My opinion on the remaining players: DEF: Hodge, Shaw, Montagna on field and Tuohy emergency. When in doubt going with the experienced premiums here. Could certainly see Tuohy over Montagna though. McDonald's role is too undefined to be picked confidently. MID: Bont, Pendles, Danger, Selwood - lets include the known premiums. I think it's good policy to also pick the players in form, which means Kelly, Hannebery, Cripps and Viney are in. Murphy has had a big week off the field so it's hard to know what he will do, may be up for an emergency spot. JPK and Cotchin stiff to miss out. RUC: Stef, Mummy. Grundy emergency. Next. FWD: Heeney has exploded this year and I imagine will be a staple for the East team for 10 years. Macrae and Dahlhaus are rolled gold, and Nanky is dominating all comers currently. Steele also picks himself on recent form. The last forward is definitely the hardest to pick I think, and still don't know who is best. Higgins has been solid all year and we can depend on him for a good score. Walker is the risky pick, with a fired up Adelaide taking on the Lions. Stevens will first need to be named for the Saints, but in the 2 games he has played his stats show he is pure midfield. Can we really trust Sam Reid, even if Swans are back? Riewoldt at GWS away is interesting given all their injury problems, maybe the Tiges can get across the line. Petracca is probably the biggest X-factor we can use. All that being said I guess I'll nominate Walker as our 6th forward because of the gambler in me, and Higgins as the emergency.
I was just having a look atthis thread to see who we're gonna beat and came across this little gem: Nice observation kash
For what it is worth these are my thoughts. Defenders - no argument on the top 6, neither Montagna or Tuohy did themselves any favours over the weekend. I would have said that Tuohy was slightly in front until his last game but going with the more consistent and experienced Montagna seems like a good approach. No argument with the Ruck & Mid contingent. It is a shame some good midfielders are missing out but I think @thokash has found our best 8 . In terms of forwards no argument on the first 5. But I agree with @Len re Higgins. He makes me nervous every week - never sure what he is going to produce. I would also be inclined to put Stevens into F6 ahead of Walker back the rest of the team to do the job and look for a solid score at F6 rather than gambling on a big score and risking another 24.
Looks like everyone survives selection. Stevens straight back in, and I'm certainly happy enough to back him at F6. It means we have 4 Saints playing, do we want to pick Tuohy over Montagna for team diversity?
DEFENDERS Sam Docherty DDB 114 Dylan ROBERTON NKB 105 Zachary Williams CBA 97 Leigh Montagna MIW 93 Luke HODGE RGF 91 Heath Shaw CBA 89 Zach TUOHY MIW 90 (EMG) MIDFIELDERS Marcus Bontempelli 29ers 121 Patrick Dangerfield DDB 112 Scott Pendlebury RGF 109 Joel Selwood 29ers 108 Josh Kelly CBA 109 Patrick Cripps MCG 101 Daniel Hannebery JJD 100 Jack Viney 29ers 98 Marc Murphy CBA 117 (EMG) RUCKS Stefan Martin RGF 109 Shane Mumford DDB 103 Brodie Grundy JJD 91 (EMG) FORWARDS Isaac Heeney MCG 107 Jackson Macrae RGF 106 Luke DAHLHAUS NKB 103 Toby Nankervis* NKB 103 Koby STEVENS MIW 102 Jack Steele CBA 94 Taylor Walker DDB 90 (EMG) Any objections to this final team then? Does look a bit weird with Murphy on the bench with his average that high, anyone want to nominate a mid he could replace? I think I'm getting turned off playing a key forward due to their up and down weeks, did we want Higgins as emergency instead or go with someone like Petracca?
@thokash you are asking me to make an impossible choice, almost like choosing a favourite child. Both teams have potentially tough games, so not much help there. Last night I said that Montagna was in my opinion a slightly better choice and I was also more willing to nominate him initially. I still think he is the one to go for.
Alright Joey is in, I just edited my above post as to not spam the thread as much. Looks like we are locked and loaded. Plenty on show tonight even without Tuohy, will probably get a good feel for how we are going after tonight alone. Bont Danger Selwood Dahlhaus Macrae
Best to post the final team in the rep game thread @thokash, then post a running tally for both teams throughout the weekend if anyone can be bothered.