Roar Guru
Joined February 2018
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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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Charlie Cameron should take plenty away from kicking five goals in an obliteration of Richmond against the Hawks.
Bayley Fritsch should become an even more important player from a structural perspective, given key forward Jacob van Rooyen will be unavailable due to concussion.
Jeremy Finlayson should be a welcome addition to the Port Adelaide forward line after kicking four goals in the SANFL last week.
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…
Perhaps Jimmy Webster will feel the void left by Coffield.
The four players who could make or break St KIlda in 2022
It will be interesting to see how McGovern goes if he can stay injury free.
The four players who could make or break the Carlton Blues in 2022
I would select Boland before Starc.
How are Australian cricket's best of the rest performing this summer?
Hazlewood played all four games in the series against India when I selected the ‘best of the rest.’ I am revisiting those selections one year on; as stated in the introduction.
How are Australian cricket's best of the rest performing this summer?
Thanks for publishing some of my abstract ideas and for giving me constructive criticism. Lots of luck in your future endeavours.
Revisiting my AFL predictions for 2021 - and a farewell to The Roar
I am a big fan of Kyle Langford and Andrew McGrath so that means that Shiel is down the pecking order as far as midfield game time is concerned. I think that the Suns would be the perfect fit for Shiel, as he is adaptable; he can play in the midfield or on the wing and spend some time on a half forward flank and he could be used in a leadership capacity. Perhaps someone of the calibre of Sam Day would be a suitable deal as the Bombers could use a centre half forward and he would be a good fit to fill that void. Be interested in your views as a Suns supporter.
The five players your team can least afford to lose: Essendon Bombers
I agree with you about Hamling. He is a missing link for the Dockers defence.
The five players your team can least afford to lose: Fremantle Dockers
This is in reply to Jimmy Woods:
There are some good youngsters coming through; the likes of Callum and Tyler Brown as well as Josh Daicos have a good future. We need to get creative; perhaps a player like James Cousins from the Hawks, who has just been delisted would be a good fit; given our salary cap issues. Hopefully, Will Hoskin-Elliott can improve and get back to his best under a new coach, along with that I think Josh Thomas could improve under a new coach. Both Hoskin-Elliott and Thomas’s market value is too low to get anything decent in return from a trade.
I would definitely trade Mihocek and even Jamie Elliott as they both have some value if we choose to trade them. I would trade Grundy and pay part of his salary as he needs to be the player we could least afford to lose to warrant his contract; therefore, I only had him as the fifth player we could least afford to lose; that’s also due to Darcy Cameron being the only decent back up with Mason Cox out of form.
The five players your team can least afford to lose: Collingwood
For the purpose of this exercise, it was difficult to find players on the wing who had good games. Isaac Smith still played his role with the second most metres gained, despite not having his best game.
A bag for Buddy: AFL team of the week Round 23
Yes, you are right, Touk Miller has been a shining light for the Suns.
A bag for Buddy: AFL team of the week Round 23
I agree that Seedsman had a good game, but I decided to go with Daniel Howe who was best on ground and Menegola who I selected as co-captain on the wing. Also, Keays didn’t turn the ball over, had 11 tackles and eight clearances and was in the middle of the ground not on a wing, so there was no room for Seedsman.
In short, I selected, Keays and Menegola over Cameron Guthrie and Seedsman; feel free to state who you would’ve selected, remembering there’s only one player from each team!
AFL team of the week: Round 22
I only select one player from each team so that means that some players aren’t the best player from the given team.
I selected Luke Ryan from the Dockers as he was outstanding and Taberner was selected as a centre half forward and I try to stick to the given positions of each player for the integrity of the article.
With regards to Daniher, I felt obligated to select Zorko due to his leadership as well as his defensive pressure as he had nine tackles to go with six clearances and Daniher kicked 3.2 in a team that kicked 22 goals.
In relation to Jeremy Cameron, he was selected at centre half forward so I couldn’t select him and Menegola was outstanding with 35 disposals, most metres gained, a goal and goal assist when the game was in the balance.
At centre half forward I selected Brad Crouch as I had to select Jack Macrae ahead of Jack Steele and so on as Macrae played well compared to his Bulldogs teammates.
Also, Kennedy wasn’t playing for parts of the game as he was getting a possible injury assessment, which vindicates why he only had 6 kicks and nearly had a goal assist, for Jamie Cripps, but the ball was touched.
AFL team of the week: Round 22
It was a bad Round for full forwards! Having said that, Kennedy did kick the Eagles first two goals of the game.
Despite that, I strongly considered Witherden on a half back flank, but went with Crisp and Hall. I wanted to select Naitanui, but thought Darcy was slightly better than him and I didn’t think anyone had the influence Gawn had in the ruck.
AFL team of the week: Round 22
Agree with you about Jacob Townsend!
The hardest round to tip: Six talking points from AFL Round 21
As you’re an Essendon supporter; do you think Heppell, Langford and McGrath are in your top ten players?
The agonising battle for eighth: AFL Round 21 power rankings
Totally understand you picking Leon Cameron, but Sam Taylor deserves an honourable mention.
Your club's underrated performer: Round 21
It was a difficult decision to leave them out.
The best of the rest (A-League Olyroos edition)
Great article, but my six would’ve been: Rory Laird, Callum Mills, Jordan Dawson, Sean Darcy, Jordan Ridley and Ben Keays.
'Historically spectacular': The AFL's most improved players this season
Thanks Channon, your feedback is interesting as I’m a big fan of Caleb Daniel, but there were players that I had to select instead of him; Daniel Rioli and Lachie Whitfield were standouts for their respective teams on a half back flank and Bontempelli was the match winner.
Be interested to see who you would select instead of Bontempelli and remove to fit Caleb Daniel into the team.
The AFL team of the week Round 19: 'Chris Scott will definitely have to find a spot for him'
Thanks Gordon, your comment is refreshing.
There are certain players I feel obligated to choose, despite there being so many permutations; I even considered Caleb Daniel, even though Bontempelli was an automatic selection as captain.
Surprisingly, Harris Andrews was probably the second most obvious player to choose as Round 19 was a good Round for key forwards and therefore not for key defenders!
Thanks again.
The AFL team of the week Round 19: 'Chris Scott will definitely have to find a spot for him'
Sharp got a NAB rising star nomination in Round 18 after the Western Bulldogs game.
The AFL team of the week Round 19: 'Chris Scott will definitely have to find a spot for him'
The reply was meant for James H.
The AFL team of the week Round 18: Buddy and The Bont lead the way
I strongly considered the Breust and Oliver combination, but in the end I couldn’t leave out Tom Mitchell as he was outstanding.
The AFL team of the week Round 18: Buddy and The Bont lead the way
Walsh’s leadership was there for everyone to see; he played for two players, with no Cripps. Despite Weitering being acting captain in Round 18, Walsh got the Blues over the line.
I felt obligated to pick Bont as co-captain as he also helped his team win a game when it was in the balance.
I strongly considered three co-captains as Heppell was strongly considered given his mark and goal in the 2nd quarter, but there were other Bombers players that also showed leadership.
The AFL team of the week Round 18: Buddy and The Bont lead the way
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