Too early for this kind of thread? It's never too early. Geofantasy questions are always pertinent, and with one of the leagues stakeholders bitching about the lack of timely content I've decided that my over-flowing jug of benevolence could sustain me pouring him a glass and obliging.
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[span style='font-size: 16px;]POPANYINNING PYRITE
0 and 2 and looking like the injury bus didn't merely run them over, but through the clutch into reverse to go back for second and third helpings of grievous bodily harm. Andrew Swallow and Zac Clarke are the big ones, leaving the Pyrite to sit DEF's and FWD's on the IC - rarely a first choice strategy.
Defence aside - which remains something of an Ibbotson's heel for Popanyinning, their team isn't in too bad a shape. Plenty of depth it's just being tested right now, FTR most teams would struggle losing 2 out of their top5 most valuable players. I hold to my preseason contention that the 'Yinning are a middle 6 side, they've just copped a bit of hard luck of late.
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[span style='font-size: 16px;]COULTA COULDABEENS
To put in bluntly, the Couldabeens are a couple of cans short of a six pack. Don't mistake me, I'm not besmirching the cognitive faculties of their esteemed coach, just co-opting an analogy to describe the state of their list. Jack Martin aside, their A-Team is gracing the park in full. And they're getting trounced.
If Trent West is an R1 then Geelong have clearly messed up their list management strategies. But they haven't because he's not. And with Lobbe heading up Port's ruck division, Coulta back-up Jarrad Redden (who?!) doesn't look like he'll be getting a call up anytime soon. When you couple this with a midfield that runs into Matt Jones (who?! - Ed - He's a poor man's Rohan Bail) at M4 you have a Couldabeen list that still requires extensive restoration in order to be competitive on a regular basis. And that won't get another opportunity until the mid season break. Bottom 6 and levitating there.
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[span style='font-size: 16px;]QUEENSTOWN QUOLLS
I'm kind of surprised to see Queenstown down in these reaches of the ladder. More surprised still at the composition of the players that have stood up for them and those that have let them down. Preseason I would have wagered that the Quolls FWD line would have been one of their strong suits and yet Dixon and Howe - both solid contributors last year, have been Pittman-esque in the opening weeks. On the flip side it's TradeRapeTendai and tagging specialist Ed Curnow who have been knocking out consistent 100's. It's a funny old game.
With Mitchell and Walker back this week I predict that Queenstown will steady the ship and climb into the middle reaches of the ladder by seasons end. If it wasn't for their lack of midfield depth, they could arguably have a fair crack at the top6 this year (Kruezer going down for half the year has helped them enormously in this respect). I just don't see Curnow and Mzungu keeping their averages above 100 in their M4-5 positions and that will cost them in the long run.
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[span style='font-size: 16px;]GLENROWAN GUNSLINGERS
Not putting in a team last week cost the Gunslingers mightily, because this is a year they could break out and move into the middle 6 bracket and possibly higher with a bit of luck. Mumford is fit, downing sausages and smashing opposition rucks and little people at GWS. Beams is back playing footy and accumulating the pill, and Abrtel manages to score points no matter where you put him on the field. O'Meara continues on where he left off last season, while Smith and Dahlhaus show all the signs of elevating their games to the top 10% for their positions. Or near enough too.
Sure, they've just seen Hurn join RICKY on the sidelines which dilutes their defensive strength by quite a margin. And sure Hannebery has fallen in with the wrong crowd and Zeibell still can't run out games. Doesn't matter, the tide of points is in their favour and I still think they are a likely participant in this year's final series for the first time in their history. Which makes me smile considering they finished ded last about 18 months ago.
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[span style='font-size: 16px;]BONNIE DOON BANDITS
If Popanyinning's injury list can be likened to a hospital ward, Bonnie Doon's is akin to a morgue. Out of a list of 26 they have only 14 players that have graced the field so far. Given that we have to play 15 each week, that puts the Bandits at something of a disadvantage. And yet they managed to knock off last year's runner up the weekend previous. How'd they do it? Courage and pluck I'm telling ya.
Sure, Gwilt seems to have recaptured his 2011 (or was it 2010?) form at last (bearing in mind St. Kilda's soft opening brace of games) and Coniglio has stepped up his form - along with his teammates at GWS, from his previous 2 years of output. Which he was always going to if you watched his U18's year in 2011. Wellingham, Masten and Grundy have also been solid if unspectacular.
In the end though, Bonnie Doon have a long road ahead of them. THey just don't have the cattle even when they do return to seriously be in the race for finals action this year. This was only compounded by Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-esque list management that saw the Bandits turn 3 1st round picks into a 31 yo past-it midfielder, a 26 yo never-was forward and a player that's already left the AFL system. I don't mean to be harsh in pointing this out, it's just that it comes so naturally to me.
Bottom 6 for mine, but top6 in terms of my favourite teams. Drunk drafting is something I haven't seen since notorious soak John Elliot helped Carlton acquire Murray Vance, Trent Sporn and Luke Livingston at the turn of the millennia. I miss it.
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[span style='font-size: 16px;]MERTON MEERKATS
Merton, Merton, Merton. It's commonly thought that so go Richmond, so goes the Meerkats. But how true is that assumption? I've not done, and shan't do, any extensive research into the matter, but from my eye when the Tiges play well it's outside ball hogs in Deledio, Ellis and Houli who wind up with the largesse of points. And guess who they play for? That's right, not Merton.
Coach/list manager/el presidente SCSS's decision to trade out 1st round PSD picks over the years has essentially robbed him of picking up the new crop of Tigers that will be replacing original draft bargain Shane Tuck's points. This leaves Merton with essentially a 2 man midfield of Cotchin and Scott Selwood and nothing up and coming on the horizon (I'm sorry but I still don't rate GRIGG, at least not as an adequate M3).
On the plus side though, afore mentioned SCSS seems to have a knack for acquiring really good DEF's at bargain basement prices. Dunn's penchant for disturbing facial accoutrements covers up the fact that he's a really good scorer, while Hampton looks certain to break out at least into the low 80's this year - Merton piggy backing on the 2 years of development he had down in Poowong.
Still, I think Merton is a middle 6 list at best and on the slide unless they can pull out some list management miracles in the near future. Which I wouldn't put beyond them really.
Please feel free to pot the author of the article below. You can criticise my prose; my premiership cups won't be able to read it.