Bah, talk is cheap, if you want to discuss a trade for The Bont bring your sizeable war chest! Be careful not to look into the eclipse
Well they say you're only as good as your last game, so I'll be happy to bring my cheque book for 12 disposals and 45SC worth of Bont!
In a clear sign that the coach has no idea what he doing, after recently offering Ben McEvoy, Jack Gunston and Willem Drew contracts for the new season... they have all been shipped off. Ben McEvoy is off to the chooks, Jack Gunston off to the Blimps and Willem Drew just happened to bump into the coach when he was carrying a carving knife. Jackson Thurlow has also gone off to the warmer climes of Foul Bay, Jake Carlisle is off to Pippie Beach, Whilst Kieran Collins and Jarrod Pickett were shown the door in the continuation of an upheaval at the club. In return we welcome traded players Jayden Short and Bailey Dale. Both have been briefed that the coach expects results in the medium term, and to focus on getting game time under the belt and improving their games. The Spelunkers have traded their way up in the draft with picks 3, 7, 13, 25, 29, 31, 49 all being required, and maybe even their next pick at 97 getting a run for some opportunistic steak knives. The draft pool is rumoured to be very shallow, but after pouring over the prospectus on the weekend, there are some real players lurking at lower picks. The average age for the list pre-draft is now 22.8, and with seven 18 year olds likely to be draft it will be well into the mid 21's... a sign of just how young this list is.
After another flurry of activity before and during the draft the Spelunkers can finally take stock of the damage Bandit has created. Leaving the Pit this year are: Ben McEvoy - to the Chooks Mark LeCras - delisted... get stuffed Jackson Thurlow - to the Chooks Jarrod Pickett - delisted... get stuffed Adam Oxley - delisted... get stuffed Kieran Collins - delisted... get stuffed Willem Drew - delisted... get stuffed Jack Gunston - to the Blimps Jake Carlisle - to the Vultures Stephen Hill - to the Chooks Shane Savage - to the Blimps Luke Brown - delisted... get stuffed Joining the team are: Rory Atkins - from the Blimps Bailey Dale - from the Blimps Harley Balic - from the Blimps Jayden Short - from the Vultures Tom Williamson - from the Chooks Aaron Francis - from the Chooks Andrew Brayshaw - taken at pick 3 in the 2018 preseason draft Jack Higgins - taken at pick 7 in the 2018 preseason draft Sam Hayes- taken at pick 13 in the 2018 preseason draft Zachary Bailey- taken at pick 16 in the 2018 preseason draft Andrew McPherson- taken at pick 25 in the 2018 preseason draft Bayley Fritsch- taken at pick 91 in the 2018 preseason draft The average age of the team has dropped from just under 23.5 to 21.4, making it the youngest team in the comp (according to ChiefBet). Whilst we are building to have a serious shot at the premiership in 3-4 years time, I am hopeful that we will give a fair few opponents this year a fright. We have invested in two project ruckman... Sean Darcy from last year who has shown great potential to date, and apparently the best ruckman from this years draft according to the experts in Sam Hayes... we just drafted him because we liked his hair! The Spelunkers were delighted to get Andrew Brayshaw and Jack Higgins with their first two draft picks, and Bayley Fritsch might be a steal at 91. Our best 15 is absolutely a work in progress, but it looks something like this: Defence: Oscar McDonald, Liam Duggan, Riley Bonner, Jayden Short Midfield: Zac Merrett, Marcus Bontempelli, Mark Blicavs, Rory Atkins Ruck: John CEGLAR Forward: Cale Hooker, Mitch McGovern, Sam Petrevski-Seton, Jack Lonie Bench: Andrew Brayshaw, Harley Balic Young Aaron Francis unfortunately has requested leave of absence from the club after only one week here... cave life is not for some but we hope he can deal with the lack of sunlight and adjust to life underground shortly. In terms of the future state, We are hoping that the Power give Riley Bonner a serious look in this year. and that Liam Duggan and Darcy Tucker take the next step across half back. SPS might have second year blues, but we are confident he is going to be a jet. Jack Lonie is another who needs to step up, but can he... interested to get the feedback from the guys who watch the Saints a bit more than I do (thoughts @dmandrews and @Len ?) Griffin Logue needs to show something as he is a bit of a right now. Jack Bowes and Ollie Florent will need at least another year I think. It's probably the last season for Cale Hooker and maybe John Ceglar. Overall, I'm expecting the club to be in the bottom 4... but I'm hoping we claim a few unexpected scalps during the year.
I don't believe Lonie will reach great heights tbh, he should become a good solid 80pt forward though
As a Saints supporter I would definitely take it if Jack Lonie could develop into an 80 point forward. Lonie was a fringe player at the Saints during 2017, being one of several Saints small forwards who were inaccurate in front of goal, however his defensive pressure was good. At VFL level in 2017 Lonie spent more time in the midfield and was able to average 25 disposals and 108 SC points a game. If Lonie does develop into an 80 point player at AFL level I think it would be in the midfield. I think he is more likely to average low 70’s or less playing as a forward for the Saints and the first challenge for the 21 year-old is to cement himself in the St Kilda team. Lonie didn’t play in JLT 2 against Melbourne and is unlikely to be in the Saints Round 1 team. Given the age-profile of the Charlies Opening list and some early draft picks likely to join the existing young talent at the club in the next year or two it might be difficult for Lonie to be a best 15 player at COS in three years time however Jack's performances during 2018 will have you better placed @Bandit to answer the question on whether he can step up.
Bit of a lacklustre performance from the Spelunkers on the weekend, getting spanked by nearly 500 points... not fielding a ruckman didn't help. Some encouraging signs from the likes of Bonner, Bowes and Fritsch. Sam Hayes might be in the frame at Port now Paddy is out, but I'm more hopeful than confident. Concerns around Zach's second concussion in 3 weeks... hopefully they rest him this week. Studs: Bonner, Hooker, Bowes Duds: Blitz, O Mac, Atkins Pit Boss Votes: Riley Bonner 5 Cale Hooker 4 Jack Bowes 3 Jayden Short 2 Sam Petrevski-Seton 1 Rising Star: Bonner 3 Fristch 2 Brayshaw 1
Got smashed by @snoz 's jumping insects on the weekend... Hopefully a couple of the guys yet to play get runs for their team this week, with Jack Higgins an emergency for the Tigers last week and Williamson, Ceglar, McPherson and Logue working their way back into fitness over the next month or so. Going to be a long year! Studs: The Bont, Zac Merrett Duds: Duggan, McGovern, Hooker Pit Boss Votes: The Bont 5 Merrett 4 SPS 3 Riley Bonner 2 Ollie Florent 1 Progressive: Marcus Bontempelli 9 Riley Bonner 7 Zac Merrett 4 Sam Petrevski-Seton 4 Cale Hooker 3 Jack Bowes 2 Oliver Florent 1 Rising Star: Bonner 3 (6) Brayshaw 2 (3) Fritsch 1 (3)
Another smashing by the cockies... onward and upward (eventually) Couple of rays of light, including Jack Higgins who was dropped this week... get stuffed Dimma Pit Boss Votes: The Bont 5 Blitz 4 Atkins 3 Mitch McGovern 2 Riley Bonner 1 Progressive: Marcus Bontempelli 14 Riley Bonner 8 Mark Blicavs 4 Zac Merrett 4 Sam Petrevski-Seton 4 Rory Atkins 3 Cale Hooker 3 Mitch McGovern 2 Jack Bowes 2 Oliver Florent 1 Rising star votes: Riley Bonner 3 (9) Jack Higgins 2 (2) Bailey Fritsch 1 (4) Rising Star Progressive Bonner 9 Fritsch 4 Brayshaw 3 Higgins 2
Hopefully Higgins gets another go at it very soon ... Butler is under a cloud, he might even be back this week.
The Spelunkers showed a little more promise this week... at least notching four tons and a four figure team score... but still recorded a fairly heavy loss to Venus Bay. A welcome return to form for Zac, and SPS is going through the second year blues. Pit Boss Votes: Zac Merrett 5 The Bont 4 Rory Atkins 3 Liam Duggan 2 Jayden Short 1 Progressive: Marcus Bontempelli 18 Zac Merrett 9 Riley Bonner 8 Rory Atkins 6 Mark Blicavs 4 Sam Petrevski-Seton 4 Cale Hooker 3 Mitch McGovern 2 Jack Bowes 2 Liam Duggan 2 Oliver Florent 1 Jayden Short 1 Rising star votes: Riley Bonner 3 Bailey Fritsch 2 Andrew Brayshaw 1 Rising Star Progressive Bonner 12 Fritsch 6 Brayshaw 4 Higgins 2
The Spelunkers were touched inappropriately by some marsupials last week... I think the fact their poo is cubed should raise concerns Pit Boss Votes: Zac Merrett 5 Rory Atkins 4 Jack Higgins 3 (I'm getting excited) Jayden Short 2 Oscar McDonald 1 for battling away in the ruck Progressive: Zac is making a massive run Marcus Bontempelli 18 Zac Merrett 14 Rory Atkins 10 Riley Bonner 8 Mark Blicavs 4 Sam Petrevski-Seton 4 Jack Higgins 3 Jayden Short 3 Cale Hooker 3 Mitch McGovern 2 Liam Duggan 2 Jack Bowes 2 Oscar McDonald 1 Oliver Florent 1 Rising star votes: Jack Higgins 3 Riley Bonner 2 Andrew Brayshaw 1 Rising Star Progressive Bonner 14 Fritsch 6 Brayshaw 5 Higgins 5
Hmmm, no thread update in 18 months... not ideal! With the loss against the Wagga Wagga Wombats on the weekend, the Spelunkers 2019 season has officially drawn to a close. Round by round this is how we went: Round 1: 170 point loss to the Lilacs @Jen : a debut for Nick Blakey. The Bont with a 158 Round 2: 143 point loss to the Codpieces @jimbowan : SPS and Bowes showing promise with tons Round 3: 437 point thumping by the Misfits @Len : Jayden Short went down with an ankle, Bowes another ton Round 4: 150 point win against the Nuffers @TheTassieHawk : Only 14 players, debut to Sydney Stack, Merrett with a 155, Bowes with a 98 Round 5: 111 point loss to the Incorrigibles @graeme : Merrett with a 137 Round 6: 173 point loss to the Warriors @TerryinBangkok : Rory Atkins sucking me in with a 95... he ain't all that Round 7: 226 point loss to the Vultures @Fitzy :The Bont with a 146, Stack with a ton Round 8 : 285 point loss to the Cockatoos @anthak : Merrett with a 129, debut to Tarryn Thomas Round 9 : 396 point decimation by the Chickens @ChiefRussell : Merrett the lone hand with a 121 Round 10: 343 point shellacing by the Devils @dmandrews : Tons to The Bont, Merrett and Higgins showing how poor the rest of the squad was Round 11: 236 point loss to the Wombats @Lenny120 : Stack with a ton, Bowes goes down injured... he was flying up until that point Mid season trade period: Griffin Logue (a draft selection, cut) and Will Walker (a trade, cut) and Todd Marshall (Trade, traded to Lefties) cut from the list, with Darcy Gardiner (from the Cows) Lachlan Murphy and Will Kelly coming in. Round 12: 115 point loss to the Wanderers @DaveH : The Bont and SPS with tons, Stack with a 98, debuts to MSD trades Lachlan Murphy and Darcy Gardiner Round 13: 50 point loss to the Battlers @JC : The Bont with 146, Stack and Fritsch with tons Round 14: 286 point loss to the Uglies @bama : Merrett 109, Atkins 126 the bloody tease Round 15 : 74 point loss to the Packers @Tracey : Merrett and Fritsch with tons Round 16 : 102 point win against the Lefties @That KI Guy : Bonner and The Bont with tons Round 17: 123 point loss to the Grasshoppers @snoz : The Bont with 166, Merrett and SPS with tons 1st round Zac Dawson : 134 point loss to the Wombats : Merrett and Ceglar with tons Pit Boss award : The Bont for 3 in a row, followed by Merrett, SPS, Bowes and Stack The rookie of the year : Sydney Stack wins it narrowly from Tarryn Thomas and Nick Blakey Highest average of players playing more than 5 games : The Bont (115) Lowest average of players playing more than 5 games : McGovern (47) The good (AFL not ORFFA stats): The Bont played every game for a 115 average and 12 tons Merrett played every game for a 106 average and 13 tons Jack Bowes finally came good, a 78 average with a 18 when he went down and a 43 in his comeback game, take those out and he is up to 85 in a shit side Sydney Stack : everything the press was saying during the draft said the kid was a jet, but risky due to off field commitment. I am stoked with an 80 average and 5 tons The not so good (AFL not ORFFA stats): Rory Atkins, played every game for 76 average. Top score of a 126, but 8 scores under 70 sums him up. Get stuffed Mitch McGovern : can't get a game in a Carlton side says it all. 47 average with a peak of 79. Tom Williamson : just can't get fit, this looks like a trade from a couple of season ago that won't pay off The light at the end of the tunnel: the first and second year list are showing some promising signs : Stack, Fritsch, Brayshaw, West, Florent, Higgins, Thomas, Murphy, Blakey all showing a bit. Still have 5 guys on the list yet to make their debut, but all highly regarded the average age of the list is 21.5, still very very young The shit that needs to be dealt with: Time for Atkins to move on, just not there for me, and as the second oldest player on my list, needed to show more Ceglar : if McEvoy goes around again he will struggle. if McEvoy retires, he might be very handy Williamson : can't carry his injury prone arse any more Pick 3 in the draft is interesting, but not sure it is as highly prized as this years. Might trade it Looking forward to the post season cull.... might have Atkins over for a nice chianti
Nice summary there @Bandit Once the 2020 trade period starts we can talk regarding your asking price for pick 3.