Weekly wrap: Round 18 studs, duds, injuries

You know how last week was my second-best round ranking of my season?

Yeah, well this week was my first best…

Elite Dadds scored an ELITE 2582, putting me 546^th for the round, and moving me up 3155 rankings to 7,089^th.

It was one of those weeks where everything that possibly could have gone right for me did, and trust me, those weeks don’t come often so I will be soaking it in for as long as humanly possible.

However, for as much as everything went right for me, there was still so much room for improvement.

Last Thursday, I had my trades done and dusted, and I was ready for a stress-free weekend.

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But no, my stupid little brain decided to act all stupid and stupidly reversed my Oliver -> Merrett trade and changed it to Oliver -> Guthrie.

That act of stupidity cost me 52 points and a top 100 spot.

UGH.

However, I don’t think words can describe my love for Nick Daicos (163) and Rory Laird (154), and as much as I want to reward one of them with the GOAT medal, Marcus Bontempelli (181) deservedly takes out this week’s award. SUPERSTAR.

Anyway, let’s get into the recap!

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Western Bulldogs v St Kilda

It was a night that showcased an abundance of quality VC options, and somehow, I chose the worst of all of them.

Josh Dunkley (80) has it a bit of a wall as of late, so hopefully he decides to get his act together to round out the season.

Marcus Bontempelli (181) was truly unstoppable as he racked up 34 touches, 11 marks, and 2 goals; but he was certainly helped by Jack Macrae (128), Tom Liberatore (131), and Bailey Smith (91) on his return from absence.

It was nice to see Bailey Dale (118) return to his high scoring, remarkably though he didn’t take a single mark or lay a single tackle… The 90% disposal efficiency certainly helped him.

Adam Treloar’s (99) move to half back has seen his scoring trend upwards! He and Ed Richards (114) combined for 18 marks.

Keep an eye out for the Melbourne defenders when they play the Doggies coming up, because Jack Sinclair (133), Callum Wilkie (134), Josh Battle (114), and Jimmy Webster (98) combined for a whopping 52 marks!

Jack Steele (133) was as productive as ever, laying a game high nine tackles.

Rowan Marshall (69) will be one to look at over the next few weeks as Patrick Ryder (26) was subbed off with a strained calf.

Injuries – Patrick Ryder (calf)

Reports – nil.

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Adelaide v Collingwood

The title for this game really should’ve been Adelaide v Nick Daicos, but we’ll get to that soon enough.

In the meantime, let’s chat about Rory Laird (154) literally breaking the record for most tackles in a VFL/AFL game. 20 tackles!! I don’t even get 20 touches when I play footy.

Up alongside him in the tackle count was his midfield compatriot, Sam Berry (121) who had 17.

The big Texan, Taylor Walker (118), booted five goals.

Jordan Dawson (92) was solid, but Ben Keays (61) had his worst score of the year.

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Ok… Nick Daicos… Where do we start? To put it into context, the likes of Cripps, Bont, Judd, and Cousins have never had 40 disposals games, do you think many Brownlow Medalists have had 40 and kicked 3? He broke a 31-year-old record by becoming the youngest ever player to have 40 or more disposals and three or more goals in a game.

In game 350, Scott Pendlebury (110) showed his silk and skill in the wet to put up his third 110+ score in his last four games!

Patrick Lipinski (116) was amazing with 28 touches, and 13 tackles, as was Josh Carmichael (56) in just his second game. His SuperCoach score isn’t quite reflective on the impact he had on the game, largely due to his 25% disposal efficiency from his 24 kicks. If he can fix that up in the next few weeks, he’ll be lethal.

Jack Crisp (91) finally returned to some solid scoring, while Steele Sidebottom (95) scored his fourth 90+ score in a row.

Ash Johnson (67) kicked two goals on debut!

Injuries – nil.

Reports – nil.

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GWS v Brisbane

The Giants were disappointing in this one, with Brisbane convincingly getting the 40-point win and cementing their top-4 chances.

It was the Himmelberg show for GWS fans, with big Harry (132) collecting 29 touches and 8 marks on his way to his second highest score of the year.

All in all though, the Giants were just a tad SuperCoach irrelevant, with Stephen Coniglio (95), Tim Taranto (85), and Josh Kelly (62) all performing well under expectations.

Jacob Wehr (77) provided good service off the bench for those that needed him, and Toby Greene booted four goals.

Hugh McCluggage (150) was the standout for the Lions, with 29 disposals, 8 marks, and 4 goals.

Keidean Coleman (119) took advantage of Daniel Rich’s absence; while in his return, the Barometer, Rhys Mathieson (122), did not miss a beat with a game-high 10 clearances.

Lachie Neale (122) and Cameron Rayner (106) were productive in the middle.  

Injuries – Josh Kelly (soreness)

Reports – nil.

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North Melbourne v Richmond

KANGA KANGA KANGA! ROO ROO ROO!

Under the reign of their new coach, Norf managed to get the job done against a team fighting for a top-8 spot, how good!

Jy Simpkin (119) and Luke Davies-Uniacke (110) were at the heart of it, collecting 34 and 28 disposals respectively.

Jaidyn Stephenson (104) moved down to half back and revelled in the opportunity, while Cam Zurhaar booted six goals and won the game for them.

Todd Goldstein (135) controlled the ruck contests brilliantly and honestly looks like one of the best ruck options if you’re in need of one.

Nick Vlastuin (141) was a bright spark for the Tigers down back, but Jack Riewoldt’s (76) inaccuracy in front of goal may have lost the game for them. He kicked 2.6.

Jayden Short (100) FINALLY tonned up, while the rest of his midfielders in Jack Graham (92), Trent Cotchin (99), and Dion Prestia (80) were all solid.

Toby Nankervis (99) was brilliant but may be in doubt for next week after he was reported for kneeing Flynn Perez in the head.

Injuries – Nick Larkey (Achilles), Josh Gibcus (shoulder)

Reports – Toby Nankervis

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Carlton v Geelong

Geelong is now in first with this massive win, while Carlton drop down 7^th, with the race for top-4 still wide open.

Sam Walsh (126) did extremely well to shrug off a tag from Tom Atkins (80), but Patrick Cripps (84) couldn’t escape the grasps of Mark Blicavs (102).

Matthew Kennedy (96), George Hewett (94), and Adam Cerra (103) were great as always in the middle, as were Nic Newman (109) and Sam Docherty (93) off half back.

Joel Selwood (115) was outstanding for the Cats.

Mitch Duncan (99) continued his amazing run of form, but after seven tons in a row, Cam Guthrie (84) came crashing back down to earth.

Jeremy Cameron (99) was lethal up forward, botting 3.3.

Injuries – Sam Menegola (concussion)  

Reports – nil.

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Fremantle v Sydney

Freo had such a good opportunity to potentially move into first, but the Swans just out-ran them all day long.

Luke Ryan was incredible in defence, grabbing 22 kicks and 5 marks.

Will Brodie (84) was great once again, but it looks like he’s running out of fuel; same as Nat Fyfe (65) whose match fitness needs some improving.

Hayden Young (88) and Heath Chapman (96) took 16 marks between them, while Sean Darcy (94) dominated in the ruck with 41 hit outs.

Callum Mills (116) was once again back in the middle and absolutely dominated, as did Chad Warner (148) who collected 35 touches and is slowly starting to become one of the best young players in the comp.

Jake Lloyd (96), Robbie Fox (135), Dane Rampe (95), and Oliver Florent (86) combined for a massive 48 marks.

Luke Parker (92) and Isaac Heeney (104) were dominant as always.

Injuries – nil.

Reports – nil.

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Hawthorn v West Coast

BACK-TO-BACK WINS FOR MY HAWKS LETS GOOOO.

In all honesty, this was a pretty shocking game to watch, but hey! A win is a win.

Josh Ward (99) played the best game of his career with 34 touched and 7 marks.

Dylan Moore (113) looks as though he’s made a move into the midfield, as he racked up 19 CBA’s which was the second most out of the Hawks midfielders.

Tom Mitchell’s (94) were slightly subtracted, but he still managed to grab 33 touches, but Luke Breust went home with the three votes after kicking SIX!

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Jack Scrimshaw (100) recorded a triple-double and continues to look more and more like a Grant Birchall re-gen.

Tom Barrass (149) was HUGEEEE as he took an insane 18 marks to go along with his 30 touches.

He wasn’t alone in defence though, as Shannon Hurn (102) and Alex Witherden (116) were both solid.

Luke Shuey (99) and Andrew Gaff (94) wound back the clock to the good ol’ days of the Eagles, unlucky for them though because the rest of their team is shi*house.

Jai Culley (90) showed some serious promise on debut and will definitely be a downgrade option in the next few weeks.

Injuries – Callum Jamieson (adductor)

Reports – nil.

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Melbourne v Port Adelaide

This was a must-win for Port, and unfortunately, they choked the opportunity to land one foot in the top-8.

Christian Petracca (141) and Jack Viney (71) certainly made up for Clayton Oliver’s absence in the middle.

Luke Jackson (94) and Max Gawn (50) seemed to share the ruck duties quite evenly which had a severe impact on Gawn’s scoring. He will be extremely cheap soon.

Speaking of poor scoring, Christian Salem (63) scored well below expectations.

Kozzie Pickett (110) was sensational up forward, kicking six goals, and putting on a brilliant show for the local crowd.

Dan Houston (109), Travis Boak (96), and Connor Rozee (116) did their best in the midfield, but last year’s Brownlow Medallist, Ollie Wines (87) was not up to Brownlow standard – particularly in the last quarter.

Darcy Byrne-Jones (96) and Tom Jonas (75) took 20 marks between each other.

Injuries – nil.

Reports – nil.

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Essendon v Gold Coast

Oh, the Bombers fly up and severely damage Gold Coast’s top-8 chances!

Mason Redman (152) was EVERYWHERE, collecting 34 touches and 10 marks on his way to a season high.

I was watching Zach Merrett (136) with great intent, hoping that he wouldn’t make me cry after my decision to change him to Guthrie, but geeeez he was amazing. Alongside him, Dylan Shiel (149) was also elite.

Andrew McGrath (100) and Nicholas Martin (97) were great off a wing, but Sam Draper (113) was the real MVP, and probably earnt himself a Goal of the Year nomination.

From a SuperCoach perspective, the Suns were totally non-existent, with only Touk Miller (110) tonning up for them.

Jarrod Witts (78) has been a disaster trade-in for me – he looks insanely tired

Injuries – nil.

Reports – nil.