Im so confused
great review! Did ash play as a fwd last year?
Gold Coast vs GWS
General - Watched 3 quarters. Solid hitout for the first half, GC fell right off in the 3rd though on just about every metric. Both sides relatively strong so a pretty good indicator of sides and roles. Conditions were good which also helps gauge things.
Giants - Were the better side for the majority of the contest, some Richmond elements for sure with a lot of run off half back and no real focus on winning clearances, more intent on surging it forward and then attempting to set up behind the ball. Think they'd be very happy with it and some good signs all round for them, could see the confidence grow as it worked as well.
Coniglio - Great role, did cop a knee knock in Q2 that was tested for the major injuries but came back out and continued to wax. He looked really good and a tick on everything except his dreaded durability issues. Looks set for a big season in that role and I walk away with confirmation of what he is. Durability is a concern but otherwise he's a top 5 forward type even after DPP changes. Looks like he didn't play Q4 from the stats.
Greene - Role was no good, still that permanent forward. I expect he bounces back towards the low 90s range that he's generally been at for that role, maybe even to high 90s but that's not good enough this year, imo.
Whitfield - Role was as expected, purely off HB. He played well, thought he'd actually be a much higher score than he had from the eye test. IMO, and I've said it before, he's not relevant until he gets DPP. Much more relevant in draft leagues where you can factor in DPP a lot more in over-drafting a guy. Looked fit and played well but he's just not a premium midfield option.
Ash - If he had FWD status, then maybe he's in play but looks set to return to the HB line and will rebound a lot. He's the third guy though, that is pretty clear.
Ward - Played HF pretty much exclusively, only CBA I had for him was when Coniglio was off getting tested. Was very low impact on the game.
Wehr - Played wing, played well. Will improve but not enough.
Preuss - Pure ruck role and he played pretty well albeit scored terribly, definitely hasn't adjusted to the modern non-contact form of the sport and the suspension risk is higher than ever but I thought he was good. Don't think you can pick him though as just not reliable enough but wouldn't surprise me if he had a big year as the #1 ruck without all the sharing and low TOG issues. Looks like he also didn't play Q4 to me from stats and TOG number.
Green - He was great, role was pure and he used it well. Exactly what you'd expect from him. Low TOG not ideal as really want to see him show off a tank and everyone already knew that he can score big points quickly, it's being able to play enough when teams do put work into him or things aren't going well. Also has to be noted that obviously the GCS midfield was pretty weak without Touk and he's a strong matchup against them anyway but definitely a tick for those considering and no real definitive answers for those on the fence. Role will be there to start the season, that's step one.
Cumming - He was prolific, same role as last year, primary rebounder with some intercept work. He's not personally on my radar as I think Ash and Whitfield will hurt him a bit but if he was on your radar you'd have seen exactly what you wanted today.
Taylor/Aleer/Idun - Playing defensive roles as you'd expect, I thought Aleer was very good, much better than Haynes but expect seniority will apply.
Callaghan - Role wasn't great, pure wing but was hoping he'd get some genuine midfield minutes, showed what he can do on his good days but the bad days for wingers can be pretty ordinary and it really lived on his wing early in the game. I can't see him scoring much more than this from this role, he probably doesn't kick 2 goals all season and he wont get much easier matchups than he got today. I love him as a prospect but didn't like the role and I'm definitely not convinced of him as a pick. He'll make cash if he stays fit but at his price you're really looking in the 75+ range as a minimum and ideally 80-85. For a comparison Karl Amon was the highest scoring winger last year at 92 (and he had HB time to inflate that), the top pure wingers like Daicos, Langdon, Smith, Aish and Acres were all in that 75-82 type range, what I'm saying is that it's a bad SC role and a big ask for a 2nd year player. On a positive is that he can score like this and the good games can produce a spike if he can get a couple in a row going. Coin flip decision.
Stone - Played a solid game and really grew as it went on. HF role and is definitely on the fringe of the best 22 but could score decently from the role if he can hang around. He's a good player so there's a chance. He's mostly up against the senior low talent guys which is always a tough battle to pick, coaches tend to trust the senior guys but when there's a big talent variance sometimes the trust factor isn't enough. Worth watching, would be a bench guy though and there's a ton of those.
Haynes - I know some are looking at him but all I see is a washed up player, I was actually pretty shocked by his score to be honest, it sure didn't feel like a strong ratio game as he kept butchering it, didn't help that even his good kicks were mongrels that got lucky which is always hard to translate into "great SC" play. He just looks slow and lacking in confidence to me, Aleer looked much better in the role. He might make cash because it's a decent fantasy role but it wouldn't surprise me if he's out of the side by round 4 either.
Kelly - Role was excellent, pure inside midfield role that you want. Basically they had a 4.5 man rotation through the guts with Perryman and O'Halloran the 1.5 on top of the known quantities. He's capable of 120+ in that role as demonstrated here. Definitely a big tick. We all know what he is, a tremendous talent who has struggled with his body and is too willing to play awful roles for bad coaches, perhaps he can finally start to reach his potential this year? Gutsy pick but could be a great one, he's got a pretty pure SC style when playing this role.
Hogan/Riccardi/Himmelberg - Playing the KPF roles, Himmelberg looked completely lost, Hogan looked great and Riccardi did some nice things and was the 2nd ruck for the moments they used one.
O'Halloran - Very interesting role for him, played mostly as the extra midfielder with some small stints forward, could be a very decent role. Probably too expensive and hasn't really shown the scoring ability in the past but the role is good. Would be fringe 22 also though.
Fahey - Another DEF/MID option appears. He was really good, much better than his score indicated. Nice HB role and looked comfortable at the level. I don't see anyone that's obviously missing from their team that takes the spot. Could be one of the best rookies in that role, especially the way they were looking to play. Would be borderline fieldable as well as it's a good role and he's got good fantasy skills. Will be watching for him round one to get the call up, I think he could be better than most of the names that have been talked about for the bench.
Perryman - Good role as the 4th mid, played well. Not fantasy relevant imo, just doesn't really have that A+ area to his game to push him in fantasy, he's just decent at most things.
Lloyd/Kennedy - Both playing forward, bot were solid, the aforementioned experienced low talent guys that Stone would be against (along with Ward).
General - Watched 3 quarters. Solid hitout for the first half, GC fell right off in the 3rd though on just about every metric. Both sides relatively strong so a pretty good indicator of sides and roles. Conditions were good which also helps gauge things.
Giants - Were the better side for the majority of the contest, some Richmond elements for sure with a lot of run off half back and no real focus on winning clearances, more intent on surging it forward and then attempting to set up behind the ball. Think they'd be very happy with it and some good signs all round for them, could see the confidence grow as it worked as well.
Coniglio - Great role, did cop a knee knock in Q2 that was tested for the major injuries but came back out and continued to wax. He looked really good and a tick on everything except his dreaded durability issues. Looks set for a big season in that role and I walk away with confirmation of what he is. Durability is a concern but otherwise he's a top 5 forward type even after DPP changes. Looks like he didn't play Q4 from the stats.
Greene - Role was no good, still that permanent forward. I expect he bounces back towards the low 90s range that he's generally been at for that role, maybe even to high 90s but that's not good enough this year, imo.
Whitfield - Role was as expected, purely off HB. He played well, thought he'd actually be a much higher score than he had from the eye test. IMO, and I've said it before, he's not relevant until he gets DPP. Much more relevant in draft leagues where you can factor in DPP a lot more in over-drafting a guy. Looked fit and played well but he's just not a premium midfield option.
Ash - If he had FWD status, then maybe he's in play but looks set to return to the HB line and will rebound a lot. He's the third guy though, that is pretty clear.
Ward - Played HF pretty much exclusively, only CBA I had for him was when Coniglio was off getting tested. Was very low impact on the game.
Wehr - Played wing, played well. Will improve but not enough.
Preuss - Pure ruck role and he played pretty well albeit scored terribly, definitely hasn't adjusted to the modern non-contact form of the sport and the suspension risk is higher than ever but I thought he was good. Don't think you can pick him though as just not reliable enough but wouldn't surprise me if he had a big year as the #1 ruck without all the sharing and low TOG issues. Looks like he also didn't play Q4 to me from stats and TOG number.
Green - He was great, role was pure and he used it well. Exactly what you'd expect from him. Low TOG not ideal as really want to see him show off a tank and everyone already knew that he can score big points quickly, it's being able to play enough when teams do put work into him or things aren't going well. Also has to be noted that obviously the GCS midfield was pretty weak without Touk and he's a strong matchup against them anyway but definitely a tick for those considering and no real definitive answers for those on the fence. Role will be there to start the season, that's step one.
Cumming - He was prolific, same role as last year, primary rebounder with some intercept work. He's not personally on my radar as I think Ash and Whitfield will hurt him a bit but if he was on your radar you'd have seen exactly what you wanted today.
Taylor/Aleer/Idun - Playing defensive roles as you'd expect, I thought Aleer was very good, much better than Haynes but expect seniority will apply.
Callaghan - Role wasn't great, pure wing but was hoping he'd get some genuine midfield minutes, showed what he can do on his good days but the bad days for wingers can be pretty ordinary and it really lived on his wing early in the game. I can't see him scoring much more than this from this role, he probably doesn't kick 2 goals all season and he wont get much easier matchups than he got today. I love him as a prospect but didn't like the role and I'm definitely not convinced of him as a pick. He'll make cash if he stays fit but at his price you're really looking in the 75+ range as a minimum and ideally 80-85. For a comparison Karl Amon was the highest scoring winger last year at 92 (and he had HB time to inflate that), the top pure wingers like Daicos, Langdon, Smith, Aish and Acres were all in that 75-82 type range, what I'm saying is that it's a bad SC role and a big ask for a 2nd year player. On a positive is that he can score like this and the good games can produce a spike if he can get a couple in a row going. Coin flip decision.
Stone - Played a solid game and really grew as it went on. HF role and is definitely on the fringe of the best 22 but could score decently from the role if he can hang around. He's a good player so there's a chance. He's mostly up against the senior low talent guys which is always a tough battle to pick, coaches tend to trust the senior guys but when there's a big talent variance sometimes the trust factor isn't enough. Worth watching, would be a bench guy though and there's a ton of those.
Haynes - I know some are looking at him but all I see is a washed up player, I was actually pretty shocked by his score to be honest, it sure didn't feel like a strong ratio game as he kept butchering it, didn't help that even his good kicks were mongrels that got lucky which is always hard to translate into "great SC" play. He just looks slow and lacking in confidence to me, Aleer looked much better in the role. He might make cash because it's a decent fantasy role but it wouldn't surprise me if he's out of the side by round 4 either.
Kelly - Role was excellent, pure inside midfield role that you want. Basically they had a 4.5 man rotation through the guts with Perryman and O'Halloran the 1.5 on top of the known quantities. He's capable of 120+ in that role as demonstrated here. Definitely a big tick. We all know what he is, a tremendous talent who has struggled with his body and is too willing to play awful roles for bad coaches, perhaps he can finally start to reach his potential this year? Gutsy pick but could be a great one, he's got a pretty pure SC style when playing this role.
Hogan/Riccardi/Himmelberg - Playing the KPF roles, Himmelberg looked completely lost, Hogan looked great and Riccardi did some nice things and was the 2nd ruck for the moments they used one.
O'Halloran - Very interesting role for him, played mostly as the extra midfielder with some small stints forward, could be a very decent role. Probably too expensive and hasn't really shown the scoring ability in the past but the role is good. Would be fringe 22 also though.
Fahey - Another DEF/MID option appears. He was really good, much better than his score indicated. Nice HB role and looked comfortable at the level. I don't see anyone that's obviously missing from their team that takes the spot. Could be one of the best rookies in that role, especially the way they were looking to play. Would be borderline fieldable as well as it's a good role and he's got good fantasy skills. Will be watching for him round one to get the call up, I think he could be better than most of the names that have been talked about for the bench.
Perryman - Good role as the 4th mid, played well. Not fantasy relevant imo, just doesn't really have that A+ area to his game to push him in fantasy, he's just decent at most things.
Lloyd/Kennedy - Both playing forward, bot were solid, the aforementioned experienced low talent guys that Stone would be against (along with Ward).
