Masterbaiters (MASTERS) FB Lachie Plowman ------ Michael Jamison ----- Sam Fisher HB Andrew Walker ------- Alipate Carlile ------- Nick Vlastuin C Harley Bennell -------- David Zaharakis ----- Toby Greene HF Stewart Crameri ----- Patty Ryder --------- Allen Christensen FF Luke Dahlhaus ------- Jon Patton --------- Travis Varcoe R Brodie Grundy -------- Luke Ball ------------ Jack Viney Deary me. Utterly shocking side. Not only are there no A-grade mids, at this stage it is a stretch (though Bennell is getting close) to say there's silver-tier mids either. Can see the midfield getting exposed on a regular basis. There isn't a pure crumber, and Patton/Crameri are sub-par forward line leaders. If there are pluses, it is that the defence barring Plowman is pretty decent and the ruck stocks looks reasonable. But yeah, this isn't good. Prediction: Will be surprised if they don't spoon again. Only Benny can really prevent him from "winning" the spoon.
The Bogan Moths (Jackenny) FB: B. Reilly D. Merrett C. Garland HB: N. Maxwell J. Gibson G. Ibbotson C: D. Jackson D. Martin S. Wellingham HF: C. Wingard T. Hawkins M. Stokes FF: J. Winderlich C. Dawes C. Sylvia R: A. Sandilands L. Hodge O. Wines IC: T. Mzungu E. Wood J. Ceglar SUB: R. Lester Hmmm. Well their forward line looks pretty damn good - their smalls are creative and versatile, and Hawkins is a fine spearhead. Elsewhere though I do have concerns. This side seems to lack a really good small defender, and a real 2nd key defender - Gibson and Garland are too small to really take on defenders, and Maxwell generally plays a third man up style role. The midfield is average, personally - it lacks an elite mid and the depth is a tad concerning, though with Sandilands in the ruck it should at least receive silver service from the tap. Prediction: They won't be awful, but I doubt they'll push for promotion, either. Classic sort of also-rans side.
Berserkers (KATA) B: M Johnson - Z Dawson - J Adcock (c) HB: R Murphy - R Schoenmakers - T McKenzie C: L Montagna - K Jack - N Dal Santo HF: S Higgins - T Lynch - J Howe FF: J Green - J Waite - S Mayes R: M Leuenberger - J Lewis - D Shiel Int: F Ray - D Rampe - B Sewell Sub: J Murdoch This on the other hand actually looks pretty good, though there are areas of criticism. Most AFL fans on the internet would lol at the thought of a Dawson/Schoenmakers KPD combo, though I don't think they're that bad, really. Right now at least it probably lacks a true spearhead, and in the starting 22 I don't know who would be a 2nd ruck. The midfield while pretty damn good on paper also may be missing a truly elite mid, although I guess that would apply for a lot of sides. But really, the 22 at least on paper should do a lot better than 14th this season. Prediction: Will challenge for promotion/a finals spot at least. Looks a lot better than it performed last season.
Chokers FC (Harps/whoever replaces him) B: Aaron Mullett - Sam Frost - David Myers HB: Sam Mitchell - Matt Maguire - Shaun Atley C: Bradley Hill - Marc Murphy - Isaac Smith HF: Robbie Gray - Jonathan Brown - Robin Nahas F: Jeff Garlett - Aaron Black - Josh Walker R: Hamish McIntosh - Andrew Swallow - Jack Redden Int: Andrew Gaff - Liam Shiels - Shaun Grigg - Sam Gibson Wow. Most imbalanced side in CPL? A very strong midfield with crazy amounts of depth, but alas this has meant that his KPP's are awful. Probably the worst in the competition, very likely the worst defence overall in the competition. If sides can - and it's a biggish can - get on top of the midfield, then they'll get hammered. Will have trouble when the ball is in the opposition 50. Prediction: They'll win a fair proportion of games, but there'll be games where the results get ugly. Won't have the consistency required to get promoted.
The Mighty Heefs (Heef) FB: Mark Baguley - Ted Richards - Andrew Mackie HB: Nick Haynes - Lachlan Keeffe - Matthew Jaensch M: Pearce Hanley - Rory Sloane - Ben Cunnington HF: Jamie Elliott - Cameron Pedersen - Chris Masten FF: David Hale - Jack Riewoldt - Rohan Bewick R: Dean Cox - Daniel Rich - Stephen Coniglio INT: Andrejs Everitt, Jack Newnes, Koby Stevens, Cam Sutcliffe (SUB) An interesting one. For the most part, this lineup is pretty decent. The midfield is strong, the backline seems to be pretty reasonable, and a Cox/Hale ruck combo should be pretty damn good. But I just feel there's something holding them back. The forward line, for mine seems to be lacking - I feel it needs an extra pure goalkicker, I think the backline might need an extra touch of class (I guess Hanley could fill in here with trades) and it just feels like the line-up lacks....something. Prediction: Should be competitive and they will do well, but ultimately I feel they'll be a tad short of promotion.
Smooth Movers (Jimmy) FB: Alan Toovey - Tom Lonergan - Jarryn Geary HB: Josh Caddy - Jordan Roughead - Paul Seedsman C: Dyson Heppell - Josh P Kennedy - Kade Simpson HF: Alex Fasolo - Sam Reid - Bernie Vince FF: Jeremy Cameron - Travis Cloke - Paul Puopolo Foll: Ivan Maric - Travis Boak -Andrew Raines Inter: Jarrod Witts - Ben Kennedy - Matt Jones - Kane Mitchell Probably last years big underachievers, these guys have a lot of pluses. The big one is the tall forward line - having both Cameron and Cloke is h4x, and Reid makes for a strong 3rd tall as well, a midfield containing Kennedy, Heppell and Boak (with Vince and Simpson giving solid depth) should be strong, and Lonergan is a strong tall defender. There are however some flaws. I'm less than convinced about their small backs and forwards, and I think they may struggle for rebound. None of Reid, Cameron or Cloke can really ruck which is a concern if you're playing all 3 - it might make your side look too big - and the general depth feels kinda worrying IMO. Prediction: They probably should be promoted, but there are enough flaws here that could cost them. Will be interesting to watch.
Bearded Ninjas (Hen) Code: FB: J. Laidler D. Talia J. Patfull HB: M. Broadbent E. Mackenzie C. Guthrie C: C. Jones S. Burgoyne L. Greenwood HF: B. McGlynn S. Day P. Dangerfield FF: T. West J. Schulz D. Smith R: T. Goldstein D. Hannebery J. Ziebell INT: L. Dunstan T. Goldsack D. Cassisi SUB: H. Cunningham There's definitely a lot to recommend here. Their defence looks borderline impenetrable - Talia and Mackenzie are among the best 5 key defenders in the game, and Patfull has no peer in the 3rd tall role. Schulz makes for a good spearhead, and their smalls looks pretty good. Their midfield is more interesting though. Dangerfield and Hannebury are clearly guns, but the rest of them aren't quite so good. If one of them has a bad day and/or gets tagged out, the side could struggle. Their small defenders also feel iffy IMO. Prediction: Probably one of the main contenders for promotion. I think they could be prone to off-days though.
If I had to do a Div 2 ladder: 1. Smooth Movers 2. Bearded Ninjas 3. Berserkers 4. Mighty Heefs 5. Chokers 6. Bogan Moths 7. The Exclusives 8. Bock Spiders 9. Masterbaiters
Erect Flyers (Jabba) FB: Dunn Lake Hibberd HB: Harbrow McDonald Lumumba C: Sidebottom Cross Stanton HF: Goodes Franklin Blair FF: Matera Roughead Breust R: Lobbe Selwood McVeigh I: Pears McLean M Thomas S: Yeo Wowee. Now this looks good. Certainly the big plus is the forward line - any forward line containing Franklin and Roughead will go good, and Breust and Matera are good smalls. Add Goodes as a mobile 3rd tall to top it off and it will be hard to beat. The backline also looks pretty damn good - Hibberd has a case of being the best small defender in the game, and the others are all seriously good players. Is there anything stopping this lineup? Yes IMO. For mine, the midfield lacks a real star and isn't very well balanced - the players are either too outside (Sidebottom, Stanton, McVeigh) or too inside (McLean, Thomas, Cross). Compared to most sides it probably lacks a strong balanced sort of mid. It's probably a minor concern, but it still makes me feel somewhat cautious about calling this the obvious premiers or something. Prediction: A definite premiership contender. I think the midfield concerns are minor-ish and are more than cancelled out by the elite other lines.
Cornhusslers (El Nino) FB: Mark Blicavs Phil Davis Chris Newman HB: Corey Enright Troy Chaplin Brodie Smith C: Richard Douglas Callan Ward Adam Cooney HF: Jake Melksham Nick Riewoldt Paul Chapman FF: Aaron Edwards James Podsiadly Jon Giles R: Ben McEvoy Joel Selwood Nathan Jones INT: Josh Thomas Shane Savage Tom Langdon SUB: Ricky Petterd Interesting side. The strengths here are pretty clear - Selwood, Ward and Jones makes for a formidable midfield, Enright and Smith are top class small defenders and Riewoldt is a pretty good spearhead. But there are some concerns. I don't particularly care for their key defenders, they aren't terrible or anything but they definitely aren't as good as most, and their backline in general seems too attacking. Their small forwards are also iffy - Chapman is class but is old and injury prone and the rest seem meh. I don't really like Giles and McEvoy as tap ruckmen and the depth feels kinda iffy. Prediction: The side is far from terrible, but I don't really think it'll do all that much. Will probably be in a relegation battle.
