Blues vs Lions - What a puzzling game. Lions just flat out went home, the arrogance is incredible to be able to do that, it was a Swans' level chokejob! Credit to the Blues for not giving up and then for sniffing that your opponents hubris was ready to bring them down.
Blues - From horror to miracle win. They were very poor in the first quarter, composure was off but was more a Brisbane playing great than any real knock on Blues to that point, once they settled in though they just weasled into the game with repeat entries and just composure to stop banging long at every moment. Ironically the injury to Docherty, who was a prime offender of that, may have helped as Carroll was one of their most composed mids and it meant more Newman on the rebound. Bipolar Blues continue.
Hewett - Workmanlike game. He's a low end premium level guy while they're this injured but can't trust the body or the role long term with that round 2 bye on top.
Newman - Very slow start as Docherty in defense after his injury seemed to push him down a rung, after the sub he was much more involved and helped turn the game.
McKay - He was excellent, got jobbed out of a kick and a hitout by CD as well and the hitout was to advantage, the kick was backwards so probably helps his SC. I rate him but I don't think he's an option even with that score. Ruck minutes weren't there and as well as he kicked the clutch shot, he also absolutely shanked the snap a few minutes before and the other shot he missed as well as that "pass" that nailed Cripps so it's bit early to trust his kicking. Be a great story if he can get it going.
Cripps - Nice to have a guy confirm why I don't choose him. Knocks a knee early, nose late, goes missing for far too long, going forward for large stints and rucking again which stops him doing what he does well around stoppages. I write all this knowing that whichever way I go I will be wrong but for anyone wanting to gamble on that, I will not be picking him
Cerra - Remains one of the bigger waste of talents going around, I don't know what it is about him but he just doesn't seem to have the IT part of the game. Amazing talent, who seems to work hard but just doesn't translate to consistent output.
Boyd - Really solid game from him, he's a sneaky option albeit lost behind better ones.
Curnow - Slow start, he was dreadful except for Q3 where he was amazing, such is footy that one amazing quarter turns the game.
Williams - Was really solid, taking kick-ins at a decent clip. Faded as you'd expect (pretty badly in fact) but more than enough, especially with perhaps his biggest competition for a spot seemingly injured in Coleman.
Saad - Played well but tough to score in a lockdown role, that he managed a 75 is pretty amazing. Not for me with the bye and just general established scoring level.
Docherty - Sad panda, hopefully nothing serious and just playing it safe here, looked very proppy though. May become relevant if he's cheap enough but really needs to get DEF back.
Kennedy - God he looked terrible. Looked noticeably unfit and completely off the pace and touch of the game. No idea if he's been injured all o***eason but he looked like he's basically just started training. Good for the more relevant guys if he is seriously underdone.
Carroll - Huge Q3, did fade out in Q4 but probably earns a game. Not really a big enough score to force selection but he played great and if he does slot straight into the Docherty midfield role for a few weeks before Walsh is back, he could be one of the better rookie options. Definitely worth watching next week for what they do.
Fantasia - Safe to say there's just better options here. I actually thought he played pretty well and I think he will grow into the season and is a great get for the Blues but at 170k odd, just not the value.
Lions - Felt like I was watching Sydney the way they choked this one away. It's really the only word for it, if you're 40+ up and you lose then you should cop some serious heat, the only way to do that is sheer arrogance to put the cue in the rack. No one exemplified this better than McCluggage who flat out went home in the 2nd quarter. Embarrassing result and is the kind of loss that starts premiership failure hangovers.
Dunkley - Workmanlike, he was solid, especially with Lyons in the way of his scoring. I personally don't see the upside to beat his bye but outside the durability risk, he's a pretty good bet to score at his price at least and perhaps a bit higher. That durability risk though is major.
Zorko - Turning back the clock at HF. He was great in the first half, felt like he went home at HT.
Lyons - Role was great, played well. He's at a sneaky good price but I just struggle to see how he'd be worth it over a Fyfe, Jordon, Phillipou, Mackenzie or even Billings still where all have a chance at being keepers just because of how bad the forwards are. That said, if he gets that role for 6 weeks, he makes a ton of cash and scores huge, I think you could convince me he's a better choice than a Sanders/Hustwaite type if you can convince me this role holds. Losing the game, largely because their better ball users disappeared playing in peripheral roles to let him flourish definitely doesn't help his case even though he played well. I just know a Lions team where McCluggage, Zorko, Bailey and Neale have an extra 19 touches spread across them in midfield minutes scares me a hell of a lot more than Lyons.
OMc - Really poor game by him, you need to dominate backups, nevermind midfielders! How did Kennedy and Cripps both beat him in contests, that's brutal. He's a good solid player but he just hasn't managed to get beyond that.
Bailey - Was good with what he did but same old story for him, he just goes missing for far too much of the game pretty much every week.
Neale - Great SC game, felt like he was much better in that than the real stuff, couple of nice I50 kicks was all it really felt like he did, he was clean at the contest but wasn't his best game for mine. Still, if he scores that well on his bad games... the shoulder knock early is an ongoing issue for mine, clearly doesn't want to tackle these days.
Rayner - Role was slightly improved but not in any kind of meaningful way. Like Bailey, his ability to go from looking like one of the leagues best players to forgetting he's even playing is perhaps his standout trait.
Wilmot - Big question if they push him more defensive and lean on him with Coleman out. Could be fantasy relevant as someone has to support McKenna on the rebound. Not a lot to go with here though.
McCluggage - Perhaps the worst of the Bailey types for ability to go missing. He didn't touch the ball from the 5th minute of Q2 until early in the 4th quarter, basically an entire half without a touch as the team is choking the game away. I love him as a player but they seem to hate putting him on ball and instead prefer peripheral low impact roles. It really is baffling, Neale is their only midfielder who even has a discussion of being a better pure mid and Clug has outperformed him consistently when getting the minutes. It's classic AFL coaching, punish the more versatile and better player into worse roles so that limited players can play the roles they're limited to. Honestly think most modern coaches would have just played Gary Ablett Jr as a forward pocket his whole career. Part of it's on him though, just because the role is bad doesn't justify that kind of production.
Daniher - Thank you for removing the temptation to make a mistake
Coleman - Super sad panda, expected ACL for him. Be an awful lot of coaches who have 180k freed up going Coleman to Williams, those with both have a bit more of a decision. Just sucks as he's a great player to watch and seems like a great kid as well. Hopefully it's not the worst case!
Lohmann - Well I bitched and moaned about my unique guys exposing themselves last night so I guess I have to take the win when one of them reveals he's not a good pick! Even after the injury to Coleman completely opened up the wing role he was great in, in the preseason he ended up playing forward. He actually scored alright considering that but pretty hard to pick him after being the sub, with that score in his rolling average and them playing the very last game of the round where there'll be no bailout if he's sub again. Through to the keeper you go Kai, sadly I've now got 180k to replace him with.