AFL SuperCoach: who starred and who flopped in the opening round of the AFL season

UPDATE: WHO starred and flopped for your SuperCoach team in Round 1? We look at the best and worst performances from the opening round of the AFL season.

Nat Fyfe didn’t have the best of game against the Bulldogs.

WHO starred and who flopped in Round 1?

We’ve looked at the best and worst SuperCoach performances of the opening weekend of the season and the implications for the season ahead.

Which rookies stood up and look ready to become key cash cows? Which mid-pricers are ready to go to the next level?

SuperCoach is back and it’s going to be another massive year.

RICHMOND v CARLTON

TIGERS STUDS: To the 1 per cent of owners who own Kane Lambert ... “we’re not worthy, we’re not worthy”. The on-baller is available as a midfield-forward and top scored on Thursday night with 130. Premium defender Alex Rance was the only other Tiger to top triple-figures with 101. Rookie Connor Menadue would have excited owners with 80.

TIGERS DUDS: Daniel Rioli had a couple of moments of magic but finished with just 39 for those who made him a late rookie selection. Fellow young Tiger Corey Ellis scored 59. Premium defender Bachar Houli got off to a slow start and scored 74, which would disappoint his owners.

BLUES STUDS: Despite no pre-season preparation, captain Marc Murphy was superb, scoring 123. Sam Docherty looked good off half-back finishing with 118 while Bryce Gibbs was also impressive with 116. Patrick Cripps reminded everyone of his potential with 106 points. Popular cheapies Jacob Weitering (87) and Sam Kerridge (86) were solid.

BLUES DUDS: While not overly SuperCoach relevant Dylan Buckley was the game’s lowest scorer with just 17. For anyone gambling on Jed Lamb he was quiet in his debut, scoring just 46. Matthew Kreuzer shared ruck duties with Andrew Phillips and both suffered scoring 62 and 61 respectively.

MELBOURNE v GWS GIANTS

DEMONS STUDS: All hail, Ben Kennedy! The popular midfield-forward cheapie was in everything for Melbourne and finished with a team-high 115. Premium defender Tom McDonald wasn’t far behind with 110 thanks to a big final term. Jack Viney is a breakout contender and started well with 106. Popular ruckman Max Gawn didn’t disappoint with 95. Clayton Oliver stamped himself as a strong cash cow option with 75.

DEMONS DUDS: If anyone jumped on Oscar McDonald late on Thursday or Friday, sorry. He scored just 32. Sam Frost was rarely sighted, scoring 17. Tomas Bugg was quiet in his Demons debut with 41 while key midfielder Dom Tyson was below-par, scoring 62.

GIANTS STUDS: Callan Ward was terrific all day for the Giants and top scored with 142. Dylan Shiel (102) and Rory Lobb (100) were the only other Giants to reach triple figures. Steve Johnson was excellent on debut with 96 while Tom Scilly was running hot early and managed 94 in the end.

GIANTS DUDS: Who gambled on Toby Greene and Jack Steele? Danger signs! Greene scored 51 and Steele managed 47. Shane Mumford was a major disappointment, scoring just 65. Any danger of Heath Shaw hitting a target on Saturday? The superstar defender had eight clangers in his 30 disposals, which held his score to 87.

GOLD COAST v ESSENDON

SUNS STUDS: The little master is back! Gary Ablett showed no signs of rust after missing the entire NAB Challenge, running rampant against Essendon for 139. Aaron Hall was his partner in crime for much of the game and finished with 129. Milestone man Michael Rischitelli scored 108, recruit Matt Rosa scored 105 and cheap defender Jesse Lonergan finished with 96.

SUNS DUDS: Not too many to choose from. Sean Lemmens hurt his shoulder early and finished with 24 points. Clay Cameron was next worst on 49 — which was better than six Bombers. We’re being harsh by $102k midfielder Ryan Davis was the Suns’ third-lowest scorer with 57.

BOMBERS STUDS: David Zaharakis was Essendon’s best player, finishing with 132 points. Zach Merrett (114) and James Kelly (100) were the only other Bombers to ton up.

BOMBERS DUDS: It wasn’t a good day for popular Essendon rookie-priced picks. Matt Dea was the best of the bunch, scoring 61. Ryan Crowley (58), Matthew Leuenberger (57) Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti (50), Craig Bird (50) and Mitch Brown (42) will have SuperCoaches considering their options.

NORTH MELBOURNE v ADELAIDE

ROOS STUDS: Todd Goldstein stamped his authority on the game with a brilliant last quarter to rocket to the top of the SuperCoach leaderboard. Goldstein was quiet in the first half but got going after the big break to post 124 points from his 13 disposals and 44 hit-outs. Jarrad Waite (120) booted three goals while Ben Cunnington (110) chimed in with 27 disposals, 10 clearances and seven tackles. Daniel Wells (98) was all class in his comeback game.

ROOS DUDS: Tough luck for Jed Anderson (14) who broke down early in his Kangaroos debut with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Luke McDonald (49) showed a harder edge but was unable to convert that into a higher score.

CROWS STUDS: Scott Thompson (93) showed no signs of slowing down with 30 disposals and nine clearances. Matt Crouch (93) registered 10 clearances but was also reported for a high bump on Jarrad Waite. Rory Sloane (92), Brodie Smith (90) and Rory Laird (89) faded in the second half.

CROWS DUDS: Brad Crouch (72) was all the rage in the pre-season but failed to fire in his return game. Should improve with the run under his belt. Sam Jacobs (60) was schooled by Goldstein.

And to make matters worse it's the first time in my career I've had donuts 🍩🍩🍩 (on the field, I eat real ones all the time)

— Dane Swan (@swandane) March 26, 2016

SYDNEY v COLLINGWOOD

SWANS STUDS: Luke Parker (161) put on a masterclass with 40 disposals and eight marks. Kieren Jack and Jake Lloyd scored 128 apiece while Tom Mitchell finished with 127. Tom Papley (104) was the pick of the debutants with three goals from his 11 disposals. George Hewett (96) laid seven tackles while Callum Mills (71) operated at 72 per cent efficiency.

SWANS DUDS: Nick Smith (49) operated at 58 per cent efficiency and it hurt him on the SuperCoach scoreboard. Josh Kennedy could only manage 75 points in the demolition.

PIES STUDS: Adam Treloar (125) starred on debut with 34 disposals including six clearances and five inside 50s. Steele Sidebottom (98) was reported for rough conduct against Dan Hannebery.

PIES DUDS: Dane Swan (0) was injured in the opening minutes and faces an extended period on the sidelines. Travis Cloke (19) had a stinker while Jack Crisp (41) committed four clangers.

WESTERN BULLDOGS v FREMANTLE

BULLDOGS STUDS: Who wasn’t one of the Dogs’ best on Sunday? Congrats to those who gambled on Jason Johannisen as he backed up his searing pre-season form with a match-high 130. Tom Liberatore didn’t disappoint on his return finishing with 115 while fellow stars Robert Murphy (112), Marcus Bontempelli (110) and Jake Stringer (104) also fired. Plenty would have been happy with rookie defender Marcus Adams’s 82.

BULLDOGS DUDS: Not too many to choose from here. Tom Boyd was the lowest scorer with 46, which was still better than seven Dockers. Josh Dunkley managed a solid 61 on debut while Matthew Suckling (77) and Mitch Wallis (79) were perhaps a little underwhelming.

DOCKERS STUDS: One Docker topped three figures, Lachie Neale with 109. One Docker topped 90, Tom Sheridan with 97. Three more reached 80. Bad day at the office all round.

DOCKERS DUDS: Let’s start with Nat Fyfe. Plenty started with the Fremantle star as captain - 18 per cent in fact - but he finished with just 61. That’s 122 if you had the “C” on him. Popular midfield-forward Michael Barlow also scored 61. Double trouble. Jonathan Griffen (25), Zac Clarke (26) and Matt Tabener (26) were nearly invisible.

Nat Fyfe didn’t have the best of game against the Bulldogs.

PORT ADELAIDE v ST KILDA

POWER STUDS: Anyone brave enough to pick Robbie Gray now that he’s a midfielder only? Congrats. He was Port’s best with 126, edging out Chad Wingard’s 125. Brad Ebert was at the heart of the Power’s final quarter charge and racked up 120. Sam Gray racked up an astonishing 37 touches for 99 points.

POWER DUDS: Power captain Travis Boak threw up a stinker in in the season opener, scoring just 58. Charlie Dixon showed plenty of promise up forward but ended the day on 66. Matthew White’s day ended prematurely thanks to a pectoral injury and he finished as the game’s lowest scorer on just 14.

SAINTS STUDS: Where did Tom Hickey come from? He was dominant in the ruck and 0.9 per cent of SuperCoaches picked up a handy 157. Jack Steven (101), David Armitage (100) and Mav Weller (100) toiled hard in the midfield all day.

SAINTS DUDS: Sadly, it wasn’t Nick Riewoldt’s day on Sunday. The skipper kicked two goals but scored just 33. Sean Dempster helped keep “Roo” off the bottom of the Saints list with his 32. Midfield rookie Jade Gresham might have some people umming and ahhing after a 44 on his AFL debut.

WEST COAST v BRISBANE LIONS

EAGLES STUDS: Coleman medallists Josh Kennedy had a day out with eights goals and a staggering 180 points. Most of the time it felt he didn’t have an opponent on him. Matt Priddis brought his own ball racking up 43 disposals and 159 points, and ruckman Nic Naitanui (153) also dominated with 42 hitouts, 22 touches, six marks and two goals.

EAGLES DUDS: Jeremy McGovern (54 points) hurt his shoulder early in the match and although he kicked a goal as soon as he came back on the ground he pretty much had a quiet game with just nine touches.

LIONS STUDS: Daniel Rich (104) was more influential in the second half and finished with 23 disposals and two goals, including a monster from outside 50. Tom Bell (102) had a team-high 24 disposals, Stefan Martin was no match for Nic Nat but still came out with 95 points and Allen Christensen (93) looked sharp in a three-goal performance.

LIONS DUDS: Take you pick of Rohan Bewick (47), Sam Mayes (44), Claye Beams (39), Marco Paparone (38) and Darcy Gardiner (33). They were among eight Lions to have less than 10 disposals.

Zac Smith was on fire for his new club — in the first half, anyway. Picture: Colleen Petch

GEELONG v HAWTHORN

CATS STUDS: That new recruit Dangerfield goes all right. Paddy had a career-high 44 disposals and his 162 SuperCoach points could have been more if he hadn’t missed three shots at goal in the last quarter. Another six Cats topped the ton including evergreen Corey Enright and former Sun Zac Smith who looked on track for a monster score when he had 84 at halftime.

CATS DUDS: Lincoln McCarthy got on the scoreboard early but was unsighted in the frantic finish, posting a lowly 43. Tom Hawkins (36) and Steve Motlop (51) also failed to fire.

HAWKS STUDS: Sam Mitchell did what Sam Mitchell does, with his 130 just par for the course. He just edged out Jack Gunston’s 127 while Jordan Lewis and Will Langford also scored in three figures.

HAWKS DUDS: Skipper Luke Hodge had some big moments but just 66 SuperCoach points — four clangers didn’t help his cause. Cyril Rioli (57) was also disappointing and Ryan Schoenmakers took out the unwanted title of lowest score of the day for his 14.

Originally published as AFL SuperCoach: who starred and who flopped in the opening round of the AFL season