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We’re all awake and ready to go from the off this week, eight full games to chew over and it’s a long show!

Before we start on the players, we talk about lead changes in the major competitions, including the demotion of media darling Jonathan and his Collingwood team off the #1 spot in Dream Team down to fourth, the ascension of chookadelic to the top of the Yahoo comp with his squad All Guns Blazing EDT, and the narrowing lead enjoyed by Lewis Nguyen with his Lewis EDT team over at Fox Sports. (M0nty forgets to mention that Lewis’ brother is leading the LG competition and stands to win a nice plasma TV!)

In the round review, first off we discuss the changing fantasy fortunes of Bryce Gibbs, Nick Stevens and Marc Murphy in the Blues midfield. Lenny Hayes is a media favourite this week, and we also discuss Jason Gram, Robert Eddy, David Armitage and Rhyce Shaw.

The injuries to Brett Burton and Jason Porplyzia mean that we have to discuss the Adelaide forward structure, so that means covering Nathan Bock, Simon Goodwin, Kurt Tippett, Scott Thompson, Nick Gill, Trent Hentschel, James Sellar and Taylor Walker.

Andrew McLeod, Darren Milburn, Tom Lonergan, Rhys Palmer, Garrick Ibbotson, Brent Stanton, Mark McVeigh, Scott Lucas, Daniel Bradshaw, Nathan Lonie and Ben Ross are all canvassed.

In a slightly longer Hawk Talk this week, we fawn over Jarryd Morton, Cyril Rioli, Cameron Stokes, Mitch Thorp and Lance Franklin.

Back to the other teams, and it’s Adam Goodes, Robert Murphy, Josh Hill, Brad Green, Stefan Martin, Brett Jones, Adam Hunter, Scott Selwood and Trent Cotchin on the dissection table.

After the captain choice segment, we take an extremely hard look at the Super Coach team of Herald-Sun football writer Mike Sheahan, Sheahan’s stars, which came 56th this week. Not a very pretty backline, that one!

Finally, we go through the Dream Team of Coaches Box chat regular happy_eagle, who ran out of trades this week. happy_eagle is also a big name at the BigFooty forum due to his membership of the No Passengers group who pontificate on fantasy matters in special threads on the DT sub-forum. We discuss his trades and his final team, and try not to go too hard on the boy!

 

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Wake up! Yes, it has been awfully boring this week with only two games of AFL to watch, but m0nty and Molly are back to talk fantasy footy.

In a curtailed round review, the boys discuss Chris Knights, Scott Thompson, Brad Symes, Jason Porplyzia, Gary Ablett jnr (with a tangential look at the chances of GAJ and Lance Franklin being first-half wonders), Brett Kirk, the Barry Hall situation, Patrick Veszpremi, Cameron Wood and Chris Bryan.

After a request from the Talkshoe chat, we go through a podcast version of the Boys on the Bubble segment: John Anthony, Tom Collier, Joshua Head, Jarryd Allen, Lachie Hansen, Robert Eddy and Fabian Deluca are all covered.

Given the lack of games to talk about, we do a special segment looking at the projected top scorers in each position. For the backs at the moment it’s Nathan Bock, Joel Bowden, Paul Wheatley, Andrew Mackie, Heath Shaw, Brent Guerra and Sam Fisher. In the centres as at round 14 the champs are Gary Ablett jnr, Dane Swan, Jimmy Bartel, Joel Corey, Scott Thompson and Daniel Cross. In the rucks Dean Cox is unassailed leader but Jeff White’s sudden fall out of favour at Demonland has Aaron Sandilands as almost unassailable #2. Finally in the forwards, it’s Matthew Richardson, Alan Didak, Matthew Pavlich, Robert Murphy, Daniel Giansiracusa, Lance Franklin and then Paul Chapman.

Finally in the captain segment, the two Nicks are looking good - Stevens and Riewoldt. The usual suspects from Collingwood and Geelong are in the frame on Saturday arvo, while, Molly is off the Scott Thompson bandwagon. Jonathan Brown is an awesome start at the Dome against Essendon, while Kane Cornes‘ performance after 41 possies last week in Darwin will be interesting. Hard to see any value in the Hawks game at the SCG, but the Bulldogs vs Melbourne clash should be fat with big points. Finally, Matt Priddis could top his 45 touches last game in the matchup against Richmond’s poor tagging corps.

 

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This week we’re broadcasting directly after the end of rugby league’s State of Origin decider, and m0nty starts the show a little confused in his Blue-hating fervour!

Once we’ve decided which sport it is we’re talking about, we start with Hawk Talk on Luke Hodge and Cyril Rioli. m0nty asks Molly to make the official Coaches Box case against Ashley Hansen. The boys discuss the sad situation of Graham Polak and its possible impact on the Richmond structure.

Brendan Fevola and Jake Edwards are assessed, and the broom is out at the Kangaroos so Corey Jones, Nathan Thompson, Leigh Harding, Lindsay Thomas and Lachie Hansen are all looked at.

Nick Riewoldt, Sam Fisher, Brendon Goddard, Justin Koschitzke, Dale Morris, Robert Murphy, Josh Hill and Kane Cornes are discussed.

Then there’s a huge Demons section: the Brock McLean injury and its impact on Shane Valenti and Nathan Jones; Brad Green’s adventures as loose man in defence; Paul Wheatley and Matthew Whelan as possible back premiums; and finally m0nty gets really really REALLY angry about Jeff White and how coach Dean Bailey seems to want to destroy his career in favour of the ruck committee of Mark Jamar and Paul Johnson.

Once m0nty hyperventilates and settles back to the round review, it’s Daniel Bradshaw, Josh Drummond, Joel Macdonald, Simon Black, Josh Head, Ryan Crowley, David Hille and Adam McPhee under the microscope.

Finally, Molly gives his opinion on the relative values of Jobe Watson, Mark McVeigh and Brent Stanton in what looks to be a very juicy run home for the Bombers.

No captain choices to make this week, so instead the boys chat about an exchange on BigFooty this week centring on KouDogg, an 18-year-old lad who is ranked 126th in Dream Team after being inside the top 50 earlier in the year. Molly and m0nty discuss the psychology of older coaches ganging up on teenagers, the little green man effect of experienced participants getting outdone by fresh-faced noobs, and the perils of knowing too much.

 

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Kevin Sheedy may have won the Australian Thinker of the Year award during the week, but m0nty and Molly are back with their non-award-winning thoughts on Aussie fantasy footy!

We start the round review by sharing the pain felt by Lenny Hayes owners after his pulled hammy ruined what could have been a record-breaking night last Friday. Robert Eddy, Byron Schammer and Brett Peake are then discussed from the same game.

In Hawk Talk, we cover Brent Guerra, Luke Hodge, Jarryd Morton, Cyril Rioli and Clinton Young, with some extra talk about how Young and players of his ilk (Pearce, Dal Santo etc) are unfairly maligned by fans for their lack of toughness.

David Hale’s strong performance for the McIntoshless North side is canvassed, then it’s onto the walking wounded down at Port with Chad Cornes, Peter Burgoyne and Steven Salopek all assessed for signs of life, and survivors Kane Cornes, Shaun Burgoyne and Domenic Cassisi checked for flesh wounds.

Joel Bowden, Trent Cotchin, Albert Proud, Andrew McLeod, Brad Symes, Mark Nicoski, Dean Cox and Travis Varcoe are discussed. Jeff White and Darren Jolly are reviewed as contenders for the #2 ruck spot behind 211, while the Swans’ halfback rebounding cadre of Martin Mattner, Tadhg Kennelly and Nick Malceski are once again under the spotlight.

The CHF/ruck rotation at the Blues is examined with Matthew Kreuzer and Cameron Cloke, while the rookie replacement candidates Steven Browne, Dennis Armfield, David Myers and Kyle Reimers are all given the once over.

Then it’s back to the Collingwood ruck/forward situation, with Rocca and Reid both going down with major injuries this week, leaving the futures of this week’s star Cameron Wood up in the air along with Josh Fraser, Travis Cloke, Chris Dawes, John Anthony and Nathan J. Brown. Finally, Andrejs Everitt is looked at as a sneaky late back trade.

In our captain segment, we consider Lance Franklin, Sam Mitchell, Matthew Richardson, Nick Stevens, Adam Cooney, the aforementioned Shaun Burgoyne, Jonathan Brown, Brad Green, Matthew Pavlich and or course Gary Ablett Jnr.

 

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We’re fresh from the DT Talk Party at the Precinct on Saturday night… well, maybe fresh isn’t the word, since m0nty was hoarse from shouting at the Hawks game on the telly, and Molly got in trouble with the bouncers (and possibly the match review panel)!

We start off the round review with a look at the prospects of Dean Cox getting mothballed by the Eagles as they ride their Shermans through Subiaco. By the by, m0nty mentions a little rumour he heard about one of the top 10 Dream Teams that you won’t like one bit! Then we get onto Scott Lucas, Brian Lake, Tom Williams, Garrick Ibbotson, Michael Johnson, Drew Petrie and Jarrad McVeigh. We look at the crop of Saints youngsters who are apparently going to be blooded for the rest of the year: Ben McEvoy, Robert Eddy, Brad Howard and Jarryd Allen. We discuss which side was at fault for the midfield flood that dominated tactics in the Adelaide/Hawthorn game causing backmen to be top of the pops in fantasy scores from both sides. Hawk Talk this week is confined to a look at the Hawks’ forward line structure with Jarryd Roughead possibly benefiting from Lance Franklin running through the midfield more, and Tim Boyle’s recent re-introduction giving Mark Williams more room to move as well. Brent Prismall, Chad Cornes, Heath Shaw, Ben Reid and Travis Cloke are chewed over, and we ruminate on the Collingwood ruck committee with Chris Bryan doing well this week, Cameron Wood nowhere to be seen and Josh Fraser struggling. Chris Judd, Bryce Gibbs, Matthew Kreuzer, Chris Newman, Jake King and Paul Wheatley are all covered, with a late request from the chat to discuss Andrew McLeod honoured.

In between segments, m0nty mentions the minor scandal involving the #2-ranked Super Coach team of the week… maybe that Dolly cloning technology from the AFL history ad really has been introduced!

Then it’s the regular captain choices. For Friday night footy, Nick Riewoldt is way overdue but you can’t ignore Matthew Pavlich’s eight-goal performance last week. Franklin doesn’t have a good record against the Roos but the aforementioned Pav bashed up the inexperienced Shinboner defenders. Grant Birchall might get the Ed Lower tag this week. Kane Cornes owes his owners some points - particularly m0nty who made him captain with a lousy 30 in SC last week! - and brother Chad has to be considered even on one leg and nine fingers. Richo and the Browndog are also always in calculations, while the Adelaide inside midfielders should run riot against the usually porous Brisbane mosquito fleet. Matt Priddis is most likely to feel the sting of the Pink Pig, whereas Adam Goodes is a good bet to bag three votes for Charlie and another fantasy ton against the Dees. In the last game, Dane Swan and Adam Cooney are everyweek captains - Molly nominates those two plus Gary Ablett jnr and Scott Thompson in that class.

 

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After technical difficulties on Wednesday we had to delay this show until Thursday night, and despite going head-to-head with The Footy Show we still got a decent-sized live audience.

Before anything else we start with the two burning questions on every fantasy coach’s lips this week: do I need to get Gary Ablett jnr and/or Lance Franklin into my team at the earliest possible instant by whatever means necessary; and if I’m in the market for a rookie back this week, is Gavin Urquhart or Dennis Armfield my Bubble Boy?

Then it’s onto the regular round review. Jimmy Bartel, Jake King, Joel Bowden, Scott Thompson, Andrew McLeod, Brad Symes, Bachar Houli, Brent Stanton and David Myers get the treament. In our regular Hawk Talk lovefest, we bemoan the inability of Grant Birchall to break a tag, then try to figure out how the Hawthorn ruck situation will go with Simon Taylor injured, Robert Campbell doubtful, Brent Renouf in for his debut game and Max Baileywaiting in the wings with Luke McEntee… maybe this week Jarryd Roughead will pinch hit? Sam Butler, Barry Hall, Nick Malceski, Daniel Bradshaw, Simon Black, Joel Macdonald, Chris Mayne, Chad Cornes, Lindsay Gilbee, Ryan Hargrave, Callan Ward, Adem Yze and Austin Wonaeamirri are all covered. Finally, we pit three Collingwood forwards - Dale Thomas, Alan Didak and Paul Medhurst - against each other for fantasy value, with both agreeing that Didak is #1 but Molly plumping for Medhurst and m0nty for Thomas as second-best.

In the captains discussion (remembering to keep the DT Breakdown and SC Breakdown pages at hand), Molly’s riding the Scott Thompson bandwagon right til the end, while m0nty recommends Kane Cornes if you don’t have Ablett or Thompson.

Finally, after a bit of discussion from m0nty about his ongoing experiences with Premium DT, the boys talk some more about how the advent of the 17th and 18th teams into the AFL are going to royally screw up fantasy competitions, not just because of the dreaded bye, but compromised drafts meaning that starting prices are going to be all over the shop.

Due to technical difficulties, our show recording last night didn’t happen! It seems that the problems have been fixed (with Talkshoe, the company that enable us to record it live) and we are going to do the show tonight. The disadvantage is it gives you less time to listen to the show before lockout. The advantage is that we will have the teams to discuss! We will see how it goes!

Come a long and listen, call in or just chat with the crowd! If you want to call in and have skype (and a headset (or a mic)), contact me and we can organise for you to be added to the call at the right time.

Go here to connect to that show on at 10:30pm (AEST aka Melbourne Time).

Molly

 

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Amazingly, The Coaches Box is the only media outlet in the whole of Christendom not to have a story about Buddy Franklin’s bare bum this week.

We start with a new page on FanFooty called the Breakdown - there is a Dream Team Breakdown and a Super Coach Breakdown - which is a table that lists the averages of each Champion Data player type against each AFL team, with links to drill down on each score from each player against each opponent. It’s a powerful tool for helping to pick captains, and should also prove useful for those participating in the Premium DT competition who are looking to pick up new players for a week or two of service.

In the round review, we start with naughty boy Brett Burton and ask whether Kurt Tippett and/or Nathan Bock will thrive on the Corws forward line in his stead. We discuss Andrew McLeod and Adam McPhee, then compare the bubble prospects of Eaglets Beau Wilkes and Tim Houlihan. Daniel Kerr, Jarryd Morton, Josh P. Kennedy, Cyril Rioli, Adam Cooney, Lindsay Gilbee, Nathan Thompson, Corey Jones, Steve Johnson, Jimmy Bartel, Harry Taylor, Ryan Gamble and Tom Lonergan get the treatment. We ponder the merits of a sideways trade for Nick Stevens. Matthew Kreuzer, Shaun Hampson, Tadhg Kennelly, Ryan O’Keefe, Joel Bowden and Matthew Richardson are forensically examined. The Melbourne forward line is now Neitzless and Robertsonless so we look at the implications of the rejigged structure for Brad Miller, Colin Sylvia, Adem Yze, Matthew Bate, Austin Wonaeamirri, Colin Garland and Shane Valenti. Finally we try to figure out if Peter Burgoyne really is top 10 fantasy back material.

In the captain segment, we try to figure out who Brady Rawlings will tag in the Geelong engine room, who Chris Hyde and Shane Tuck will tag from Adelaide, how many sausage rolls Lance Franklin will bag against the Essendon rabble, how dangerous it is to give the armband to Dean Cox against miserly Sydney, how much browndog bite that Jonathan Brown will have against the Roos, how much fireworks will happen in the midfield in the Saints/Dogs match, and how many minutes Dane Swan will be let off the leash for on the upcoming Queen’s Birthday massacre.

Finally, we talk a bit more about the Premium DT competition, and spruik for the DT Talk meet on Saturday week.

http://www.coachesbox.com.au/live

 

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This week the catchphrase is “unsociable podcasting”, and we play the man as we do every episode!

First target is Sharrod Wellingham, the slayer of the Son Of God. Then it’s Alan Didak, Paul Chapman, Ryan Gamble, Andrew Mackie and Darren Milburn. Molly gives his opinion on the down weeks of Chris Judd and Marc Murphy, and despite m0nty’s better judgement the name of Adam Bentick is mentioned. Rhys Palmer and Garrick Ibbotson are assessed for their potential as keepers.

Scott Lucas coming off a LTI is examined, as is the disappointing David Myers. Matthew Richardson, Kayne Pettifer, Nathan G. Brown, Andrew Embley, Graham Johncock and Brad Symes are discussed. Andrew McLeod, Brett Burton and Kurt Tippett let down a lot of fantasy coaches on the weekend, and their prospects are mixed for the future.

Josh Drummond, Jonathan Brown, Nick Riewoldt and Matthew Bate are covered, as well as the on-the-bubble rookie options Shane Valenti, Jarryd Morton and Josh P. Kennedy. Finally, the Bulldogs forward troops are inspected, with Daniel Giansiracusa, Jason Akermanis, Robert Murphy and Brad Johnson all marched up and down the square.

After a little technical difficulty, Molly opines on who the second best scoring ruck will be by the end of the year, with Aaron Sandilands coming from the clouds to be his pick. M0nty’s not so hot on 211, but he was picked at #4 in the live draft held by the Dream Team Talk boys on Sunday night - full draft list here. M0nty makes comparisons with the draft he was involved in last week, which was very much more midfielder-heavy in round 1 than the DT Talk draft. Various players were taken at very different positions in both drafts, which the boys discuss at length.

On our weekly captain choices segment, we start with Dean Cox, who was disappointing last week when a lot of people were relying on him. Scott Thompson of Adelaide up agaisnt Essendon on Friday night is probably a better option. The possible battle between Sam Mitchell and Daniel Cross could produce fireworks, while Jonathan Brown at home against North Melbourne is almost guaranteed to be a goalfest. Surprisingly, the Geelong midfield vs Carlton may very well turn out not to be such a happy hunting ground based on 2008 statistics, while the Melbourne mids vs St Kilda may be more lucrative. The Cornes brothers are always worth considering, particularly against Freo, while Matthew Pavlich may have been letting his team down lately with fourth-quarter posters but he hasn’t been letting down his fantasy coaches.

After all that, m0nty talks about all the new icons on the FanFooty live scoring, and there’s some general chat. Molly is going to put the after-show up as this week’s edition of his Molly’s Monday Machinations podcast, where there is a lot more general football chat, as well as a lot more Hawk Talk!