (Carlton)
Gibbs was fairly good when he debuted in round one in 2007, 7 kicks and a goal to his name is a fairly good return for Carlton on their number one pick. 18 and 13 disposals after that proved that he was not just a flash in the pan.
First three game average disposals: 14

2007 – Matthew Kreuzer (Carlton)
Kreuzer was played in round three and collected 16 touches, two goals and 12 hit outs in his debut in Carlton’s loss to Essendon. He obviously had put a lot in to the first game and only could manage 7 touches and 8 hitouts in his second. He bettered his second match in his third with 15 possessions.
First three game average disposals: 13

2008 – Jack Watts (Melbourne)
Watts had a baptism of fire against Collingwood where he was gang tackled when he had his first touch. By the end of his debut round 11 Queen’s Birthday clash he had just 8 touches to his name, Melbourne lost the game by a lot. His second game was a bit better because he extracted 2 goals from it, but it was another thrashing for the Dees. His third match was against Brisbane at the Gabba, traditionally Melbourne’s worst venue, where he had 10 touches with minimal impact. Over his only and first three games Watts has averaged just 9 disposals.
First three game average disposals: 9

Watts was a part of Melbourne’s worst losses of the year and can be a little excused by his lack of bulk. Surely he and the club would have wanted a better first three games out of him, but 2 goals and 27 touches isn’t too bad from three games from a 18 year old. Watts is far from the best in the pack compared to these players, but he is meant to be a key position forward and he has kicked two goals already. At this stage of their career Roo still hadn’t kicked a goal. Most of the other players aren’t really comparable because of the positions they play. You certainly cannot compare him to more mature mature-aged recruits like Daniel Rich, who have the tough bodies already.

I think Watts looks slow, which is in starch stark contrast to his draft camp stats of beating all the non-indigenous draftees in the 20m sprint with a time of 2.82 seconds. I think the extra 5 kilos of weight he has put on has hampered his speed and probably his co-ordination too. Let’s not forget that he was All-Australian in juniors and was awarded the Larke Medal for being the best player in the AFL National Under 18 Championships.

Even though there are a few midfielders in the mix–up, the the average number of disposals for all the number number-one draftees since 2000 expect except Jack Watts is just over 12. Jack is a key position player (although he doesn’t allows play there) averaging 9 possessions, which isn’t that different considering the small size of the data- set available for Jack Watts. These kinds of stats definitely do not preclude you from being a terrific player like most of these players have truly become. Watts compares quite well to some other key position players too.

In short, just sit back and judge Watts once you have enough data on the kid. Do not jump to the conclusion that he is a dud based on three appearances, especially if they were big losses when you are a forward.

For all the stats on these number one draft picks:

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Posted in Featured, Melbourne | 3 Comments »

Fremantle vs Carlton – Round 14 match review

Sunday, July 5th, 2009


Fremantle – 15.10 (100)
Carlton – 16.19 (115)

Whilst Carlton had a relatively poor start to the match kicking 1.4 to Fremantle ‘s 6.2, in the first quarter, The Blues managed to fight back in the second quarter and maintain their efforts in the second half to beat Fremantle by 15 points.


Big Moment
The home side leads 9.7 (61) to 7.8 (50) at the long break, with the Blues coming back hard in the second term, kicking six goals to Fremantle’s three.


The Blues were behind by 11 points at the main break. They trailed at the end of every quarter, but were able to kick 4 consecutive goals in the last quarter (3 in the opening five minutes), which saw them overrun the home team by kicking a total of seven goals to two in the final term.

Key Players for Fremantle
Antoni Grover – Had 17 possessions in the first half and zoned off O’hAilpin easily for most of the match. He ended with 26 possessions and took game high 16 marks.

Greg Broughton – Had a solid and consistent match and ended with 31 possessions, whilst running off Sam Fisher. He also took 8 marks.

Byron Schammer – He played the entire match going head to head with Marc Murphy and it was an even match. Had 17 first half possessions and finished with 28 including 8 marks.

Key Players for Carlton
Bryce Gibbs – Had a great match, collecting 17 disposals in the first half and finishing with a total of 33 possessions and additionally took 11 marks and kicked 2 goals.

Chris Judd – Led his team like a captain should. He was tagged by Ibbotson and absolutely dominated him. Judd collected 16 first half touches and ended the day with 35 possessions and 9 tackles.

Andrew Carrazzo – Played a great match collecting 33 possessions, including game high 21 kicks and had 8 inside 50s.

Musing from the Match
• Fremantle have now lost seven straight matches.
• The Blues took the lead for the first time in the match at the five-minute mark of the last quarter, after Gibbs’ second goal.
• It was David Mundy ’s 100th game.
• Fremantle were leading by 34 points early in the second quarter.
• If you watched the game and were wondering why Carlton were wearing yellow coloured Guernseys, shorts and socks it was to raise funds in support of the Lance Armstrong Foundation (Cancer Research).
• Fremantle had overall more kicks (218-189), handballs (169-168) and overall disposals (387-357).
• Fremantle had more hit outs, obviously thanks to Sandilands hands (with 26 individually to him).
• Carlton dominated the tackles 55 – 32.
• Carlton had 19 more inside 50s than Fremantle, but the Dockers had 18 more rebound 50s.
• The Dockers had more contested and uncontested possessions.


SuperCoach News
I said in the Preview for this match that you would LOVE having Aaron Sandilands in your team because of the amount of hit outs he has been and high scores, but he seemed to be struggling after half time with hamstring/groin problems, so keep an eye on him.

Bryce Gibbs (139 points) and Chris Judd (165 points) both had another outstanding game.

Fremantle youngster Greg Broughton had a great game for the Dockers scoring 159 points and is constantly building his game and price.

Hayden Ballantyne kicked 3 goals for the Dockers and scored 72 points.

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Posted in Carlton, Fremantle, Match Reviews, Round 14 2009 | No Comments »

Key SuperCoach players for round 14

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Here are a few players on that are worth selling/buying/keeping an eye on for SuperCoach from what we’ve seen so far.

At this stage make sure you use your trades wisely!

5 weeks left until the finals!

Bargains of the week

Jason Porplyzia
He’s in excellent form right now essentially dragging Adelaide over the line in their past two games whilst scoring 116pt’s and 145pt’s in the process. His shoulders seem fine (touch’ wood) and at his price of $449 900, he might be a nice option.

Paul Medhurst
After coming back from an ankle injury, he looked a bit rusty but got better as the game went on. His price of $392 800 is excellent considering the upside left in him.

Luke Power
He’s scored 100+pt’s in his past 4 games and is in great shape. He is priced at $518 000 right now and looks to be back on track to his previous 4 years with SuperCoach where he has averaged 100+pt’s every year.

Bryce Gibbs
He’s at an ideal price now at $476 300 after a few sub 100pt games. He got his usual quota of cheap-kicks against Essendon which resulted in a score of 122pt’s and he didn’t even play that well in that game.
There is a lot more to offer with him so I’d definitely consider him

Andrew Welsh
He has been unbelievable since his return from injury scoring 107pt’s and 96pt’s. He has only played those two games for the year so his price of $436 400 is going up this week considering his break even of 61pt’s.

Luke Hodge
He is slowly but surely scoring better and better with scores of 97pt’s, 83pt’s and 111pt’s.
Whilst it’s not the Hodge of the past years, he is improving. His price of $442 400 is far too good to miss.

One-gamers to keep an eye on

Jarred Silvester
Never mind his defensive performance (as if we do in SuperCoach anyway!) because he scored 94pts in his debut. Keep an eye on him if you have an underperforming back considering that he’s valued at $83 400.

Liam Anthony
Could be this years Brad Dalziell. Scored 78pt’s although it was from 28 possessions which is pretty disappointing in a way.
Still, his hard body and his ability to find space will yield him some good scores.

The ones that make you go ‘Ouch’ if you’ve got / the ones that you are waiting to bottom out

Daniel Giansiracusa
He’s now out for 6 weeks following arthroscopic surgery on his knee against the Roo’s. That would really hurt those that have him considering that he came back after originally injuring that knee to play very well. At least you’ll be able to get something for his $487 000 price tag.

Sam Fisher
Getting tagged and struggling whilst scoring only 50pt’s and 55pt’s against Carlton and Richmond. His price has dropped a massive $128 000 since the start of the year to $416 700, and with a break-even of 147pt’s against Geelong this week, he could be a very good pick-up next week.

Matthew Pavlich
Sustained the “old mans” injury with a strained calf against Collingwood.
He’s out for 2-3 weeks with the high possibility of it reoccurring again given the annoying nature of those injuries.

Lance Franklin
If you have a reasonable amount of trades left. Get rid of.
Dropping over $200 000 since the start of the year, anyone who has him or has had him would have been burnt.
If he loses some weight, then consider getting him back in because he is just going to lose you games with his inconsistency.

Brent Harvey
He has a high break-even of 178pt’s this week so next week, he’s going to be a massive bargain.
He’s currently at $481 100, so if you don’t mind his price dropping down this week then get on him.

Previous players revisited
Beau Muston who looked like a potential keeper has been struggling after two very good first-up games. Be prepared for him to be dropped if you have him.

James did an excellent job with his bargain picks of, Jonathan Brown(134pt’s) and Sam Mitchell(160pt’s) who scored very well and now are definitely not bargains.

Another one whose boat has sailed is Alan Didak who is in the form of his life after earlier injury issues at the start of the year. He’s at $559 300 after scores of 147pts, 158pts and 163pt’s.
Nice one if you got him at his lowest price of $429 800.

Josh Drummond may be back this week so keep an eye on that if you kept him in your team.

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Essendon vs Carlton – Round 13 match recap

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Essendon – 21.10 (136)

Carlton – 9.13 (67)

Essendon has signalled its intentions for the rest of the season with a convincing 69 point thumping of Carlton on Friday night. The first half was a very even affair with the Bombers leading at quarter time by a point, and by 4 at the main break. But the second half was a different story, with the Bombers dominating the possession count and using it to their advantage. The Bombers kicked 16 of the last 18 goals for the night to demolish the Blues, with the win only soured by an ankle injury to star midfielder Jobe Watson. Watson hobbled off in the second quarter and did not return after the main break.

Big Moment

For excitement value you can’t go past Andrew Lovetts high flying mark in the third quarter, but my favourite moment/s was actually watching young defender Tayte Pears run off Brendan Fevola, not once but twice, to run up the wing with the ball and set up two Essendon goals.

Key Players for Essendon

Andrew Welsh – Worked really hard tagging Chris Judd and got 30 possessions for his efforts. Judd’s impact was limited, so much so he moved to the forward line in the fourth, and Essendon look like they are enjoying the return of their 2008 star tagger.

Angus Monfries – Kicked 5 straight goals from 5 kicks up forward for the Dons, and never really looked like missing.

Tayte Pears – Limited the impact of another Carlton big man in Brendan Fevola, keeping him to just 2 majors. Pears also set up two goals for his own team as mentioned above. Pears managed to collect 21 touches himself including 4 marks.

Key Players for Carlton

Bryce Gibbs – Kept finding the ball and worked pretty hard for it. He was one of the Blues best in my eyes.

Eddie Betts – Looked like the only real danger up forward once Fevola was negated. He kicked 3 goals, including a freakish third quarter goal just before three quarter time.

Musings from the match

· Watson is expected to miss one week with his ankle injury.

· Sam Lonergan could be in trouble at the match review for a “knee-ing” incident.

· After the half time break the Bombers won much of the ball, but remarkably the tackle count remained fairly even.

· Brent Prismall continues to get better, collecting 25 touches.

· Brendan Fevola only kicked 2 goals, and became almost invisible after half time.

Supercoach news

Bryce Gibbs – Managed 122 points from 24 touches, with 7 tackles and a goal. Upgrade to him if you have a rookie and some cash.

Tayte Pears – The only Bomber to score triple figures. The young defender has really matured this year, and after adding another big name to his growing list of opponents he looks like staying. Could be a good inclusion that will get games if nothing more.

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Posted in Carlton, Essendon, Match Reviews, Round 13 2009 | 1 Comment »

Collingwood vs. Carlton – Round 8 match recap

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

Collingwood – 7.11(53)
Carlton – 16.8 (104)

Carlton has outclassed their arch rival Collingwood by 51 points, in front of the season’s third highest crowd of 82,834. Carlton dominated the game from early in the first quarter, and was only under threat for about 5-10 minutes during the third quarter, but re-gained composure against an undermanned Collingwood side. This win means that the Blues have won the past 3 games against the Pies are still in the eight.


Turning points of the match

Carlton kicked 5 goals straight in the first quarter to Collingwood’s 2 behinds from set shots.

Key Players for Collingwood

Scott Pendlebury – Went head to head with Judd from the start of the match and outplayed him in the first half until Judd came back and drew the dual. Pendlebury was clearly Collingwood’s best and the only midfielder that came to play. He collected 31 disposals, took 2 marks and had 3 tackles.

Nick Maxwell – The second consecutive solid game from the Collingwood captain in yet another agonising loss. He started on Jarrad Waite and then moved onto Mitch Robinson. He had 22 disposals, 7 marks and 2 tackles.

Dane Swan – With an injury cloud over his head and many believing he would be a late withdrawal, Swan showed no signs of a knee injury (other than the strapping, of course). He went head to head with Bryce Gibbs and was beaten but still had a good match for the Pies considering the score. He gathered 30 possessions, laid 3 tackles and took 3 marks. He also had a game high 7 inside 50’s.

Key Players for Carlton

Kade Simpson – Starred in a Blues dominant midfield display. He had plenty of the ball and took a game high 12 marks. He also had Carltons most inside 50’s with 5 to his name and the second highest for the game behind Dane Swan. In the end he collected 29 touches and laid 4 tackles.

Chris Judd – Had a slower start to the game than normal and went head to head with Scott Pendlebury and ending up beating him as his impact on the game was more effective. He had game high 32 disposals, took 7 grabs, had a game high 8 tackles and kicked a goal. His only downfall for the day was his 4 frees against.

Bryce Gibbs – Solid, Solid, Solid, yet another great game! He went head to head with Dane Swan and beat him with 25 possessions, 6 tackles and 10 marks (the second highest for the day).

Musings from the match

• Carlton dominated the clearances and tackles in the first quarter, but Collingwood had more inside 50’s but could not convert.
• Carlton was much more accurate and effective the first quarter 74% to 56%
• The last time Carlton held Collingwood goaless in a the first quarter of football was in 1981
• Collingwood can get inside 50 a hell of a lot, but just don’t have any forward targets, what is going on?
• It took Collingwood till half way through the quarter to kick their first goal. So much for James’ theory.
• Josh Fraser’s replacement Cameron Wood vs. Matthew Kreuzer. Wood ended with 21 hit outs, 9 possessions, 4 tackles, 2 marks with 2 frees against. Kreuzer on the other hand had 25 hit outs, 10 possessions, 4 tackles, 4 marks and 2 frees for. It seems that they were relatively even. The only thing is Mick Malthouse doesn’t think so stated that “(Cameron) Wood has had his chance”.
• Collingwood’s half time score was their lowest score against Carlton since 1956.
• Leon Davis kicked a goal in the second quarter, which was good enough to be goal of the year!
• Fevola did nothing for the second week in a row. Prestigiacomo kept him at a standstill. He had 8 disposals, 4 marks and 3 tackles.
• Carlton dominated in the marks 124-65.
• Collingwood ended the match with more inside fifties 45-41.


Supercoach news

• Simon Prestigiacomo, had a knock to the shoulder early in the game, might be worth keeping an eye on him, if you have him. This is unlikely because even though he has good games, his game does not score well in Supercoach.

• Carlton had 8 players scoring over 100+ points including starring midfielders Judd, Gibbs, Simpson. Collingwood only had two; Pendlebury and Maxwell.

• Mitch Robinson had a good start to the season playing three consecutive games, and then got dropped for performing badly. He then got brought in after the dropping of Cameron Cloke and collected 100 super coach points.

• Scott Pendlebury and Chris Judd. Consistent, effective performers for their sides must have in teams if you are looking for a solid midfield recruit.

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Bryce Gibbs and Travis Johnstone: A decade apart, but oh so alike

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

Bryce Gibbs is a fan favourite down at Visy Park, and with good reason it seems on face-value. He possesses golden boy looks and he is one of Carlton’s stockpiled number one draft picks. You can’t really blame them for loving him.


Gibbs was touted as the number one draft pick very early in 2006. He even had a trophy named after him known as the ‘Bryce Gibbs Cup’. Bryce Gibbs was, at this stage, already a successful member of a SANFL side. This obsession seemed odd to me at the time because whilst he looked a good solid prospect, his perceived strength was a lack of any identifiable weakness rather than having any exceptional traits. He could and indeed still can kick off both sides, without being a great kick, his pace was and again is solid without having lightning-quick acceleration and as his nickname ‘Squibbsy’ suggests he isn’t known for his hardness at the contest. Despite this, he certainly isn’t soft.

The thing is however; the more I watch Gibbs, the more clear the comparison with Travis Johnstone becomes. It is no doubt a disturbing one for Carlton fans, but valid nonetheless. Travis Johnstone, now at Brisbane but initially drafted by Melbourne in 1997 has been reincarnated as another number one draft pick 9 years later and wears the number 4 jersey for the Blues.

Saturday night was his 50th game and while Gibbs is still young and has shown promise, he shows several frustrating and worrying traits. I should know, as a Melbourne fan I’ve seen it all before with Travis Johnstone.

In the late nineties, many Demons fans thought Johnstone was a gift from god until most of us suddenly realized in mid-2007 that his career had been a waste. He was a favourite, but inconsistent and upon reflection he left myself and many other fans feeling empty and unfulfilled. In his time at the Demons he only delivered two top-ten club ‘best and fairest’ awards. Let us not forget that he pulled on the Blue and Red Guernsey for a decade. That return, in that sort of time from a player with that much ability is undoubtedly an under achievement.

Travis Johnstone had supposedly elite pinpoint disposal yet his career kicking efficiency reads 68%. Any time there was pressure on his disposal, he would crumble and turnovers would result. I see the same worrying trends with Bryce Gibbs and even more worrisome is the tendency for ‘clanger’ or ineffective kicks that Gibbs can commit whilst under no pressure. Technically his action is suspect and almost looks like he stubs his toe in his kicking action. His 5.3 ineffective kicks per match in 2009 is testament to this. 

On Saturday night he racked up 31 disposals yet was not even in the top-five players for meters gained. Bryce Gibbs can get the ball; it would seem as opposition sides are willing to concede his ability to get the ball as the hurt factor is minimal.

Bryce Gibbs has shown he has the ability to get the ball in the same manner Travis Johnstone has over the last 10 years. Smart players know where to position themselves and can rack up the touches. The problem lies in the fact they are both receivers and just as Johnstone has been a front runner for a decade, I feel Carlton have one on their hands in Bryce Gibbs. Gibbs averages 2 contested possessions per match in 2009, an unacceptably low number for any midfielder. He seems a champion when others around him give him supply, but is far too reliant on others to perform. Downhill skiers like Johnstone and potentially Gibbs are nowhere to be found when the team needs leadership and the game is there to be won.

The lack of toughness Travis Johnstone possesses was my biggest source of frustration. He picked and chose which contests to enter and was heinously inconsistent. Against Essendon in round 3 and Sydney in round 4 Gibbs continually avoided tough physical contests when the game wanted just that. Gibbs waits outside the contest as a receiver leaving the grunt work for Carlton’s other midfielders. The Essendon match was particularly disappointing as he was nowhere to be found when the game intensified and over the course of the match he was smashed by Jason Winderlich.

I am not condemning Gibbs to a career of failure, but I don’t believe he is destined for the great achievements that many have foretold. At times he will amaze Carlton fans but for consistent periods he will frustrate with a constant lack of consistency, toughness and periodically sloppy kicking skills. It’s certainly not all doom and gloom for Carlton fans. Gibbs is young and can improve if he works on his deficiencies. Travis Johnstone arrived at Melbourne and his bad habits were nurtured by a lack of leadership. Gibbs has one of the greatest leaders and mentors in Judd and one of the worst on and off field leaders in Fev. 

For Carlton’s sake I hope he chooses wisely.
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Posted in Carlton, Featured, Melbourne | 3 Comments »

Carlton vs Fremantle Review

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

Carlton – 11.15 (81)

Fremantle – 13.10 (88)

Fremantle has stayed on the winners list by holding off a fast finishing Carlton side up on the Gold Coast on Saturday night. In a game that Fremantle looked to dominate for most of the night, it ended up going right down to the wire with the Dockers only winning by 7 points. Big man Aaron Sandilands dominated in the ruck with a massive 42 hit outs, and the news only got worse for the Blues with Brendan Fevola coming off inside the first minute of the match with a mystery hammy/glute/lower back injury and struggling all night.

Turning points of the match

The Dockers went into the first break with a slight lead over the Blues, but came out firing in the second quarter kicking the first three goals unanswered. The Blues were kept in touch by Jarrad Waite who kicked three goals for the quarter, but the 7 goal to 5 quarter in favour of Fremantle was to be the deciding factor with each team only kicking 3 goals each in the second half.

Key Players for Carlton

Bryce Gibbs – Had plenty of the ball with 31 disposals collecting 13 marks along the way. He also kept the pressure up when he didn’t have it himself, laying 6 tackles.

Marc Murphy – Went head to head with Byron Schammer and won that battle collecting 31 disposals and taking 7 marks. He also managed a goal to top off the night.

Jarrad Waite – Moved forward in the second quarter and kept his side in the hunt kicking three of Carlton’s five goals for the quarter. In what was an all round effort he also gathered 25 disposals, 7 marks and 4 tackles.

Heath Scotland – Running all night he picked up 35 disposals and 7 marks.

Key Players for Fremantle

Aaron Sandilands – As previously mentioned he dominated the ruck as you could expect. 42 hit outs and 25 possessions compared with Matthew Kreuzer’s 10 hit outs and 19 possessions speaks for itself really.

Paul Hasleby – Managed to collect 32 possessions and 5 marks for the night.

David Mundy – Only gathered 23 touches but from those he had 8 marks and kicked 2.2 including an important goal in the third quarter to put his team up by 21 points.

Musings from the match

· Fremantle has three wins on the trot, what is going on here?

· Brendan Fevola came off in the opening minute with what is believed to be a back or glute problem.

· Fev was also held to just 1.1 by forward turned defender Chris Tarrant, who seemingly may have saved his career because of it.

· Both teams had the same amount of kicks.

· Fremantle had over double the hit outs of Carlton, 45 to 21.

· Carlton had more free kicks, 20 to 9.

· Carlton had both more contested and uncontested possessions, but seemed unable to convert that to points on the board.

· In a winning side, Fremantle had more Clangers (51-38)

· Carlton had 12 more inside 50’s but were inaccurate in front of goal, kicking 5 more behinds than goals.

Supercoach news

Stephen Hill – Seems to have found his feet at senior level averaging over 100 points in the last two weeks. Those who have had him from the start will be happy.

Brendan Fevola – His roller coaster season continued only managing 29 points against the Dockers. It might be worth trading him before his price plummets too much if you get the opportunity.

Chris Judd – Despite averaging over 100 points this season his price has still dropped since the start. I would be looking at bringing him in if I had the cash because I wouldn’t expect that his average would drop too much.

Aaron Sandilands – 42 hit outs and 25 disposals for 161 points. That is all.

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Carlton vs. Brisbane – Round 2 match recap

Sunday, April 5th, 2009

Carlton – 18.11 (119)

Brisbane Lions – 15.10 (100)

Carlton has started their season off with a bang after Round 2 they have two wins under their belts. On Saturday night the Blues put in yet another solid performance especially with the pace and depth in their midfield lead by Chris Judd, Marc Murphy and Bryce Gibbs. After a second quarter onslaught they were ahead by 41 points at the main break then endured a strong comeback by the Lions to win only by 19 points at the Docklands (Etihad Stadium).

Turning points of the match

Carlton’s surge of 6 unanswered goals in the second quarter set up their 41 point lead at the main break and although the Lions staged a spirited comeback to reduce the margin to 2 goals, they were forced to play catch up football in the second half.

Key Players for Carlton

Chris Judd – Nothing surprising here, dominant in the midfield trio with Gibbs and Murphy. Had 25 touches, 10 tackles and 1.0, playing on Luke Power.

Bryce Gibbs – Yet another dominant week, had numerous opponents and finished the match with 34 possessions, 15 marks and 2.0.

Brendan Fevola – Seems to be over his bruised heel. Kicked 5.1 from 6 grabs.

Key Players for Brisbane Lions

Daniel Bradshaw – Another influential week up forward, kicking 6.1 from 7 grabs and had 15 disposals.

Daniel Rich – Another solid display for the Round 1 rising star nominee, started on Gibbs and ended the match with 19 possessions and 8 tackles.

Josh Drummond – Played the loose man in defence with 30 possessions, but Carlton had too much forward supply and he couldn’t be everywhere.

Musings from the match

  • Michael Voss matched Luke Power on Chris Judd…now why would you put your star mid fielder up against another star mid fielder in this day and age?
  • Power still managed to collect 33 disposals and 4 marks.
  • Once again the Lions left their run too late. The Blues were up 41 points at half time and only won by 19 points.

Supercoach/Dreamteam news

Daniel Rich – Round 1 rising star nominee had another solid match and at a cheap price of $144,200, get him quick before the end of Round 3 price increases.

Brendan Fevola – 5 goals in this match and is reasonably priced at this point considering he kicked 99 goals in 2008.

Jonathan Brown – Be cautious about a report for rough conduct on Marc Murphy.

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Posted in Brisbane, Carlton, Match Reviews, Round 2 2009 | No Comments »

2009 SuperCoach players from your club

Sunday, March 22nd, 2009
Check out other SuperCoach articles in our Fantasy Footy section.

Every year when I do my fantasy football teams I try to make sure I have an even spread of players from different clubs, I was having a discussion about that with a mate last night when I thought I could write an article on why I have players from different clubs. There are varying reasons, some I think will improve to the elite level, others I feel are a good blue-chip investment and some I like to keep to trade later once they have improved their value enough.

I have limited myself to talking about only one player per club, both to try and stop this post being gigantic and to make sure I keep some of my team private until the round one lock out.

Again this is not a list of the best SuperCoach players from your club; rather it is who I have squeezed into my team, accounting for balance, cost and performance.

Adelaide: Jared Petrenko ($94,200) is actually the only Crow’s player, who made the cut in my team, lining up on the bench for my backline. He is good value and is expected by many to play round one. 66% of the knowledgeable people over at DT Talk have him as a lock, that’s a good endorsement for my team.


Brisbane: Daniel Rich ($144,200) made my team largely because he is a cheapish midfielder who should play enough to get upgraded as the year goes on, has the potential to deliver some decent scores as well. If he isn’t selected for round one he’ll be straight out largely to save my trades but also because I have him in the starting 22, eek.


Carlton: Bryce Gibbs ($500,400) is very popular this year after a great season in 2008. Some feel he is too big a risk as he may spend a few games tagging this year, my thoughts, with the way football is going he may just end up freed of this role and well worth his price tag. I wouldn’t dream of having him for Dream Team though. Gibbs is lucky enough to make my starting 22 as one of my midfield keepers.


Collingwood: Dale Thomas ($422,300) as much as I dislike admitting it, I had to include Daisy in my forward line. I expect him to be moved to half back a little this year, which should help him rack up the possessions. Could be in for some big scores this year, I hope he adds a little more discipline to his game though. If I’m right about the half back move he is severely under priced as a midfielder let alone a forward.


Essendon: Hayden Skipworth ($219,700) like Thomas, ‘Skippy’ is a good option as a forward, injury free I expect close to 22 games out of Hayden which would more than justify his price tag! This frees up some much needed dollars for some of the bigger guns in my team. Skipworth will be in my starting 22.


Fremantle: Stephen Hill ($164,200) a Rising Star award prospect this year, I have Hill on the bench for my defense and am very happy about it, should be a great cash cow (go up in value a lot this year) and I can’t wait to cash in.


Geelong: Joel Selwood ($529,400) I’m always reluctant to have Geelong players in my side, as I’m always worried they are overpriced. Selwood’s stellar Grand Final (NAB) has convinced me this guy at the very least is going to hold his form and perhaps take his game to another level,which is a scary thought, and definitely part of my starting 22.


Hawthorn: Cameron Stokes ($301,500) is a bit of a blue chip investment for mine, whilst he has potential to increase his value; all I’m after is for him to hold it with some reasonable performances. He’s in my starting 22 as a forward and I hope he is in the Hawks on a regular basis.


Melbourne: Jake Spencer ($83,400) a bargain when we know he is at least going to get a few games, however, when you remember most ruckman take ages to develop perhaps he is a bit young. Frees up much needed dollars though and is handy on the bench for my rucks. I nearly had as many as six Demon players in my SuperCoach team which scares me.


North Melbourne: Liam Anthony ($94,200) with all the talk of Ziebell this guy has gone under the radar a bit, the two of them may be in competition for the same spot in the side, I have Anthony just ahead at the moment. Liam makes my midfield bench and could be an absolute steal.


Port Adelaide: Chad Cornes ($482,000) makes my team yet again, to slot a player of his quality into my backline makes me very happy, and hopefully he delivers some of his best form again this year. Incidentally keep an eye on the Power they could be a surprise improver this year.


Richmond: Nathan Foley ($474,500) basically if you don’t have someone from the Tigers midfield in your team you are missing out. Cousins will have an impact. Whether he plays brilliantly himself or not, the entire midfield will be better for having him. Foley slots into my starting midfield as I feel he really could step his game up a gear this year.


St Kilda: Brendon Goddard ($555,100) despite the huge price tag, I believe ‘BJ’ could go up in value this year! Perhaps it’s the biased Saints fan in me but I’d go as far as saying if he could learn not to abuse umpires he’d be a Brownlow chance. An absolute lock in my team, St Kilda will play him all around the ground to make sure he has an impact; he’ll be marshalling my backline that’s for sure.


Sydney: None, I can’t help but feel Sydney are going to struggle this year I looked at slotting a few of their younger guys into my team, but always found someone I’d prefer to take the chance on. Sorry Swans fans.


West Coast: Daniel Kerr ($482,100) with an extra year leading the Eagles midfield and some other players stepping up, I expect Kerr to head back towards some of his better form, if he does he is a bargain that those of you who don’t have him will be cursing. He is in my starting midfield of course.


Western Bulldogs: Shaun Higgins ($223,400) an absolute bargain, Higgins will play every game and do so at a good level, his price tag is too good to refuse and slots in nicely to my starting forward line. Also when this guy tells you something its worth looking at.


So there you have it, a look at half my team, hope I haven’t given away too much.

Let me know what you think.

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