Phillip "Molly" Malone is one of the most prolific Web pundits on Aussie Rules footy with his blog Mollyzine and podcast Molly's Monday Machination. He's an engineer and a Hawk fan, and you'll see his name everywhere.
#47: Round 19 2008, live on Talkshoe
This week we’ve got the Olympic fever, and we aren’t even breathing Beijing air. Stephanie Rice is our Bubble Girl of the Week, or maybe that should be Watercube Girl…
Once the round review is underway, we start with Addam Maric and Austin Wonaeamirri. However, we’re no sooner started the review than m0nty gets sidetracked into a long discussion of who everyone chose as replacements for Heath Shaw and Alan Didak, who were the two most popular outs last week. Winners of that battle were Brent Guerra, Lance Franklin and Andrew Mackie.
Back to the round review, and Molly opines on the performance of the entire Geelong team against Sydney this week, seeing as they’re everyone’s fantasy bogey team, with particular reference to the captain options in the midfield engine room.
Andrew Walker is mulled over, then the Power ruck committee is looked at with Brendon Lade on his last legs and Dean Brogan vying with Fabian Deluca for time on ground in the future TOG-share.
It’s a short Hawk Talk this week with only Clinton Young covered, but the Hawks game gets a fair working over with the advent of the "double cluster" - Brisbane taking a leaf out of Hawthorn’s book by deploying a rolling zone of their own in Launceston on the weekend, with fascinating results. The fantasy implications of what could be a very important tactical shift in the AFL are looked at from every angle.
Small forwards Leon Davis and Adam Schneider are canvassed, while the struggles of Ryan O’Keefe and Brett Kirk are assessed.
The Fremantle backline is worth looking at again, with fantasy yo-yos David Mundy, Roger Hayden, Michael Johnson and Luke McPharlin all combed over for 2009 value.
The aging Brent Harvey is given the once-over for ‘09, while the Bulldogs have been down of late with Daniel Cross, Adam Cooney and Robert Murphy all slowing down after hot fantasy starts to the season. Ryan Griffen is also inspected for a mooted move to the backline.
Fantasy coaches everywhere are hoping that Simon Goodwin becomes forward-eligible in fantasy comps next year, which makes him worthy of consideration as a starter next year.
Jordan McMahon and Brett Deledio are gauged as late-season captain prospects - especially against the aforementioned cluster.
m0nty gets to bash up his favourite spud Ashley Hansen again by talking up Ben McKinley and Josh J. Kennedy, with an excursion into Quinten Lynch land. Finally, Angus Monfries‘ good last fortnight is examined with a view to next year.
The Premium Dream Team competition is coming down to tin tacks, especially for those in the running for the major cash prizes on offer. m0nty has a tale about the leader in the league competition, victigers, which mysteriously lost 400 of its 600-point lead with a late amendment to the Web site after the game had opened on Sunday night. Subterfuge and skulduggery aplenty!
Finally in a hurried captain segment, Kane Cornes is endorsed, as is Molly’s boy Scott Thompson along with several other usual suspects.