FanFooty blog

By The Goat and The White Maggot

Player of the Week: Andrew Carrazzo (134)

Carrazzo didn’t get the highest score for the week – that honour went to Chad Cornes (144). Sam Fisher was next highest (142) but both of those guys played against weak opponents – Melbourne and Carlton respectively. Carrazzo went head to head with one of the form midfields in the competition (St Kilda) and managed 134. His 38 touches were a career high and the highest possession number for a Carlton player since 2000. 25 of these coming in the first half, one off the all time record of possessions for a half which is 26.

Honourable Mentions: The Chad (144), Sam Fisher(140), Jared Brennan (129), Rhan Hooper (122)

Biggest Disappointment: Josh Drummond (26)

Only played 47 per cent game time due to injury, but 26 points is 26 points. He has been a star this season but at that price you need better.

Other Points of Interest:

- Number one football caller Brian Taylor wasn’t slow in naming his man for the week as Nick Gill (Adelaide). 83 is a fair return for a first gamer, especially as a key forward. Has a great leap and a fair amount of guts – if only he could kick straight! Two misses from straight in front at crucial times in a game can hurt your DT scores. The 24 year old has been in the system for a while (once a Kangas rookie) so needs to show the signs quickly.

- The Chad found plenty of the ball playing forward and nailed 6 goals 2. It was a fair return from the big fella, but if he is going to play forward every week there is the potential for some low scores. Still with Warren Tredrea due back anytime he should move back in to the midfield and continue to find the footy. He is going to need to if he wants to start winning the sibling competition with brother Kane, (the highest possession winner gets lunch bought for them).

- The West Coast midfield is again a scary prospect with the return of Benny Cousins, giving it (dare I say it) a shot in the arm. Following up lasts weeks 140 with a solid 93 he certainly is an attractive option to strengthen your finals bound midfield. Will drop dramatically this week in price but nevertheless a very tantalising upgrade option since not many players will have him.

- The Osteitis Pubis curse seems to have hit everybody’s favorite Praying Mantis, Aaron Sandilands. With rumours coming out of the West that Sandi was struggling with the dreaded OP, the stats tell of a disappointing performance. Frankly 32 points from a starting gun ruckman leaves him now valued at a low $251,600. I’m off the Giant!

- Brisbane’s stunning performance against Collingwood brought a smile to many eyes, and the show that Jared Brennan (129) put on was simply stunning. Dreamtime was back at the G with the aforementioned Brennan and Rhan Hooper enjoying the limelight immensely. Chuck in Jonathan Brown (111) and Jed Adcock (121) to the equation and you have some pretty impressive scores.

- What is it with the Kangaroos? If it’s not Drew Petrie kicking a bag full of goals it’s Corey Jones (129). The run has got to stop at some point though surely.

- Steve Johnson (134) and Joel Corey (130) continued the rout that has been the Geelong midfield this year.

- Matthew Boyd stepped up in the absence of the injured Scott West to score a total of 130 while Wayde Skipper (remember him?) scored 108 for his first game of the year.

- The Rising Star Award goes to… Joel Selwood. With Scott Pendlebury (just three points) going down with what looks like a season ending injury, there is only one man for the prize. (Ed: Unless he gets suspended.)

- The New Coach Factor: Out goes Pagan and miraculously ‘The Fevolution’ is able to punch out a ‘measly’ 92. Not bad for a bloke with a 30 cm calf tear during the week. Youngster Ryan Jackson (107) pulled out a ton in first game under Brett Ratten, while Eddie Betts’ extended run in the midfield netted a return of 86 this week, smashing his average of 53. Meanwhile, not much has changed at either Melbourne or Freo with the change of coach but Brent Moloney (66) has seen a return to the squad and Nathan Jones (82) has found a fair bit more game time on the ball.

Player of the week: Jonathan Brown (155). Fourteen marks and ten goals will do that to your Dream Team score… When you combine this with Brown’s 128 last week against Melbourne, he’s back in devastating 2006 form. His price reflects that: it’s $355k, with a break-even of minus 14.

Honourable mentions: Ben Cousins (140), Luke Ball (155), Kane Cornes (144), Tarkyn Lockyer (142)

Hey, wha’ happened?: Matt Priddis (37). Reckon this is the end of Priddis’ reign as an elite DT player? Hard to gauge, but the early numbers are in and it doesn’t look good. Priddis averages 93 this season (before Saturday night’s game) but Cousins’ return to AFL saw a measly score of 37. That includes six tackles (if you believe ProStats…) However, Peter Everitt can count himself lucky he’s not getting the big boo this week. His score of 28 was even worse, but he’s off the hook due to Priddis’ far higher price.

Other points of interest:

It’s a shorter edition of Talking Points this week, since a hand injury sustained last week makes it hard to type

Aside from Brown’s massive score against the Blues, there were a couple of notable successes (Lappin, Adcock) and some noticeable disappointments (Drummond = 51, Rischitelli = 32). Meanwhile several Carlton players had their best games in a while – Bryce Gibbs’ score of 87 was his highest ever, while Fev’s 97 is his second highest this year. And Heath Scotland’s 102 was his first ton since round 11. Meanwhile, Marc Murphy fell flat with a score of 35.

Cousins starred but other Eagle inclusions also did well against the Swans. Tyson Stenglein scored 88, Ashley Hansen scored 101, and Daniel Kerr scored 90. Chris Judd did well to score 92 (with plenty of tackles to encourage Dream Team coaches that he’ll continue to score well despite a groin injury).

Another return to form this week was Dream Team gun Kane Cornes. Kornes bounced back from some dodgy scores with 144, while Warren Tredrea’s 116 was his first ton of 2007. Will he keep it up or was a once-off? The only black spot for Port Adelaide players was Justin Westhoff and Robert Gray’s form which yielded 45 and 26 points respectively. For the Tigers, Troy Simmonds’ 86 was his best of the year, as he regains match fitness after an ankle injury.

Andrew Mackie, with a classy 134 is the story to take home from Friday night’s match. Gazza Jnr snared a lazy 130, Joel Corey 120 (after a 50-point opening term) and Paul Chapman scoring 117. Jimmy Bartel had 38 touches and scored 117. For those without him, now is the time… But little Joel Selwood – 118 this time, an incredible effort and his fourth ton in ton games (an average of 109 over this period).

For the Doggies it was a bleak night, highlighted only by Tom Williams, who bobbed up with a ton. Scott West scrambled 95 on one leg, while Andrejs Everitt rolled in 77 and looked classy. Aker had a disappointing 60, while a backline favourite, Lindsay Gilbee, scored a paltry 34 after a second quarter injury. Word is he will be sidelined for up to a month. Meanwhile the Coon-dog’s bubble burst when he came up against The Pink Pig, and broke his run of six straight hundreds with only 41.

Tarkyn Lockyer was everywhere against the Dons, scoring 142, while Travis Cloke backed up last weeks 121 with 110 this week. Ireland’s Judd did his nation proud with 86, however the news was not so good for those with Heath Shaw who scored just 53. And it looks like Dane Swan has become an ugly duckling – just 52 this week. He will plunge down into the waters of a price drop soon. But the story of the week comes in the form of everyone’s favourite DT champ, Presti, who blasted back onto the scene with 23. Incredibly, he in now worth 87k (most debutants are 82k!) For the Dons, Damien Peverill led the way with 119, while Adam McPhee was quieter than usual with 60, and Dustin Fletcher returned from his suspension with a ho-hum 70.

Nine Freo players cracked three figures, headed by the popular Matthew Pavlich with a dominating 139. The Purple Haze kicked three and got 125 breaking his run of low scores, and Peter Bell bounced back into form in his 300^th match with 129. And Marcus Drum, in his first game for the year, kicked four majors. A prospect next year, perhaps? For Adelaide, Simon Goodwin top scored with 110. Scott Thompson and Andrew McLeod were down a little on the past performances, scoring 82 and 75 respectively. Also disappointing was the talented Stiffy Johncock, who just didn’t stand up on Saturday night and managed a limp 50.

From the Hawk camp, Buddy Love kicked 5.5 on his way to scoring 113, while Grant Birchall scored 110. Let downs came from Jordan Lewis and Shane Crawford who scored 65 and 55 respectively. For the Sainters… whoa! Luke Ball came from nowhere, kicking three goals and scoring a mammoth 154. Leigh Montagna returned in style to form with 143, and Lenny Hayes showed his value with 130. The Volt (109), Nick Dal Santo (105) and Sam Fisher (101) also impressed on a good night for the Saints.

Player of the week: Adam Cooney (150). Cooney is a deserving recipient this week – not only for his dominant performance against the Dons, but also for his last six weeks; before Saturday night, his last five scores were: 107, 122, 103, 122, 107. Farrrk. Sorry, Lenny Hayes (who scored 146) but when you get those sort of numbers for six weeks in a row, you’ll get your medal in the mail. And to think Cooney nearly wasn’t going to play! Did anyone pick him up at $274k after round 7? Let me know.

Honourable mentions: Hayes, Chornes (139), Nick Riewoldt (138), Sam Fisher (130)

Biggest disappointment: Shaun Burgoyne (35). Didn’t see the game, so I’m not sure what happened. Apparently tagged by Adam Selwood, but by Christ there’s no excuse for that kind of a score. 13 possessions – but only four kicks. Less handball more football, Burger!

Other points of interest:

Hard to know which is more disappointing – Chris Judd’s score of 36, or the prospect of more missed matches due to that groin injury. Judd is now worth $331k and falling fast, while several other Eagle team-mates are in the same boat (Quinten Lynch, Michael Braun, Matt Priddis and Beau Waters all face breakevens over 120 next week).

Sam Fisher’s 130 followed up a 129 last week, while other Saints didn’t struggle on Saturday night. They may have won by two points, but their 22 easily outscored the Crows in Dream Team terms. Robert Harvey and Leigh Montagna also did well (122 each) while Kosi bobbed up with 110 – a relief to the thousands of coaches who have him in their teams. For the Crows, Andrew McLeod was the best performer with 117. He’s in form, after a 125 last week, while Scott Thompson is also travelling well. His 106 made it five tons in the last six weeks. Also for the Crows, Jason Torney’s 99 was his highest of this year.

How good is Joel Selwood? His score of 108 against Collingwood propelled him to $329k in price, with a breakeven of 34. It was his third ton in four weeks since coming back into the Cats’ side. Joel Corey (113) was the best Geelong player, while Jimmy Bartel’s score of 81 will result in a price fall to $361k. He’ll drop further, however; his breakeven will be 156 next week. For the Pies, Tarkyn Lockyer (128) and Travis Cloke (121) were the best Dream Team players on the ground; Cloke’s unusually accurate kicking gave him a boost on his usual solid numbers. Dane Swan managed 86 despite battling the Pink Pig, but Anthony Rocca (39) struggled.

While the Cornes brothers scored 263 between them on Saturday night, it was two youngsters who recorded career-highs. Justin Westhoff (99) and Travis Boak (90) both played really well in the Power’s win over West Coast. It wasn’t so good for the Eagles – aside from Judd’s injury (and the 91 point loss) only one player topped 100; Andrew Embley (112). That’s the first time that has happened this year – the Eagles are a notoriously prolific Dream Team side.

The Dogs had a good night on Saturday – as well as Cooney, Brad Johnson and Nathan Eagleton both scored 100s and Jordan McMahon (99) showed he’s back in form. Farren Ray scored his highest of the year (91), and Aker registered 88. Not good news from Lindsay Gilbee (69) and Luke Darcy (53). For the Dons, Damien Peverill (110) top-scored while the form of popular fantasy players Brent Stanton (106) and Scott Lucas (91) will hearten their owners.

Jonathan Brown was back with menace against Melbourne, scoring a wonderful 128; his points always come in style. But he wasn’t the only Lion to have a night out – Luke Power, Jed Adcock, Nigel Lappin, Scott Drummond and Jamie Charman were their top scorers. If you had to nominate who’d be the top six for a game, I reckon I’d go with those six. Simon Black has bottomed out in price; despite scoring just 67, he only slipped 5k and has a breakeven next week of 66. And Jared Brennan is rising fast – his score of 89 means he’s up to $264k with a breakeven of 37.

For the Dees, Brock McLean had his best game for the year with 116, while Chris (A.) Johnson’s 83 was his best since round ten, 2006. Not much other good news – wonder-kid Michael Newton, Monty’s Bubble Boy of the week last week, scored just 14.

I am, like, totally over Peter Everitt and the whole inconsistency thing. 125 against Carlton; that comes after 40, 37 and 70 in the last three weeks. His co-ruck-pilot Darren Jolly scored 87 in the points-fest, which saw Nick Malceski (109), Adam Schneider (107) and Brett Kirk (103) go well. Barry Hall (77) was better than he has been, while Jarrad McVeigh’s score of 80 was one below his career-high. For the Blues, Fev rebounded with 81 while Brad Fisher’s 101 was his second ton of 2007. Heath Scotland scored a useful 90 (but it won’t stop his price sliding) while Andrew Carrazzo disappointed with 64.

Player of the week: Paul Chapman (153). This score included a massive 64-point final quarter – exactly the sort of application Dream Team coaches love to see; as the Bombers’ body count piled up, Chapman was the man who plundered more than any other. If you’re thinking of getting him, move fast; his price is now $362k, and he has a breakeven of just 26

Honourable mentions: Tyson Edwards (152), Scott Thompson (146), Matthew Boyd (146), Domenic Cassisi (140), Kade Simpson (134), Matthew Richardson (127), Dane Swan (126)

Biggest disappointment: Leigh Montagna (48). The little bloke had an off day against the Pies in the wet – 13 touches, one mark. Not cool, especially considering three recent scores of 120+. The impact on his price is already being felt, with an 8k drop to $386k. Beware – next week’s breakeven is 155.

Other points of interest:

- I mentioned the body count above. It is by no means extended to Essendon – Scott West scored 29, Andrew Embley scored 37, Brett Deledio scored 36 and Cameron Bruce was a late withdrawal – all due to injuries. Alwyn Davey’s Dream Team season is over – although his recent good form means his price has risen nicely just before the injury, allowing Dream Teamers to extract maximum value from their cash cow. Not so positive for Ricky Petterd – at least the kid is ok – however, his score of just 4 is not good for his price. The good news is that injuries heal; Chris Judd returned to Dream Team 100 land, causing simultaneous sighs of relief across the nation, and Daniel Kerr also scored a ton for the first time in a while (although may miss through suspension)

- After stunning form all season, some blue-chip guns are starting to sink in price. Kornes is down to $377k this week, with much further left to go; his breakeven is 207. Jimmy Bartel is another with a double-ton breakeven; his scrappy 83 on Friday night showed he’s not injured, but will prove excellent value in coming weeks as his price slumps. He’s currently at $398k. Heath Scotland is the third gun to suffer – he scored just 56 against Melbourne, shooting him down 26k to be at $328k. That’s verrry enticing

- Brock McLean is another on the way down – but he’s nowhere near as attractive, despite a lower price. McLean is at $284k after scoring just 50 against the Blues

- Commentators were widely positive about Barry Hall’s game against Freo on Sunday – where he scored just 51 – and then I read this article this morning saying it’s typical of where he’ll be for the rest of the year. Ouch:

“What we saw from him today is probably what we are going to get from him for the rest of the year,” Roos said… “we will rotate him on and off the ground a fair bit.”

- Xavier Ellis had a good night against the Crows, scoring 81 – his best this year. Shane Crawford also had a good match, scoring 116; it’s his third ton in a row

- Travis Boak out-did Ellis, scoring 88 in his third game for the Power. Boak racked up 23 possessions and eight marks; he’s a ball-winner, all right

- Justin Koschitzke took the field a week after sustaining a two- to three-week hamstring injury, but he needn’t have bothered for Dream Team purposes. A disappointing game yielded just 41 points

We know Ben Cousins is out, that has been confirmed by team doctors. However, it is becoming increasingly prevalent for anonymous forum trolls to post threads casting fear, uncertainty and doubt on the starting status of various hot fantasy footy players.

For instance, here’s one on the BigFooty Geelong sub-forum started by some winner called Prodigal Sons which throws stones at Jimmy Bartel.

Then there’s this one over at ThePowerFromPort which professes that Robert Gray is out with a calf injury.

On a slightly more credible note, the mood at EaglesFlyingHigh is that they would love Chris Judd to play but it’s not looking definite by any means.

Be careful of believing any of these unsubstantiated rumours. Also, don’t believe what you read in the comments to the FanFooty blog…

Player of the week: Brent Harvey (142). The brother of former junior star, Shane, stepped up in style for Glenn Archer’s 300^th match. His 142 points covered all bases; he had wayyy more kicks than handballs (23 to 4), six tackles, ten marks, and two goals. The only thing missing was a hit-out or two, but being 172 cm tall, we’ll forgive him for that.

Honourable mentions: Dane Swan (125), Daniel Giansiracusa (128), Dean Cox (129), Daniel Motlop (131)

Biggest disappointment: Peter Everitt (37). After yours truly predicted him to step up in Hall’s absence, Spida had a shocker against the Cats. His fellow ruckman Darren Jolly wasn’t any better, scoring just 38. With Aaron Sandilands’ late withdrawal, it was a dud week for ruckman. Only Dean Cox, Jamie Charman and Hamish McIntosh managed to score 100s.

Other points of interest:

- Judd and Koschitzke’s injuries were adequately covered by the more popular fill-in choices. Joel Selwood copped a heavy knock against the Swans but still managed a decent 80 (up $18k to $289k now, with a break-even of just 20). And while Koschitzke is both a Forward and Back, Alwyn Davey (98, his highest score ever) and Jesse Smith both pulled their fingers out. Smith’s score of 75 came at the right time; it was his best for six weeks.

- For the Dockers, Aaron Sandilands‘ late withdrawal didn’t mean a thing; youngster Robert Warnock taught Cain Ackland a lesson in the ruck, scoring 82 points to Ackland’s 38. Warnock jumped $32k to $138k – and he’s looking like the best mid-season cash-cow ruckman this year. A big surprise, but I reckon he’s well ahead of Justin Longmuir as Freo’s second ruckman of choice. The only worry is if he starts to get more gametime and pinch points from Sandilands. Other Freo players did well, too; Steven Dodd scored 108, while Dean Solomon‘s 116 was his third career DT ton, and his first at the Dockers.

- As many have noted, Fev‘s awful score of 44 was much, much worse in Supercoach; he scored just one. Far out, no wonder they dropped him.

- As you’d expect in a 77-point loss, the Blues struggled for good DT numbers. Bryce Gibbs’ score of 18 was his lowest this year, and Jordan Russell’s 51 continues a worrying trend. The 2004 number nine draft pick has only topped 70 twice this season. To put that in perspective, do you want to know who went two picks before him? Another Jordan – Jordan Lewis

- Adam Goodes’ score of 102 was encouraging; it’s his third match in a row over 95

- Another faded gun this season is Adelaide’s Graham Johncock. Johncock sank to below $240k in price not long ago, but his score of 86 against the Eagles was his highest of an injury-interrupted 2007 season. Is he worth getting? Maybe not – there’s plenty of other reasonably priced Backs who are more reliable than Stiffy. However, he is excellent value at $254k

- Mark Ricciuto is one Crow whose DT price is still falling. After scoring 49 against the Eagles, he’s down $28k to $239k. It’ll get worse; his breakeven is 130. Nathan Van Berlo was one Crow who fired, big-time, scoring 110 to rise to $329k

- From the Eagles camp, Adam Hunter scored a career-high 124. Daniel Kerr had a day out, scoring 102 – his highest since round five, causing a price rise to $291k with a breakeven of just 41. Andrew Embley registered 100 (he’s averaging 92 in his five games this season), and another Eagle scored his career high against the Crows; All-Australian Darren Glass, who scored 80

- Good scores all round in the free-flowing, high-possession Hawks-Pies clash. As well as Swan’s 125, Tarkyn Lockyer scored 96, young Martin Clarke scored 85, and Travis Cloke scored 89. The only real mis-fire was Scott Burns, who had his second bad week in a row to score 57. From the Hawks, Ben McGlynn scored a great 115, while Grant Birchall and Jordan Lewis both showed a return to DT form, scoring 85 and 84 respectively. Another one worth pointing out; Shane Crawford had a day out, scoring 102. He’s still quite cheap at $319k…- All the talk this week will surround the competition’s two top players, Kane Cornes and Jimmy Bartel, who scored 61 and 43 this week. That will hurt a lot of teams, since (especially with Judd out) those players are popular captain choices. Bartel was injured, but could be back this week – but Cornes had a shocker. It was his lowest since round six last year (against Adelaide) and should see him fall roughly $19k to $411k. He will drop even further in coming weeks, as will Bartel. When you’re over $450k, you need stunning scores just to hold your price, and that 43 will see him almost certainly plummet to under $400k within a few matches.

- Essendon’s two goalkickers, Matthew Lloyd and Scott Lucas, did well against Melbourne on Friday night. Their combined 229 points was the highest aggregate score since round one last year. However, despite Lucas’ excellent score of 119, he will still fall slightly after some underwhelming recent performances.

- It wasn’t all good for the Dons – several young midfielders had a terrible night. Brent Stanton had 63, Jobe Watson scored 60 and Jason Winderlich registered 59. Against that, Alwyn Davey had his best Dream Team match ever, scoring 98 while Jason Laycock covered for the suspended David Hille with a career-high score of 94

- For the Dees, Cameron Bruce and James McDonald led the scoring with 103 and 97 respectively. Brock McLean looks set for a price fall after scoring 68; he should fall around $15k to $313k – and his break-even will be around 149

- Brett Kirk continued his stellar form for the Swans in their loss to Geelong. He’s now averaging 119 over the last four weeks, after scoring 128 against the Cats. If you picked him up at $305k a few weeks ago, you’re laughing

- Meanwhile, Geelong captain Tom Harley scored 47; that is exactly his average after five games in a disappointing season so far

- Daniel Motlop’s score of 131 against the Brisbane Lions was just his second DT hundred – the other was in 2004 – and it was a stylish one. Aside from Kane Cornes’ dud night, other Power players did well; The Chad scored 129, while the Burgoyne brothers both topped the ton. Peter scored 105, and Shaun scored 101, his second DT hundred this year. Unfortunately for Brendan Lade fans, the big bloke scored just 46 and will slump to $274k this week, with a break-even of 174

- Justin Westhoff scored just 55 despite kicking three goals (and probably winning this week’s Rising Star nomination), while fellow first-year forward Robert Gray had a disappointing 36. Westhoff is now up to $177k, having risen $41k, while Gray is now at $150k. Who’ll be most expensive at season’s end – anyone want to bet?

For the Lions, all of the big guns fired – bar one. While Nigel Lappin scored 129 (his highest of the year), Luke Power scored 120 and Josh Drummond (118), Jamie Charman (106) and Jonathan Brown (106) did not disappoint. However, Simon Black scored a miserable 49 – which will see him fall around $25k to under $260k. His break-even will be over 150 next week, so he’ll fall even further