AFL practice matches: How the SuperCoach contingent fared, Week 2

We’re almost there!

With stats being collected and FanFooty up and running, it truly did feel like the real thing.

There were highs and lows from premo’s and rookies, but it’s important not to get too sucked into these performances unless there were clear changes in roles etc.

Let’s take a look at how the second week of practice matches went.

Sign up to SC Playbook in 2023! Gain access to stacks of additional premium articles every week during the pre-season and regular season, our major subscriber prize, our Whatsapp community featuring Q&A’s with our team of contributors, and plenty of other bonus features. SUBSCRIBE HERE!

Embed from Getty Images

Hawthorn v Collingwood

• James Worpel (101) racked up 30 touches and looked dominant. His notoriously poor disposal efficiency let him down though
• Jai Newcombe (92) was solid
• Cam Mackenzie (99) all of a sudden looks like a lock for M8. He was rotating through the middle and did not put a foot wrong. Get him in
• Will Day (88)was again in the middle and looked promising
• Fergus Greene (84) booted 3.2
• Dylan Moore (70) played just the first half
• James Sicily (96) took 10 marks but again, just didn’t do enough to cement his spot at D1 for me
• As expected, Nick Daicos (72) was tagged which could not be a clearer red flag for the 43% who own him. Stay far, far away from him
• Darcy Cameron (98) scored well but split the ruck contests very evenly with Mason Cox (50)
• Tom Mitchell (101) looked back to his piggish self and even had the third most CBA’s for the Pies. There are still a lot of guys rotating through there so I’m still not convinced, but it’s a sign of some good things to come

Embed from Getty Images

Fremantle v Port Adelaide

• Will Brodie (117) POD anyone?? If only he still had forward status…
• Yes, Sean Darcy (127) was playing without Luke Jackson, but I’m starting to come round to the idea that him and RowMar are the way to go this year
• Despite gathering 36 disposals, Andrew Brayshaw (84) couldn’t get going in the SuperCoach world
• Nat Fyfe (90) booted another 3 goals
• Hayden Young (79) was very, very quiet for the second week in a row
• Connor Rozee (111) racked up the CBA’s and his scoring reflected that. I was tempted to anti-pod him, but after that performance it’s going to be hard to stay away
• DO NOT PICK Scott Lycett (36)
• JHF (70) gave away six freekicks, so his score definitely could’ve been higher than this

Embed from Getty Images

Brisbane v Geelong

• Josh Dunkley (146) should be F1 in everyone’s starting squads after he collected 31 disposals and had 19 CBAs.
• Lachie Neale (121) and Hugh McCluggage (129) also ticked the pre-season box.
• Tanner Bruhn (112) was the standout midfielder for the Cats with 19 disposals and 11 CBAs on the night.
• Tom Stewart (91) ticked the legs over and took the most kick ins of any Geelong player.
• Will Ashcroft (96) just looks ready-made for this level and should be one of the best rookies of the season.
• James Tunstill (54 SC) Connor McKenna (53) and Darcy Wilmot (52) all scoring at a typical rookie level.
• Jack Bowes was rested citing load management, which is concerning given his injury history. Can you start him off limited pre-season game time?

We’ve linked up with Betr for the 2023 footy season! Each week of the AFL season we’ll be delivering our SC Playbook unique market, to kick things off, we’re starting with a futures multi around Lions draftee Will Ashcroft to win AFL rising star into 10+ Brownlow Medal votes at $11! FOLLOW HERE

St. Kilda v Essendon

• Rowan Marshall (155) was simply scintillating – 24 disposals, a goal and 16 CBAs as the Saints’ solo ruck. Huge tick for the Saints big man, he should be locked into your side.
• Jack Steele (84) just ticked the legs over, but had the most CBAs of any Saints’ midfielder on the day. Don’t let a somewhat quieter day dissuade you from picking him.
• Mitch Owens (121), Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (91) and Jack Bytel (75) were all impressive at cheaper price brackets.
• Jack Sinclair (59) was very quiet and should be scratched off your watchlist. Marcus Windhager (0) broke his wrist and will miss the start of the season.
• Jordan Ridley (128) was the dominant defender down back for Essendon, his role looks very SC friendly along with his price.
• Will Setterfield (119) was very good in his first outing in red and black and Zach Merrett (112) certainly did enough on the day.
• Darcy Parish (54) was tagged heavily and his scoring suffered as a result – concerning given many coaches though teams would look to shut down Merrett ahead of Parish.
• Alwyn Davey Jnr (67) looks like a solid enough bench option in the midfield and forward line, he should play early games. Jye Menzie (62) was also solid despite going goalless.

Embed from Getty Images

Sydney v Carlton

• To quote the song Errol by Australian Crawl: ‘Ohh Errol, I would give everything just to be like him’
  Errol Gulden (188) was everywhere on Friday night, racking up 45 disposals, kicking three goals and having 18 CBAs as a full-time midfielder. Bear in mind however that Callum Mills didn’t play with a finger issue, which could impact Gulden once the real stuff starts. He did put his best foot forward though and could be one of the breakout players of 2023. Can you squeeze him into your forward line?
• Luke Parker (115) was good with 27 disposals and a goal, Chad Warner (88) didn’t reach three figures but his role was solid with 17 CBAs.
• Jake Lloyd (47) was very quiet and that performance should see him drop off your radar if he was on there to begin with. Lachlan McAndrew (32) was also quiet and played second fiddle to Ladhams in the ruck.
• Sam Docherty (153) looks well placed to challenge for the crown of number one SC defender, playing a mix of midfield and half back on his way to 34 touches.
• George Hewett (129) had a good game against his old side, albeit without Cripps and Walsh in the Blues’ midfield.
• Adam Saad (65) was quiet and he looks like a very risky starting prospect in defence.
• Alex Cincotta (70) and Lachie Cowan (57) were both solid as they look to fill the void left by Zac Williams’ injury.

Embed from Getty Images

West Coast v Adelaide

• Woah. Jeremy McGovern (144) and Liam Duggan (86) had the EXACT same stat-line. 17 kicks, 8 handballs, 12 marks, and 2 tackles each
• Shannon Hurn (97) saw a lot of the footy, but I’m personally scarred from him after trading him in one game a few years ago when he got injured on 3
• Elliot Yeo (78) and Dom Sheed (73) were both solid, but I doubt they were going hell for leather in a practice match against the Crom
• Reuben Ginbey (99) is a lock, but Campbell Chesser (34) will have to do a bit more to cement his spot in not just our teams, but also the Eagles’
• Oscar Allen (52) was hot property in the early parts of pre-season, but I’m happy to fade him now
• It’s worth noting that Luke Shuey (81) had just 54% TOG…
• It’s honestly ridiculous that Rory Laird (151) is owned by just 22%. I cannot stress enough that he is the biggest lock in the game
• Ben Keays’ (95) days as a midfielder are gone. He kicked 4 goals alongside Darcy Fogarty (136)
• ROB (103) played well, and for many he’s a genuine option to partner up with RowMar, but I should remind you that this was against Callum Jamieson (82)
• Jordan Dawson (105) was efficient by foot across half-back and the wing

Embed from Getty Images

GWS v Gold Coast

• I’ve been tossing and turning about my M5 selection, and Josh Kelly (138) definitely put his best foot forward for selection
• Even with Lachie Whitfield (86) moving back to half-back, Isaac Cumming (118) found plenty of cheap footy
• Similar to Kelly, Tom Green (130) is another player up for M5 consideration. His pre-season hype continues to soar in an upward trajectory
• It’s going to be very hard to leave out Finn Callaghan (111) now. He might not have had the CBA’s that we were hoping for, but that didn’t affect his output in the slightest
• Stephen Coniglio (85) did well with just 61% TOG, BUT Adam Kingsley has flirted with the idea of rotating him more forward. I know I’ve called him a lock in the last few weeks, but this is something that makes me nervous
• Sam Flanders (103) looked really good, but don’t expect anywhere near this when Touk is back
• Charlie Constable (73) is a D5/D6 lock
• Jarrod Witts (101) was solid in 65% game time

Struggling to pay off your credit card, loans all over the place? Stress less, we mean it, Pat and George from Mortgage Choice SCW can ease the pressure by getting you a single loan to help you pay off debts, at a lower rate. Mention SC Playbook for a FREE CONSULT!

Western Bulldogs v North Melbourne

• The usual suspects were back to their brilliant best for the Dogs. Tom Liberatore (158), Marcus Bontempelli (145), Jack Macrae (118), and Bailey Smith (118) combined for 123 disposals… Between just the four of them… Take your pick
• Perhaps the early injury to Ed Richards (26) aided Bailey Dale’s (124) impact off half-back. Particularly when Richards hit his stride at the back end of last season, Dale’s scoring dropped off considerably
• Tim English (75) struggled in the ruck with just 16 hit-outs
• Oskar Baker (111) was reportedly a late call-up, but he did his Round 1 chances no harm. There’s definitely some merit in dropping a midfield premo to get him in at M8
• Liam Jones (101) was high on my radar at the start of the pre-season, and although I cooled off on him for a few weeks, he is right back on the watch-list
• I would not be surprised if Toby McLean (45) is the sub come Round 1
• Jy Simpkin (111) looked great, but any hype regarding Luke Davies-Uniacke (55) should now be dismissed and never brought up ever again
• Jack Ziebell (86) and Luke McDonald (103) split the kick-outs quite evenly again
• Harry Sheezel (72) started at half-forward and then moved to half-back
• Will Phillips (48) hasn’t done enough to cement a spot at M8 for me. He’ll be lucky if he even makes my bench

Embed from Getty Images

Melbourne v Richmond

• Max Gawn (153) went BIG, although it was largely thanks to his time spent forward
• Christian Petracca (114) did his usual thing
• Now, let’s talk about Clayton Oliver (95). I would never normally react in a negative way to one of my premo’s scoring poorly in a practice game, but I had a look at his underlying stats. He attended just 65% CB’s which is a whopping 20% less than his 2022 season average. He seemed to be in a rotation with Angus Brayshaw (77) off half-back…
• Lachie Hunter (98) put together his second consecutive great game, but is probably only an option if he either gets DPP or if you’re playing Draft
• Steven May (117) has also strung together two solid games in a row. He’s on kick-outs for the ‘Dees and has averaged 90+ three years in a row if you’re looking for a consistent defender option
• Brodie Grundy (80) kicked 3 goals from just 69% TOG
• Liam Baker (132) dominated with 36 touches. Don’t get sucked in though
• Lock in Tim Taranto (124)
• Jacob Hopper (93) had the most contested possessions on the ground