Monko's Mirror - Reflections on Round 17 - Part 1

Roos vs Dogs

Thursday night at Docklands proved to be as one-sided as everyone expected, with the Western Bullfrogs far too strong in all areas. GDS Stalwarts Bontempelli (151) and English (130) did much of the heavy lifting, however it was the under-appreciated Tom Liberatore (159) who led the way, bouncing back after a disappointing score of 70 the previous week away against the Swans. Bailey Dale exorcist-puked (props to Konstanty for the 1^st half tag) and put up his worst score of the season. GDS groans were heard loud-and-clear across the community – nothing like a rusted-on defender killing your week on a Thursday night. In truth, it could have been far worse as his 2 (both excellent) goals nudged him up to 74.

Norf were unlucky from an injury point of view, but clearly overwhelmed regardless. LD-Who was injured early in the 2^nd quarter and their talismanic ruckman Xerri failed a HIA early in Q4 whilst sitting on a very lofty score of 105. Latest news is that he is clear to play against Melbourne next week after passing a SCAT6 Test on Saturday, but definitely watch this space. Sheezel and Daniel (both 107) were ‘fine’ but it was the # 2 pick in the 2023 draft who really caught the eye.

Player To Watch:

Colby McKercher is loving his new role and eating into those Sheezel points we all loved to amass. His last five weeks he has averaged 123.8 which is ridiculous. You can select him next week with massive confidence against Melbourne and should be close to the first name on your defensive line against the matchup.

On The Slide:

It’s not really a slide to be honest, but Matt Kennedy’s recent performances have come off from their Burj Khalifa highs. The recruit of the year (don’t @ me bro – he clearly is) has scored 100 two weeks in a row, after not dropping ONCE below 125 from rounds 6-15. Perhaps call in sick Matt and play some golf or something?

Next Week:

The Dogs host Adelaide Saturday at Marvel in what should be a fantastic clash – and a tricky one to get a read on from a fantasy perspective. I would, however, expect Dale to bounce back, and he could end up a smidge under-owned. Consider.

Meanwhile, the Roos take on the Dees in what looks like a very fantasy prolific game. If the forecast for Sunday is dry, I could see myself considering a range of Dees & Roos defenders (Rivers / Salem / Sheezel / McKercher). Norf beat the Dees by 59 (yes – fifty-nine!) points in Round 2 this season – surely a similar result is not on the cards?!

Collingwood vs Blues

After the very predictable outcome on Thursday, a certainty greater than even death and taxes rolled into our eyeballs on Friday. It was the Collingwood vs Carlton Implosion™ show, with no end in sight for the hapless Blues. Nick Daicos (155) ran around in his black and white striped lederhosen for four quarters, while the ghost of George Hewett (73) could do nothing to trouble the scorers. Where is the man that started the season with an average of 132 after 7 games? Anyhow, the usual suspects were in full force with the ever-reliable Darcy Cameron (127), Scott Dependlebury (106) and Josh Daicos (102) trotting out exactly what we would expect.

I don’t have much to say about the Blues, but when Marc Pittonet (98) is your fifth highest scorer, there should be more red flags than a North Korean military parade going off in the coach’s box. During the game, lip-readers were privy to Vossy pulling aside Cripps and articulating that the effort was f*****g deplorable – but maybe, as everyone is seeming to realise simultaneously, they’re just not that good. But more on that later.

Player To Watch:

I don’t think he’s selectable (YET) in a GDS format, but the form of Jack Crisp needs to be taken seriously. In his last six rounds he has averaged 113 – and this includes a round 12 hiccup against the Hawks. His kick to handball ratio is attractive and if you pick him, you know you’ve got a POD in a team firing on all cylinders. I will be paying close attention to Crispy against the Gold Coast this weekend.

On The Slide:

Tom De Koning. Clearly impacted by his contract discussions and the general radioactive fallout surrounding Ikon Park, he looks like a shadow of his former self. And by former, I mean five weeks ago. The massive scores against Essendon (138) and West Coast (126) in Pittonett-less sides are an eye-opening contrast to the fantasy dross he’s serving up now. Despite this, TDK is a card I will continue to ‘accumulate’ on the transfer market, but won’t be selecting until conditions improve.

Next Week:

Collingwood travel up to the Golden Coast to take on Hardwick’s men and will almost certainly find a way to win, yet again, as always (ahem, they lost last year). They’ve been up for a while the Pies, (and no one ever wins them all) but I really don’t expect the Suns to get them like they did in Round 16, 2024. A close game and hopefully a great watch. I won’t consider fading Sir Nick, and Noah Anderson had 158 in this fixture last time around, so just click the buttons and lock them both in maximum rarities please.

The Blues host Brisbane. Yeh, good luck with that. Josh Dunkley is a player who comes to mind here, in only the 2^nd game this season the Lions will play at Docklands. Back against the Saints in Round 7, Dunkley had 124 in a very high scoring matchup. I suggest he could be a very interesting choice / watch here too, but lets face it, it’s probably too big a risk given his fantasy form.  

West Coast vs Greater Western Sydney

In the club-theme song rankings, this game saw 18^th vs 1^st and luckily, we got to hear the good one with GDS running away 59-point victors. Toby Greene did Toby Greene things, and if you catch this guy – good luck to you – but the real attention-grabbing performance was that of Finn Callaghan (146) who had an enormous day out. For those paying attention, Callaghan was deployed in a role similar to Tom Stewart late last year for the Cats, where he would start in the centre, but float back to play the “give it to me, I’m the best” quarterback role. His pace and vision looked a cut above and I’m excited to see him next week against the Cats. Tom Green (125) continued his incredible hulk impersonation and Lachie Ash (123) keeps on keeping on in the backline.

For the Eagles, Liam Duggan (144) stood out – an enormous game with a super GDS friendly kick to handball ratio of 8:1. Truth is, Duggan has been good since Maric was shifted from heavy back-line distribution duties and has an average of 114 over his last 5 games. Selectable? No. But keep an eye, especially in games where the ball is expected to sail over his head a lot – which basically is every weekend.

Player To Watch:

Ryan Angwin is a player to accumulate for mine. 12 contested possessions (2^nd only to O’Halloran and Green) had a very decent game, scoring 104 in the process. Now I understand he’s up against the Eagles. And I also understand that he’s trying to break in to a stacked Giants midfield. But should he end up traded back to his home state of Vic (contract expires at the end of 2026), I could see this gritty kid making a fist of it. Plats are currently selling for $1, so it’s basically unlimited upside.

On The Slide:

Nothing really catches my eye from this game. I’d like to write something a little bit inflammatory about Aaron Cadman – the hype around him has been big for ages, and he’s got some serious talent kicking it in to him, but I also know how long it takes for forward line talent to emerge. It’s hard to fathom how quickly Sam Darcy has gone passed him in my opinion – but I could be well off here. Flame away, my DMs are open.

Next Week:

GWS take on the Cats on Saturday afternoon in what looms as a fantastic match. It’s hard to see Chris Scott letting players like Callaghan, Green, Ash simply do what they want, but I also don’t know how he’s going to stop them all? I’ll likely select Callaghan again but probably avoid the others. Except for Ash obviously. He goes in. What do we do with Whitfield who’s due to return? Weather?

The Eagles make the short pitstop to Port in what I’m assuming will be a very fantasy friendly contest. I’m already salivating at the thought of the Port mids wreaking havoc and Horney-Francis letting me down. Let’s have it Jason! Duggan would be a brave (but not crazy brave) selection too.