Unfortunately many of our best performers were shared by our opposition and our uniques didn’t quite get the job done.
Grant Birchall was our worst performer, managing just 50 points, while Jack Gunston wasn’t much better with 68. At the top end, Ablett as captain was again the perfect choice, while Stefan Martin (113) continues to defy the odds.
The loss sees us drop to second place on the ladder (not even 11-straight wins could see us stay on top) but we’re two games clear of Adelaide. We’ll get another shot at Brisbane in four weeks’ time, but until then we have to tackle the rest of the league.
How our team looks before the Round 16 trades
Our opponent this week
West Coast’s fan team looms large this week. Amazingly, we only have 5 matching players, so the clash could go either way. With 6 starting Eagles, we need to hope that West Coast don’t have a field day against the Swans.
One player to watch out for is Sam Mitchell, with the Hawthorn star likely to return this week. Priced at $497,536 he will be someone to keep a close eye on over the next fortnight as he bottoms out in price.
On the block
There’s cash to be made up front with Cameron Shenton and while we’ve got Jeremy McGovern providing excellent cover, we can afford to bring in a basement-priced rookie.
In defence, it’s time to upgrade Jeremy Laidler. He was on the block a few weeks ago, but other moves forced us to keep him in the squad. With our cash reserves, however, we can afford to go big in defence.
Trade decisions
