The last hurrah
Only one round of matches remain for AFL Dream Team coaches.
While some Dream Teamers have already put their cue in the rack and started preparations for 2012, those lucky enough to be playing off in League Grand Finals will be sweating on Thursday night’s team selections before finalising their ‘premiership’ team.
After six see-sawing months of blinders and blunders, the Brisbane Lions’ Dream Team Group will ultimately come down to two teams - ‘bradpittFC’ and ‘The Blowtorch’.
Just 64 points separates the top two sides, with ‘bradpittFC’ maintaining the slight edge, but there are enough differences between the two teams to suggest the final result won’t be a foregone conclusion.
‘The Blowtorch’ will be hoping that the likes of Grant Birchall, Sam Mitchell, Andrew Swallow, Drew Petrie and the Lions’ own Jed Adcock have best-on-ground performances, while the hopes of ‘bradpittFC’ will be resting squarely with Sam Fisher, Greg Broughton, Gary Ablett, Matthew Boyd, Isaac Smith and Nick Riewoldt.
The, of course, is the all-important Captain selections.
One thing’s for sure, by Sunday night we will have crowned a new Lions AFL Dream Team Champion.
Meanwhile, Jack Redden has all but shored up his title as the Lions’ best Dream Team performer on the field, having accumulated 2,316 points so far in 2011 to rank fifth overall across the entire competition.
Not even Tom Rockliff’s season-high 151-point effort against West Coast last Saturday night was enough to make headway on his good mate.
The other standout scorers from Round 23 included season-best Dream Team performances from Daniel Rich (120 points) and Josh Drummond (102 points) while Luke Power scored 99 points in his final AFL appearance.
Next week we will present our 2011 AFL Dream Team awards, but until then, good luck to all coaches in what promises to be a stressful final round.
The full Dream Team standings after Round 23 are as follows:
LIONS MOST POINTS (ROUND 23)
1. Tom Rockliff - 151
2. Daniel Rich - 120
3. Jack Redden - 113
4. Josh Drummond - 102
5. Luke Power - 99
LIONS MOST POINTS (OVERALL)
1. Jack Redden - 2,316
2. Tom Rockliff - 2,122
3. Simon Black - 1,936
4. Matthew Leuenberger - 1,933
5. Pearce Hanley - 1,677
LIONS GROUP DREAM TEAM RANKINGS (ROUND 23)
1. Boats n Pro’s (Alec) - 2,368
2. Paul a Bears (Paul) - 2,363
3. LionsFan16 (Lions Fan 1) - 2,350
4. Rads Warriors (Luke) - 2,340
5. ladpeer (Les) - 2,334
LIONS GROUP DREAM TEAM RANKINGS (OVERALL)
1. bradpitt FC (Josh) - 49,992
2. The Blowtorch (The J Dog) - 49,928
5. Bob’s Hacks (Adam) - 49,509
4. rAnD0M1zzz3d (Scully) - 49,392
5. Jed’s Army (Mathew) - 49,374
LIONS PLAYER DREAM TEAM RANKINGS
134. Patfull’s Posse (Joel Patfull) - 46,890
162. Richy’s Rockets (Daniel Rich) - 46,594
327. Todd’s Titans (Todd Banfield) - 44,015
350. Bewick’s Bandits (Rohan Bewick) - 43,261
358. Boonj’s Bandits (Ash McGrath) - 43,084
448. Get Around Golbs (Mitch Golby) - 40,544
508. Rocky’s Rebels (Tom Rockliff) - 38,280
514. Clarky’s Kings (Mitch Clark) - 37,991
539. The Incredibles (Josh Green) - 36,289
553. The Wolf Pack (Claye Beams) - 35,522