In this blog we will have a brief look at the previous and upcoming rounds of the AFL. In round 9, who's performances stood out for the right or wrong reasons and which players made the GDS Squad of the round. With round 10 not too far away, who should coaches consider starting and which players have positive matchups. Have a read below and gain an edge over your competition in GameDay Squad Aussie Rules! Let us know your thoughts on who we have down below on all of our social channels: twitter, facebook, instagram, discord.
GDS Squad of the week for round 9
Def- Oliver Florent – 159 - Syd
Def- Ed Richards – 156 - WB
Def- Nick Daicos – 149 - Coll
Def- Mason Redman – 144 - Ess
Def- Nassiah Wanganeen-Milera – 142 – St K
Def- Alex Witherden – 134 - WC
Def- Jake Lloyd – 134 - Syd
Mid- Adam Treloar – 183 - WB
Mid- Sam Walsh – 163 - Carl
Mid- Christian Petracca – 162 - Mel
Mid- Zak Butters – 157 - Port
Mid- Riley Bonner – 153 – St K
Mid- Jack Crisp – 145 - Coll
Ruck- Rowan Marshall – 192 – St K
Ruck- Lloyd Meek – 134 - Haw
Fwd- James Harmes – 161 - WB
Fwd- Aaron Naughton – 132 - WB
Fwd- Dayne Zorko – 131 - Bris
Fwd- Zac Fisher – 130 - NM
Fwd- Alex Neal-Bullen – 126 - Mel
Fwd- Isaac Heeney – 125 - Syd
Fwd- Izak Rankine – 124 - Ade
Squad Base Total – 3236 GDS points
The performance of the week
Rowan Marshall vs Hawthorn Hawks
In what was one of the most disappointing games of the season for St Kilda, there was one pillar who stood tall and still put in a huge performance to be our top GameDay Squad scorer of the round.
Rowan Marshall scored an incredible 192 GDS points matching up against Hawthorns Lloyd Meek which was a surprisingly even contest. It wasn’t his ruck work that was impressive though. It was his work around the ground that helped secured his award of performance of the week. He managed 28 disposals including 24 kicks and a massive 11 tackles which is very handy for a ruck selection.
This week Marshall will come up against Fremantle which could go one of two ways. When Sean Darcy plays for Freo they tend to be a difficult player for opposition ruckmen to score against. However, when he’s out, on average they are one of the better teams to score against. I suggest keeping an eye on the lineups this week to see if Darcy is returning from his calf tightness and make your selections accordingly.
The flop of the week
Harry Sheezel vs Gold Coast Suns
Up until round 7, Harry Sheezel was the highest averaging player in the competition and a must start in every side but in the last two weeks he’s had a dramatic shift in form scoring just 100 against St Kilda and 82 against Gold Coast.
It seems harsh calling out a second-year player for two disappointing scores that were still above 80 but we’ve come to expect so much more from the young superstar. At the end of the day we only have 7 spots for defenders and a lot of quality options pushing for our attention.
He only found the ball 21 times which is well below his average, often nowhere to be found. When he did find the ball, he looked out of sorts with 1 in 3 disposals resulting in a turnover. What was also concerning is the fact that he spent a majority of the game in his forward half which is not where you want to be in a 68 point loss.
Although he will no doubt finish as one of the top GameDay Squad defender this season, I would seriously question his position as an automatic starter for our sides going forward. He comes up against Essendon this week who are currently the 3rd hardest team to score against for his position so I will personally be giving him the week off.
Round 10 Team to Beat
Def-Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (St K)–GDS average of 117.67 and positional ranking of 6th
Def- Dan Houston – (Port) – GDS average of 109 and positional ranking of 12th
Def- Nick Daicos – (Coll) – GDS average of 123.78 and positional ranking of 3rd
Def- Jack Sinclair – (St K) – GDS average of 110.88 and positional ranking of 9th
Def- Luke Ryan – (Fre) – GDS average of 127 and positional ranking of 2nd
Def- Liam Duggan – (WC) – GDS average of 119 and positional ranking of 4th
Def- Hayden Young– (Fre) – GDS average of 116.67 and positional ranking of 7th
Mid- Zach Merrett – (Ess) – GDS average of 132.67 and positional ranking of 3rd
Mid- Zak Butters – (Port) – GDS average of 126.56 and positional ranking of 8th
Mid- Caleb Serong – (Fre) – GDS average of 132.67 and positional ranking of 4th
Mid- Jordon Dawson - (Ade) – GDS average of 130.89 and positional ranking of 5th
Mid- Nic Martin – (Ess) – GDS average of 133.78 and positional ranking of 2nd
Mid- Josh Dunkley– (Bris) – GDS average of 128.33 and positional ranking of 7th
Ruck- Max Gawn – (Mel) – GDS average of 135.22 and positional ranking of 1st
Ruck- Rowan Marshall – (St K) – GDS average of 130.11 and positional ranking of 2nd
Fwd- Bradley Hill– (St K) – GDS average of 101.78 and positional ranking of 7th
Fwd- Dayne Zorko – (Bris) – GDS average of 135.78 and positional ranking of 1st
Fwd- Liam Baker – (Rich) – GDS average of 102.14 and positional ranking of 6th
Fwd- Isaac Heeney – (Syd) – GDS average of 131 and positional ranking of 2nd
Fwd- Sam Flanders – (GC) – GDS average of 128.44 and positional ranking of 3rd
Fwd- Luke Jackson – (Fre) – GDS average of 90 and positional ranking of 25th
Fwd- Gryan Miers– (Geel) – GDS average of 107.33 and positional ranking of 4th
Good week to start…
Josh Dunkley (Brisbane Lions)
Josh Dunkley looks to be back to his 2022 Western Bulldogs form and it’s a beautiful thing to watch. He currently sits as the 7th highest averaging midfielder for the season, as well as having the highest 3 game average of 140 GameDay Squad points.
He faces Richmond at home this week which is great for three reasons. Firstly, he loves playing at the Gabba. Dunkley is the highest averaging midfielder in the competition at that ground this season by a fair bit. This is partially due to scoring 175 there in round 8.
Secondly, he’s playing against Richmond who give up the most points to opposition midfielders of all the teams this season. They have conceded 120 points or more a total of 36 times in 8 games which is insane.
Thirdly, Dunkley averages 32 more points when Brisbane win compared to when they lose. Richmond have managed just 1 win this season and that looks unlikely to change any time soon. Brisbane have also been struggling but that doesn’t stop them being the firm favourites.
Expected GDS Score: 155 GDS fantasy points
Good week to drop…
Sam Walsh (Carlton Blues)
How good is it to see this guy finally getting some consistent football under his belt and showing us what he’s capable of! He’s currently sitting as the highest averaging player in the game since returning in round 5 thanks to his high disposal, high tackling game style.
So, based on that it seems crazy to sit him out this week right? Maybe, but there are a few reasons why I think he’ll have a slower week than normal this round.
Walsh is playing against Sydney this week which is bad news from a scoring point of view. Sydney gives up the second least GameDay squad points to oppositions only behind Port Adelaide.
This season Sydney have restricted some elite midfielders to disappointing scores including Miller (117), Brayshaw (113), Petracca (99), Kelly (94) and Anderson (78).
The second reason I would think twice about playing Walsh is the fact that Sydney’s game style tend to make it hard to score in the ways Walsh normally thrives. They are one of the lowest teams at conceding tackles and players have below the average number of possessions when they come up against them.
Overall, Walsh may still do alright but there are plenty of other midfielders with much more favourable upsides this round.
Expected GDS Score: 115 GDS fantasy points
