In this blog we will have a brief look at the previous and upcoming rounds of the AFL. In round 6, who's performances stood out for the right or wrong reasons and which players made the GDS Squad of the round. With round 7 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. 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 6
Def- Bailey Dale – 193 - WB
Def- Jason Johannisen – 146 - WB
Def- Dan Houston – 146 - Port
Def- Jarman Impey – 126 - Haw
Def- Harry Sheezel – 123 - NM
Def- Mitchell Hinge – 122 - Ade
Def- Marcus Windhanger – 121 – St K
Mid- Jordan Dawson – 183 - Ade
Mid- Adam Treloar – 156 - WB
Mid- Patrick Crips – 144 - Carl
Mid- Josh Kelly – 142 - GWS
Mid- Connor Nash – 141 Haw
Mid- Zak Butters – 137 - Port
Ruck- Brodie Grundy – 153 - Syd
Ruck- Tristan Xerri – 142 - NM
Fwd- Sam Flanders – 156 - GC
Fwd- Dayne Zorko – 154 - Bris
Fwd- Jack Macrae – 148 - WB
Fwd- Isaac Heeney – 136 - Syd
Fwd- Jye Caldwell – 131- Ess
Fwd- Bradley Hill – 118 – St K
Fwd- Dylan Moore – 117 - Haw
Squad Base Total – 3279 GDS points
The performance of the week
Bailey Dale vs St Kilda
How could I look past Bailey Dale scoring an incredible 193 GameDay Squad points in a dominant Bulldogs display. When watching the game, it almost felt like St Kilda were kicking to him on purpose resulting in 15 Marks. He racked up 39 disposes (including 29 kicks!!) on his way to the highest GDS score from any player in the 2024 season.
This looked like the Bailey Dale of old that we knew and loved in our fantasy sides. What excites me the most is Dale has a good match up again this week against Fremantle and could easily back up the preface with another big score.
Riser – Jack Macrae (Western Bulldogs)
Another Bulldog who looks to be finding some of his old form is Jack Macrae. After struggling through his first few games including an appearance as the sub, Macrae was finally given the chance to get around the ball and show us what he’s capable of. Unfortunately, his opportunity only came because Liberatore was forced to miss the game against St Kilda due to concussion protocols and he’ll likely return this week which could be problematic.
I’m hopefully that Macrae deserves to keep his midfield minutes even with Libba returning but who knows what’s going through Bevos head in the coach’s box.
Faller – Luke Jackson (Fremantle)
Unfortunately, lineups hadn’t been released prior to me writing last weeks blog and as a result, this one slipped through a week too late. Luke Jackson has been an excellent servant in our forward lines but it’s now time to retire him from our squads. While he will continue to play, unfortunately with the return of Sean Darcy, Jackson will lose primary ruck duties and with that, a lot of points.
Although it’s likely Darcy will miss more games based on his injury history, I would strongly advise against starting Jackson while he is playing forward. This was highlighted last round where Jackson only managed 68 points against the side that had given up the second most points to forwards. Prior to this he was averaging over 100 points per game so this is a significant drop.
Round 7 Team to Beat
Def- Harry Sheezel (NM) – GDS average of 146.83 and positional ranking of 1st
Def- Lachie Whitfield – (GWS) – GDS average of 129.33 and positional ranking of 2nd
Def- Nick Daicos – (Coll) – GDS average of 116.50 and positional ranking of 4th
Def- Dan Houston – (Port) – GDS average of 111.17 and positional ranking of 8th
Def- Luke Ryan – (Freo) – GDS average of 118.67 and positional ranking of 3rd
Def- Bailey Dale – (WB) – GDS average of 99.17 and positional ranking of 21st
Def- Liam Duggan– (WC) – GDS average of 116.33 and positional ranking of 5th
Mid- Zach Merrett – (Ess) – GDS average of 136.83 and positional ranking of 2nd
Mid- Connor Rozee – (Port) – GDS average of 124.33 and positional ranking of 9th
Mid- Jordan Dawson – (Ade) – GDS average of 128 and positional ranking of 6th
Mid- Tom Green - (GWS) – GDS average of 123.5 and positional ranking of 11th
Mid- Sam Walsh – (Carl) – GDS average of 139 and positional ranking of 1st
Mid- Jordan De Goey– (Coll) – GDS average of 94 and positional ranking of 55th
Ruck- Max Gawn – (Mel) – GDS average of 138.83 and positional ranking of 1st
Ruck- Tim English – (WB) – GDS average of 113.67 and positional ranking of 5th
Fwd- Izak Rankine – (Ade) – GDS average of 93.50 and positional ranking of 21st
Fwd- Dayne Zorko – (Bris) – GDS average of 132.83 and positional ranking of 2nd
Fwd- Jack Macrae – (WB) – GDS average of 87.75 and positional ranking of 33rd
Fwd- Isaac Heeney – (Syd) – GDS average of 138.83 and positional ranking of 1st
Fwd- Sam Flanders – (GC) – GDS average of 129.5 and positional ranking of 3rd
Fwd- Taylor Adams – (Syd) – GDS average of 94.5 and positional ranking of 19th
Fwd- Gryan Miers– (Geel) – GDS average of 107.17 and positional ranking of 7th
Good week to start…
Dan Houston
Houston was the second highest scoring defender last round with a massive 146 points and looked great. He racked up 28 touches including 23 kicks, 7 tackles and plenty of marks whilst playing through the middle of the ground.
There are three main reasons I like Houston for this round. Number one is his scoring floor. This season he hasn’t scored below 90 points which is up there with the best in the competition. It means we can be pretty confident that he won’t let us down.
The second reason is his recent form. He has a 3-game average of 122 and his scores have consistently increased each week during this period. He sits behind just Sheezel and Whitfield who are two players you shouldn’t need me to be telling you to start if you can.
The third reason is his opponents this week. As much as I love St Kilda (unfortunately), they give the most points away to defenders by a considerable margin. In the few rounds we’ve had so far, they’ve allowed a defender to score above 115 GameDay Squad points a total of 9 times including 4 times of 140 and over. All these players who scored big share a similar role to Houston so I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up being the top scorer this round.
Good week to drop…
Jack Sinclair/Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (St Kilda)
Sinclair and Wanganeen-Milera both burnt a lot of us last week with scores of just 78 and 79 respectively. I’ve included them as a joint entry because they are similar players and my reasoning applied to each of them equally.
St Kilda will have a tough week again this round against Port Adelaide who are one of the hardest teams to score GameDay Squad points against, especially as a defender and midfielder. They have only conceded one score over 115 to a GameDay Squad defender this season which is the best in the competition. Based on recent form, I find it hard to see either of these players breaking this trend.
If you were are forced to start one, I’d go with Wanganeen-Milera simply because he seems to be spending more time in his preferred role. Sinclair spent a lot of time last week in the forward 50 and couldn’t capitalise on his opportunities. Regardless, avoid both if you can.
