The bye rounds are done, the ladder is taking shape, and every Tom, Dick, and Harry is giving their opinion about who the GOAT is, who is the best this year, and who should be in their side. I’ve left mine as late as possible because, well, we know you come here for the best!
To refresh your memories after a four-week hiatus, here’s how the round 11 pre-bye team looked:
FB: Charlie Ballard, Harris Andrews, Callum Wilkie
HB: Nick Daicos, Darcy Moore, Tom Stewart
C: Errol Gulden, Tim Taranto, Josh Daicos
HF: Izak Rankine, Jeremy Cameron, Toby Greene
FF: Charlie Cameron, Charlie Curnow, Tom Hawkins
Foll: Sean Darcy, Zak Butters, Jordan Dawson
Int: Jack Sinclair, Marcus Bontempelli, Noah Anderson, Brody Mihocek, Matthew Rowell (sub)
The byes have been illuminating. We’ve seen some players continue their form, others have wavered, while others have taken charge … and then some have benefitted from playing West Coast. So, I am instituting a West Coast weighting; especially for those who play them twice.
A big part of this team is the eye test. A smaller part is the stats. All of these players are worthy of selection.
I guess I should stop stalling and dragging this out. *cue drum roll* here’s the Mongrel Punt’s Rolling All-Australian Team following Round Fifteen.
FB: Charlie Ballard, Harris Andrews, Dan Houston
HB: Nick Daicos, Darcy Moore, Tom Stewart
C: Errol Gulden, Tim Taranto, Nic Martin
HF: Christian Petracca, Nick Larkey, Toby Greene
FF: Charlie Cameron, Taylor Walker, Tom Hawkins
Foll: Tim English, Zak Butters, Jordan Dawson
Int: Jack Sinclair, Marcus Bontempelli, Josh Daicos, Jack Lukosius, Gryan Miers (sub)
The Changes
You’re all smart enough to work out who has been dropped, and who has bashed down the door.
There are some watch’s for this side – Nick Daicos deserves his place in the side, however, not as a midfielder. If he continues to play on ball for the rest of this year, he may lose his place.
Jack Lukosius and Gryan Miers are left-field, I know, and others don’t have them. But that’s why you come to the Mongrel Punt for the good stuff. These two are high in score involvements in 2023, and are vital to how their teams are playing. They may not be household names, but, in some ways, they should be for their influence thus far this year.
Jeremy Cameron loses his place for a period of quiet weeks – this is why you shouldn’t have a baby during the season. The correlation to the birth of his baby and his form slump is one I’m surprised that the tin foil hat wearers haven’t jumped on yet. Charlie Curnow loses his place for the same reason sans child. Their form has wavered, and the form of the Texan (even when his perfect 10 cops the West Coast weighting) and Nick Larkey warrant their selection.
Josh Daicos is stiff to lose his starting place, but Errol and Nic have been great to watch and incredibly damaging. It’s a three-horse race and we should all be celebrating the fact that three genuine wingmen are in the side.
Trac just scrapes in on the HFF, but like Naicos, his move to predominantly on-ball has him hanging on … just.
The Watch List
So, what about the players not selected? Every Tom, Dick, and Harry wants their favourite player picked, but we can only select 23.
James Sicily was in the frame and then got banned for a legal tackle. He could get there, if he finishes the year well, but he’s coming from a long way back with the likes of Callum Wilkie, Jack Payne, and Isaac Quaynor in front of him.
Another Hawk in the frame is Dylan Moore. The diminutive tough guy, yes, that’s a thing, has been great in the front half for the Hawks and is essential to how they play.
Joe Daniher and Oscar Allen are in the frame. The exploits of Tex, Larkey’s consistency in a not great side, and the all-round ability of Tom Hawkins are keeping them at bay. So, they just need to keep bashing the door down and kicking goals.
Stephen Coniglio is another who has impressed. He is generating many scoring opportunities for his teammates, and having an impact around the ball. After a couple of sub-par seasons, Cogs is playing some really good footy.
That’s all for this week. Let us know your thoughts – and I’m putting a caveat on that. Don’t just list someone who should be in/out, list who they replace/replaces them and why.
Stay tuned on our socials and find out future changes.
You can buy Jimmy a coffee for his efforts if you like? He puts in the hard yards to bring you these free reviews… and he does like a coffee.
Hit the link below and give Jimmy his caffeine fix.
Or, you could join The Mongrel as a member and leave the mainstream echo chamber behind
