| Plunder of points doesn't set the Barlow |
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| Written by Jonny Coping |
| Sunday, 28 March 2010 16:11 |
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Point accumulation for the Supercoach season has begun, and its been a very high scoring round. All the big stars seemed to fire, with tons being notched up like the Australian Cricket team on a day one Sydney wicket. It was Fremantles first gamer Michael Barlow who smashed 151 in his first hitout, parralleling Michael Clarke on debut in Bangalore 2004 innings of the same total, 151. Fantasy nerds around the web are all flicking through the record books, and many are claiming his score the highest ever for a debutant. In the west, all the talk is about Michael Barlow. The midfielder turned on a consistent full game display, sparking talk in forums of captain selection next week against the Bombers. This Barlowsteria echos the exploits of Greg Broughton in 2009, who also looked good with 112. The other usual scorers dominated for Fremantle in Aaron Sandilands, Paul Duffield and Mathew Pavlich. Before too much excitment is wrenched from the game, lets see how they play away from Perth. Adelaide were utterly dissapointing given the much preseason hype about the status of their list. A few players looked underdone. Patrick Dangerfield scored a healthy 93 while Kurt Tippet flopped with 50. It began on Thursday night as the final teams were named, and with the inclusion of Relton Roberts and Ben Nason, many coaches punted and slotted one of the two or both into their benches. To no avail however, as both scored poorly. Roberts nudged a few cheap kicks after long leads to the backline. Nason killed the ball by foot, except for one great running 50 metre goal which settled him.
For the blues, Eddie Betts and Andrew Carrazzo were the SC stars, though 10 other blues made the ton. The usual suspects at Geelong did the damage in the scoring. Gary Ablett jnr, Jimmy Bartel and Joel Selwood proved they are focused on another big year chasing their third premiership. Selwood won contested footy and tackled hard. Bartel found space and read the play. Ablett was just Ablett, ominipresent and kicking goals aswell. Ominious signs for their season and you can feel very good about their performances if you selected them. 
The Bombers, as anticipated, provided a very even spread in their scoring with most of the side falling in the 60 - 90 bracket. All eyes were on Scott Gumbleton, and many will be cursing their gamble on his selection. However, in just his 6th senior game and battling the reigning premiers with a bulletproof backline, coaches should not jump off him just yet. Ben Howlett played a solid first game, scoring 62 and doing some nice things. With three key bombers knocking on the door for selection in round 2 though, his borrowed time may have already expired. David Hille will also put many ruck lineups depth to the test in round 2, as he looks likely to be suspended for a charging offence. The Hawks dominated a weak young Demons team, and shared the points around. Notable performances were popular 2010 pick Luke Hodge with 121, Carl Peterson with 71 and perrenial downhill skier Rick Ladson with 91. Demon Jordie McKenzie was the only real positive for the dees. Hyped top 2 draft picks Tom Scully and Jack Trengove were overwhelmed by a much stronger opposition, and posted rookie like scores. Stars Nick Riewoldt and Brendon Goddard are clearly worth their starting price as both hit big hundreds and looked in sparkling form. Many Nick Dal Santo owners will be slightly irritated at the Brett Kirk tag that stifled his scoring. 
Sydney gun Ryan O'Keefe was at home in the midfield, finding the ball at will. It was Nick Malceski who stole the show with 139, reminiscent of his 2007 scoring. If his knee holds together, more scores like this are sure to follow. Jonathan Brown and Brendon Fevola showed they will wreak havoc in season 2010, as defenders wet their pants every time the ball is in the vicinity. Brown scored 130 after his five goal heroics, and was probably more deserving of a 150 given his 3 match winning goals in the last term. Fevola gave a typical display of the good and the bad, kicking 3.7 and being punished for his inaccurracies with a 58 form the SC gods. The Eagles were evenly spread. Notable mentions go the Beau Waters and Dean Cox. Waters poked his left foot kicks about effectively for a junk time 78. Meanwhile, a SC powerhouse may be set to tumble in 2010, with Dean Cox looking slow and was unable to get into the game. Coaches should already be earmarking his trade for next week if his scoring doesn't improve, as the 600k price tag will plummet on this form. Of interest in the Football Park match, Mitchell Banner, Ryan Bastinac, Jack Ziebell and Cameron Hitchcock all lived up to their preseason hype. All contributed enough to give coaches faith that they will play consecutive matches early in the year. 
The Pies and Bulldogs match was played at a level above the others of in the round. Dane Swan was outstanding. Winning the ball, creating goals, and seemingly running all day. Heath Shaw was left to his devices in the backline, sheepdogging an impressive 139. Surely a forward tag will follow after this performance. Alan Didak, Paul Medhurst and Leon Davis all looked impressive around the Leigh Brown decoy key forward. Robert Murphy was also a star, using his natural skills to make the opposition look silly. He scored 130, but of course the problem of injury always surrounds him. Matthew Boyd seems to have been shafted by the Dumbledore supercoach adjudicators, scoring only 106 after a 39 possession match with one goal and 14 contested possessions. Barry Hall overcame his first test for brain explosions, after keeping his fist in the pockets when confronted by several dogs after a knock to Sharrod Wellingham. Check back later as Snoopercoach reveals its team and explains its decision process |
| Last Updated on Wednesday, 31 March 2010 14:42 |
