Roar Guru
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Doran Smith is a passionate sports fan. He predominantly follows AFL, football and cricket. He has a Commerce Degree majoring in Accounting and Business Law. He has done some freelance writing.
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There’s no disputing that Cam Guthrie will be important against Melbourne, given Patrick Dangerfield is set to miss due to injury.
Joe Lolley was outstanding for the Sky Blues, scoring a brace as Sydney FC equaled their biggest ever victory.
We’re taking a look at one player from each team that needs to make a difference this week, starting with the ANZAC Day games.
Round 25 was a weekend of football that had plenty of action. There were five games due to the Central Coast Mariners vs Adelaide…
There’s no disputing that the AFL competition is tough and season 2024 is no different. Coming into Round 6 there are two teams left…
Mathew Leckie played a pivotal part in Melbourne City claiming an 8-nil win; playing a role in several of his team's goals.
Brisbane co-captain Lachie Neale will be looking to lead his team to a victory against Melbourne in what will be his 250th AFL game.
What a great round of football; Round 23 delivered in spades. There were 25 goals in six matches, no draws and none of the…
It’s high stakes with five teams having lost their first three games of season 2024, and in desperate need of a win.
Anthony Caceres is a player with immense talent and has a fantastic work rate, broke the deadlock against the Mariners in the 74th minute.
It's Round 3 and the reigning grand finalists clash to start things off, with both still winless. Gold Coast and GWS have the bye…
Round 2 and the reigning grand finalists have both lost their first two games, so the pressure is on. Brisbane and Carlton have a…
Round 21 was an entertaining one, which started with a four-goal thriller, coached by former Socceroos John Aloisi and Tony Popovic, between Western United…
It’s going to be the first time in the history of the AFL when ten teams haven’t played prior to round 1; only eight…
Round 20 was an eventful weekend of football, with two draws, 17 goals in six matches, a four-goal thriller and two teams kept a…
For the first time in the history of the AFL there will be a round dubbed Opening Round, which will have just four games.…
Round 19 was an interesting weekend of football with no draws, 19 goals in six matches, two five-goal games on Sunday and for the…
Round 18 was an intriguing weekend of football with four draws, 14 goals in six matches, for the second week in a row and…
Round 17 was full of interesting contests and plenty of controversy. The highlight of the weekend was a five-goal thriller between the Perth Glory…
Round 16 was action-packed with plenty of intriguing battles. The weekend started and finished with two six-goal thrillers. It was absolute chaos, with two…
Thanks for your constructive comment.
Kaltack defended extremely well and I felt that the assist was good, even though the header from Hall was excellent and Kaltack was better defensively.
Aspro didn’t put a foot wrong.
The reason I chose Yan Sasse over Garang Kuol in right midfield was because I felt that he was better than him and had more impact on the game. Despite that, it was great to see Kuol starting, getting an assist and working hard defensively.
I didn’t select Mileusnic, as he didn’t quite make the cut, even though he scored a goal to remember.
Who made the cut? A-League team of the week: Round 8
Don’t risk Ryan as he hasn’t been playing and has been injured.
Formation: 4-3-3
Redmayne, Atkinson, Rowles, Degenek, Behich, Mooy, Irvine, McGree, Leckie (Captain), Maclaren, Goodwin
Substitutes: Tilio, Hrustic, Kuol, Cummings, Deng
How should Australia set up against France?
Lopez has been extremely consistent and has played every game, despite Van der Saag being able to play right back, but here are the reasons why I didn’t opt to choose him in the opening 6 Rounds:
In Round 2 the formation of the team was 3-5-2, which meant I was obliged to choose three centre backs.
In Round 4 the formation of the team was 3-4-3, which meant once again I was obliged to choose three centre backs.
I thought Cleur was outstanding in Round 6.
In Round 5 Lopez only played 45 minutes.
In Round 3 Risdon played well.
I decided to go with Hingert in Round 1.
Who made the cut? A-League team of the week: Round 6
Four players that have been chosen three times: Marcelo, Leckie, Kuol, Goodwin
Five players that have been chosen twice: Nieuwenhof, Tilio, Weier, Neville, Lolley
The remaining 44 selections were made up of players who were chosen once.
Who made the cut? A-League team of the week: Round 6
Thanks, that’s a great idea Grem! I will do that in the article for the Round 6 team of the week.
Who made the cut? A-League team of the week: Round 5
Thanks for your input. Ryan Williams was a shining light for Perth Glory, except for the goal from Colli. Unfortunately, I could not select Ryan Williams ahead of Borrello.
Who made the cut? A-League team of the week: Round 4
Excellent article Mike.
Fifa 21; gameplay, commentary and everything was in sync.
What is the greatest football video game of all time?
The reason I chose Hardwick as one of the two coaches of the Round was that the Tigers managed to win the clearances by one, despite being without the two players who average the most clearances of all their players; First: Dion Prestia, who was concussed early in the game, with an average of 5.18 clearances per game, while second: Trent Cotchin, with an average of 5.08 clearances per game, didn’t play. Despite that, the Tigers had three of the top five players who had the most clearances; Liam Baker, Jack Ross and Toby Nankervis, had 18 of the Tigers 33 clearances.
They were also without Noah Balta who has been an important player who can play back or forward and Kane Lambert with whom they’ve won all five games that he has featured in. Along with that, they kept Tom Hawkins goalless and nearly won without Jack Riewoldt kicking a goal, who even did some ruck work, prior to Soldo being subbed on.
AFL takeaways: How your club fared in Round 15
Brennan Cox has averaged the third most intercepts of any Dockers player with an average of 6.17 intercepts per game, which is 41st on average of any player in season 2022. My choice would be Sam Docherty or Dan Houston.
The All-Australian candidates no-one is talking about
Great article Dem; I am a big fan of all of the players you have chosen, but unsure if Brennan Cox should be in the conversation.
Would be interested in what you think of having Jai Newcombe and Nick Daicos being two of those players, as they’ve been really consistent.
The All-Australian candidates no-one is talking about
I can see what you mean about Lloyd from a statistical perspective, Chris M, but he is only averaging the fourth most metres gained of any Swans player. He was only in the Swans best players on the AFL website on three occasions so far this season. I would sooner have Nick Blakey as he takes the game on. The most difficult player to leave out of the top five was Errol Gulden as I am a big fan of his; in key moments he delivers, but I couldn’t fit him in, as I tried to take emotion out of it and be as objective as possible. There’s no disputing that Warner will be a star. I would be interested in what your top five would be.
The top five players in the best and fairest for each team (Part 2)
Jeremy Cameron has kicked no goals in two of his first 11 games in Round 2 and Round 7 when the Cats lost to the Swans and Dockers respectively. He has also only kicked one goal in Round 4 when the Cats beat the Lions by ten points, while in Round 9 when he kicked one goal when the Cats lost to the Saints by ten points. Therefore, in three of the four losses that the Cats have had in the opening 11 Rounds he has kicked one goal or less!
Despite that, he will probably be in the team by the end of the season as in Round 12 after this team was formulated, he was the reason why the Cats won against the Bulldogs and leads the Coleman Medal with 38 goals, having played one more game than Charlie Curnow who has kicked 37 goals.
I chose Hawkins to play as he can also play as a second ruck, which means that you don’t have to have a second ruck on the bench, mind you Cripps can also pinch hit in the ruck!
My All Australian team at the halfway mark
My AFL All Australian Team at the halfway mark
FB: Jacob Weitering, Sam Collins, Tom Stewart
HB: Daniel Rich, Steven May, Sam Docherty
C: Josh Kelly, Andrew Brayshaw, Sam Walsh
HF: Bailey Smith, Charlie Curnow, Christian Petracca
FF: Marcus Bontempelli, Tom Hawkins, Tom Lynch
Foll: Jarrod Witts, Clayton Oliver, Lachie Neale
Int: Patrick Cripps, Jack Crisp, Jack Sinclair, Jayden Short
My All Australian team at the halfway mark
Multiple Choice Answer:
The reason that the Sydney Swans lost to the Gold Coast at the SCG was because:
(i) Gold Coast was the better side on the day
(vii) The Swans are missing George Hewett and Jordan Dawson
AFL takeaways: How your club fared in Round 8
Re the Dockers, Andrew Brayshaw had 40 disposals.
AFL takeaways: How your club fared in Round 2
Difficult to argue with Dem, as he thought Nankervis should captain Richmond in 2022; https://www.theroar.com.au/2021/09/16/the-obvious-choice-for-richmonds-next-captain-and-no-it-isnt-dusty/
How a hot start will anchor the Dockers' September hopes
You are right berrlins; I am surprised Selwood is still captain, as Tom Stewart is the natural fit to take the club forward.
The four players who will make or break Geelong in 2022
Appreciate your input, TheSecretScout. I respectfully disagree.
Gauci would have conceded four goals if not for Popovic clearing the ball off the line. Despite that, he did keep the scoreboard respectable from an Adelaide United perspective. His penalty save was brilliant and so was his double save, however both him and Young made four saves and Young kept a clean sheet.
As a matter of fact, I’m a big fan of Gauci, so it was purely a subjective decision and had nothing to do with him being in a losing team.
Who made the cut? A-League team of the week: Round 8