Football may be on a vacation from Victoria, but many representatives from the much-despised state managed to sneak their way into The Rushed Behind’s Round 5 Team of the Week.
This week’s side may be on the tall side, but is full of hard-nut players and skilful users who thrived in differing conditions.
IN A NUTSHELL…
This week’s team had some clear winners – only 11 AFL sides had players selected in the line-up compared to last week’s 15.
Brisbane’s barnstorming win over the Power led to them dominating the side with six selections. GWS were next best with four players to reward the Giants for their resurgence over the past fortnight.
The Western Bulldogs, West Coast and Essendon were also granted two selections each for their impressive Round 5 victories.
Josh Bruce’s six-goal bag to destroy North Melbourne earned him captaincy honours, while the vice-captain role went to Brisbane’s Harris Andrews for his shutdown effort on Power forward Charlie Dixon.
Carlton, Geelong, Gold Coast, Hawthorn, North Melbourne and Sydney were all unlucky to not have a player selected in the team.
Adelaide remains as the only club not to have a selection for the year, summing up their horror season.
THE UNLUCKY OMISSIONS…
There were some wonderful players left out this week due to the balance of the side.
GWS’ Josh Kelly and Hawthorn’s Jaeger O’Meara couldn’t slot into the stacked on-ball brigade despite both putting in superb performances.
O’Meara’s Hawks teammate in Jack Gunston was also stiff to miss out on a forward line spot after keeping his side in their match with three majors.
Rowan Marshall looked certain to propel his way into the ruck position after a rampant Thursday night, but Nic Naitanui’s all-conquering Saturday effort ousted him.
Geelong pair Tom Hawkins (three goals) and Mitch Duncan (25 disposals) came very close to making the team after powering the Cats to a win over the Suns.
In the backline, Demon Michael Hibberd narrowly missed out on a flank spot for his defiant effort against the Tigers, while Nick Coffield's breakout game fell just shy of a place in the back pocket.
THE BREAKDOWN…
Only three players managed to keep their spot from last week’s side.
Lachie Neale is becoming a lock in the rover position, while Hugh McCluggage is dominating on a wing and Nick Haynes is lodging a case to be the league’s most versatile tall defender.
The forward line is much taller due to some breakout performances from key talls. Jeremy Finlayson and Harry Himmelberg will form a formidable duo up forward after the pair tormented Hawthorn with a combined eight goals on Sunday night. Josh Bruce and Daniel McStay also provided dangerous marking options around forward 50 in their respective matches.
Jake Stringer provides a versatile midfield/forward option if the Brisbane combo of Neale and Jarryd Lyons ever tire, however the partnership is only set to last the one week after the former's injury. Bombers teammate Dylan Shiel should have a day out receiving the silver service of Nic Naitanui.
The defence is extremely solid. Brayden Maynard and Daniel Rich rebounded with skill in their respective matches and are likely to poll votes by season's end. Harry Perryman and Caleb Daniel are shoe-ins to amass many disposals off half-back to help Haynes and Harris Andrews.
On the bench, Kane Lambert provided pressure and clever goal-sense in his 100th match, while Travis Boak and Elliot Yeo showed they have the engine to tear games apart in the second half.
If the opposition somehow manages to get away from them, Jack Steele can lock down on a star player and turn the tide through his physicality and pressure. The uncompromising Saint has amassed 19 tackles in his past two outings and kept Patrick Cripps to just five touches at half-time in Thursday night's prime-time fixture.
Did we get it right? Let us know by commenting below, or by getting in touch via our social channels!
Comments