Melbourne vs Bulldogs
General - Watched only 3 and a bit quarters here, missed majority of the last. Was a solid game, very similar to their GF a couple of years ago, Melbourne blitzed the Dogs in a 3 minute patch and then basically just slightly outplayed them the rest of the way.
Demons - Strong win, basically everything they wanted to do or tried worked out.
Oliver - Butchered it a bit but was otherwise Clayton like. Still, not a good first up score for him and he looms as a downgrade if he can't fix it next week.
Pickett - Role was really strong and he played an absolute blinder of a game, really working up the ground and linking up a lot. He's thrown up an amazing test case for the MRP claim they're going to judge the action not the outcome this year with his bump. I don't know how anyone could argue it wasn't high, intentional and severe impact, which is tribunal, if he can get that down to careless or high impact then he should just take it, that said on outcome you can argue it wasn't high contact or impact given no injury for Smith at all. I think if he gets 3 weeks he's pretty lucky but god only knows.
Gawn - Really solid game, left a LOT of points on the table with really sloppy marking attempts which is the good sign. I'm not sure he would hit the 35% for FWD status though tonight, he did start forward for a lot of Grundy's ruck time though, which given TOG would indicate roughly 55% forward, the hard part is judging how much the role adjusts that, the best way to describe his role would be Kane Lambert, basically as a HF who then pushed into the defensive support role for the midfield/defense, essentially he swept behind the play and then intercepted a lot of ball. He was good though and looks in ripping nick.
Petracca - Solid game, clangers and DE% really neutered him but he played great outside that, of course that is always his issue so hard to just ignore it. I'll need to see the stats on his midfield time but I'm pretty sure he wasn't close to 35% forward tonight, so that dream could be over.
Chandler - Epic performance from him, in just 3% of teams, if he can back this up he becomes a downgrade option. Has to perform or he's out when Fritsch is ready though. Basically Laurie goes out for Viney and then it's Sparrow, Harmes or Chandler for Fritsch by my count. Huge game though.
Brayshaw - Playing HB and solid. I didn't notice any midfield work for him. Is a borderline option in that role, much better in DT.
Grundy - Role as expected, mostly bench into ruck with some very limited forward time. I still don't have a clue why he went there but it is what it is. Other than what they're paying him I'm not really convinced he is in their best 22 to be honest, he's almost like a NicNat for them in that he can't really play elsewhere so he's using a lot of a bench spot when not rucking and unlike NicNat he's not a burst player either, his strength was always just working harder than his opponent and just grinding out games, English beat him soundly tonight when they were opposed.
Bowey - Strong score for him, role similar to last year.
Mcvee - He was solid down back, I have zero doubt he goes out for Salem though but showed he can play at the level.
Laurie - Didn't do much and was an obvious sub. He'll go out whenever Viney is ready, imo, or Fritsch if he's ready first, heck maybe even if Salem comes back and they use Brayshaw elsewhere.
Dogs - Same old problems for them, bad goal kicking and an inability to quickly stop momentum. Their kicking was pretty ordinary also which certainly doesn't help but when you've got a lot of Treloar (to be fair, not bad tonight) and Smith that's going to happen.
Treloar - He was huge, just worked hard all night. One to watch if he gets FWD.
English - He was huge, especially around the ground in support, he basically looked like a more athletic Grundy (prime Grundy, not this shell version), huge win for those who picked him to effectively beat Gawn and Witts, he looked pretty casual doing it against the best competition he'll face as well.
Libba - Still a beast, had some great moments. Strong start for anyone who went him.
Macrae - Not a great result, basically felt a lot like the end of last year for him playing a wing/outside support midfield role rather than getting dirty and it really restricts him, just 3 tackles and only 4 clearances neuter him in both formats. I didn't like his role.
Daniel - HB and same old for him, was solid.
Bont - Good midfield role, poor performance. Was really bad with the ball but also just not getting involved in the clearances enough, only 10CP is very low for him. Scraped together a salvageable result but was definitely underwhelming. Hopefully plays better against weaker opposition. Not a good result.
Smith - Disposal is just so poor. You can't fault how hard he runs but he just can't kick at all and the bigger problem is he's that dangerous idiot of a player who thinks he's a great kick, so not only can't he kick but he tries kicks that he shouldn't even be thinking about. I still much prefer him on the wing for their side, he just negatively impacts the rest of their mids with his style, just doesn't fit together at all. He's a great individual and in a different setup would be fantastic in this role but he just hurts them, imo.
Richards - Really solid first game, played well, scored well. Can't ask any more than that if you took him.
Baker - Not a great result but on the path to cash. See if he can hold the spot long term.
Dale - Mare of a game, just couldn't get near it, was terrible with it when he did and just a shocker. Huge upgrade target alert.
Bruce - Was solid down back and mostly did the job. Jones injury definitely opens a door.
McLean - Pretty early sub for him, didn't do much or play much, probably the most unideal type of player to get subbed on for as it was just one more small on the field so doesn't get to really play a role.
Jones - Disaster. First word I hear is a neck injury, could plausibly be zero weeks if it's just an impingement or similar causing the pain, still a stinker of a score even if he is right and wasn't exactly scoring well to that point against a team that tends to hack forward a fair bit and doesn't exactly have good KPF types. The toughest part is that unlike the forwards, no one has really put their hand up to be the downgrade target with the likes of Uwland, Goater, Bergman and McVee who aren't common all being pretty underwhelming or having low JS (or both) and the more common guys like Wilmot, Cowan and Chesser not doing anything either. Those who passed on the Cole, Ginbey, McKenna or Constable types somehow will have the easy trades though. Those who have Stewart as well will have real decisions!
