In this blog we will have a brief look at the previous and upcoming rounds of the AFL. In round 8, who's performances stood out for the right or wrong reasons and which players made the GDS Squad of the round. With round 9 not too far away, who should coaches consider starting and which players have positive matchups. Have a read below and gain an edge over your competition in GameDay Squad Aussie Rules! Let us know your thoughts on who we have down below on all of our social channels: twitter, facebook, instagram, discord.
GDS Squad of the week for round 8
Def- Luke Ryan – 195 - Frem
Def- Jack Sinclair – 181 - StK
Def- Nic Newman – 174 - Carl
Def- Jarman Impey – 150 - Haw
Def- Nick Daicos – 146 - Coll
Def- Hayden Young – 141 - Frem
Def- Steven May – 133 – Mel
Mid- Josh Dunkley – 175 - Bris
Mid- Darcy Parish – 169 - Ess
Mid- Caleb Serong – 162 - Frem
Mid- Jarrod Berry – 155 - Bris
Mid- Lachie Neale – 155 Bris
Mid- Hugh McCluggage – 149 - Bris
Ruck- Brodie Grundy – 146 - Syd
Ruck- Tim English – 142 - WB
Fwd- Dayne Zorko – 218 - Bris
Fwd- James Peatling – 138 - GWS
Fwd- Dylan Moore – 136 - Haw
Fwd- Sam Flanders – 129 - GC
Fwd- Will Hayward – 129 - Syd
Fwd- Zac Fisher – 124 – NM
Fwd- Bradley Hill – 119 – St K
Squad Base Total – 3366 GDS points
The performance of the week
Dayne Zorko vs Gold Coast Suns
In a week where 5 players scored over 170 GDS points, there can only be one option for performance of the week. Dayne Zorko played what was almost the perfect fantasy game for us and put up an incredible score of 218 points. Of his 40 possessions, he only did 5 handballs which is incredible from a fantasy point of view. He also had 16 marks and 5 tackles which all resulted in the highest score we’ve seen in 2024! Its crazy to think that he could have scored 242 points if his 3 behinds went through the middle.
All this came after only managing 76 points in the previous round. I know a lot of coaches who foolishly dropped him last week so I hope you weren’t one of them.
The flop of the week
It would be easy to sit here and write about how Tom Green was the flop of the week after scoring just 8 points but I don’t think that’s fair based on the circumstances.
A player who doesn’t have the excuse of injury who would have been a popular pick is Lachie Whitfield who only managed 63 points which is well below what we would have expected. He had ~80% time on ground which isn’t far off what he normally gets so that obviously wasn’t a factor.
He managed just 19 touches with only 1 mark which is well below his average of 30 disposals and 7.3 marks. Admittedly, Sydney aren’t the easiest team to score against so that is likely the cause so I would expect him to bounce back without too much trouble. Just keep in mind his next opponent is even harder to score against on average so it might be worth sitting him out for a week.
Round 9 Team to Beat
Def- Harry Sheezel (NM) – GDS average of 140.63 and positional ranking of 1st
Def- James Sicily – (Haw) – GDS average of 94.13 and positional ranking of 27th
Def- Nick Daicos – (Coll) – GDS average of 120.63 and positional ranking of 4th
Def- Jack Sinclair – (St K) – GDS average of 117 and positional ranking of 7th
Def- Luke Ryan – (Fre) – GDS average of 126.50 and positional ranking of 2nd
Def- Bailey Dale – (WB) – GDS average of 110.5 and positional ranking of 10th
Def- Hayden Young– (Fre) – GDS average of 119.13 and positional ranking of 5th
Mid- Zach Merrett – (Ess) – GDS average of 136.75 and positional ranking of 1st
Mid- Zak Butters – (Port) – GDS average of 122.75 and positional ranking of 10th
Mid- Jack Steele – (St K) – GDS average of 120.38 and positional ranking of 13th
Mid- Jordon Dawson - (Ade) – GDS average of 129.75 and positional ranking of 5th
Mid- Noah Anderson – (GC) – GDS average of 126.25 and positional ranking of 7th
Mid- Marcus Bontempelli– (WB) – GDS average of 118 and positional ranking of 14th
Ruck- Rowan Marshall – (St K) – GDS average of 122.38 and positional ranking of 3rd
Ruck- Tim English – (WB) – GDS average of 122.88 and positional ranking of 2nd
Fwd- Bradley Hill– (St K) – GDS average of 103.14 and positional ranking of 9th
Fwd- Dayne Zorko – (Bris) – GDS average of 136.38 and positional ranking of 1st
Fwd- Jack Macrae – (WB) – GDS average of 87.33 and positional ranking of 28th
Fwd- Isaac Heeney – (Syd) – GDS average of 131.75 and positional ranking of 2nd
Fwd- Sam Flanders – (GC) – GDS average of 129.25 and positional ranking of 2nd
Fwd- Dylan Moore – (Haw) – GDS average of 100.25 and positional ranking of 12th
Fwd- Jeremy Finlayson– (Geel) – GDS average of 91.75 and positional ranking of 21st
Good week to start…
James Sicily (Hawthorn)
This pick all relies on Sicily passing a fitness test after dislocating his shoulder as well as hurting his ankle in the last round so make sure you are checking the team announcements thoroughly!
After suffering two separate injuries last week you would be excused for wanting to stay well away from Sicily this week while he recovers but I think the opportunity is too good to pass up. Its almost as if the stars have aligned this week with Hawks taking on St Kilda in Launceston. St Kilda are easily the easiest team to score against if you are a defender having given up some mammoth scores this year already including 193 points to Bailey Dale a couple of weeks ago. Sicily also loves playing in Tasmania where he averaged 134 points across his 4 games there last season. Assuming he plays, both those facts should add up to a 150+ score.
Given his recent form and the injury cloud sitting over him, this one definitely goes down as a risky pick but it’s this kind of call you need to be making to come out on top!
Good week to drop…
Caleb Serong (Fremantle Dockers)
Imagine dropping someone the week after they score 162 GameDay Squad points! Well that’s what I’m here to try and convince you to do. Just like the Sicily one this call could blow up in my face but there is no point in me telling you the obvious ins and outs because that’s not why you’re here.
The reason I want you to drop Serong is his opponent. Fremantle are playing Sydney this week and they are known for restricting opposition midfield scoring potential. As a team they give away the third least number of possessions per game which is a problem for players like Serong who rely on finding the ball rather than scoring goals and tackling to go large.
Another reason I worry about Serong this week is the fact that he averages 40 points less when Fremantle lose compared to when they win. Now, my tipping has been pretty poor this season but Sydney will be going into the game as favourites, so I think this is a factor we really need to be considering.
