The beloved preseason community series got underway at Marvel Stadium. While the Blues started strong, the demons flew home late to only narrow lose the game. But let’s be honest, it’s the fantasy footy research we are here for. So here’s my take on the Blues and the Demons clash.
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Max Gawn
Spent his time splitting 70/30 in the ruck with Jackson, when he wasn’t in the ruck he sat behind play for plenty of marks. He looked great in the role but important to keep in mind there was no Steven May. That all being said, if you were keen on Gawn before this game then there’s no reason not to be now. Looked very lively and competed well at every contest.
We wrote about him earlier in the preseason for the 50 most relevant, check it out here.
Clayton Oliver & Christian Petracca
Never got out of first gear but still looked so sharp and clever with the footy. Oliver is just so good in the inside and quick with his disposal while Petracca looked fantastic offensively at all stages. Luke Jackson Some of his ruck work is absolutely elite for such a young player. He should be a hit out to advantage beast in years to come. He followed up his ruck work with getting busy around the contest, but it won’t be enough to select him even despite his additional forward status.
We wrote about them both earlier in the preseason for the 50 most relevant. For Clarry, check it out here. And CP5 here.
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Patrick Cripps
This was the surprise packet for me. Not because he isn’t good enough to dominate a preseason game but because of the way he went about it. I haven’t seen Cripps so fit, strong and quick in the contest in years. He really did run rings around the strong Melbourne midfield and the Blues dominating the overall centre clearances reflected that. If you weren’t super keen on him prior to this game you may choose to tread cautiously…but at his price it’s undeniable there’s already built in value, and if he can get back to anywhere near his best it’ll have been a worthwhile pick.
George Hewett
Did exactly what we wanted to see. Spent nearly all his time in the centre of the ground, and more importantly, won plenty of the footy – something we needed to see from him as he’s predominantly been a defensive midfielder in the past. He passed the eye test from me and I noticed his spread from stoppage was really good. He was a little unlucky to be burnt on some short passes so I wouldn’t worry about his mark tally of 0. Just the 1 tackle as well which isn’t the George Hewett I know. I’m the real stuff I expect him to fill up a few more stat lines.
We wrote about him earlier in the preseason for the 50 most relevant, check it out here.
Adam Cerra
Started out slowly but built into the game as it went on. There’s no doubting he’ll be spending plenty of time in the middle and it was evident how clean he is with the footy in close. Unfortunately, I didn’t see him spread too much from stoppage, and a few of his touches were easy ones. The game was a bit more contested than usual for a preseason game and you could easily use that performance as a good indicator for growth. If you were already keen there’s no reason not to be after that performance.
Become a Patron!Corey Durdin
Looks a handy young player. Super quick and agile as well as doing some clever things with the footy. He won’t be a large scorer, and there may be an injury cloud over him now – but he could be somebody you tuck away at M8 if there’s a shortage of rookies.
Matt Kennedy
Was everywhere and looked dangerous just about every time he had it. Has a seriously good pair of hands on him and some impressive goal sense for a player that used to be more of a contested midfielder. When he did spend time in the midfield he was just as eye catching though – he’s awkwardly priced so I couldn’t go near it but Voss may have helped him unlock some of his potential this year.
