AFL $20,000+ Crows v Cats Line-Up
I went to begin this preview and realised, hang on… It feels like I have written up a Crows vs Cats preview very recently. Turns out the two sides played just seven weeks ago, which meant I was able to copy my last preview word for word. Just kidding. Here is the totally original and not repeated preview for this belter of a Friday night contest.
Here is a team you may consider for the AFL $20,000+ Crows v Cats competition
Forward
Josh Jenkins ($12,450)
Jerker Jenkins has been in some pretty formidable form of late. The key forward is averaging a modest return of 81 Draftstars points for the season, but has gone at an impressive 98 points per game across his past seven games. This is including four tons and a 98, with three of these 10+ totals being amassed at Adelaide Oval. The ageing talls in the Cats backline will be tested, and I’d expect Josh to get on the end of a few snags (66% of which will be joe-the-goose goals).
Daniel Menzel ($10,700)
Dan Menzel returned after a knee scare in the warmup against the Giants nearly a month ago. Hearing ‘knee’ and ‘Menzel’ in the same sentence sends shivers down anyone’s spine, but showed no signs of the injury last weekend. Menzel posted 90 Draftstars points from 16 disposals, booted three goals in the Cats tight win. Dan scored just the 46 points earlier in the year against the Crows, but has surpassed 80 in his past three matches.
Midfield
Brad Crouch ($15,450)
Brad Crouch has been Mr Dependable since coming back into the side this season. Barty has gone past 100 Draftstars points in seven of his last eight games. What was the one score below 100, you ask? 95. Bradley doesn’t just score his points from his immense ball-winning, proving he is also a tackling machine in recent weeks. With Sloane again likely to be locked down, Crouch should get us the score we are after.
Scott Selwood ($13,600)
Scooter Selwood is back in the Geelong line-up and he has his sights set on one man: Rory Sloane. Selwood went to him the last time the Cats faced the Crows (only seven weeks ago), negating him with ease. He didn’t just stop Sloane, though, piling on a monster 125 Draftstars points from 25 disposals and 10 tackles. Injury and a couple of poorer scores since then see the man at just $13.6k. Jump on.
Jordan Murdoch ($10,400)
Jordan Murdoch has been fairly consistent without setting the world on fire in recent weeks. Murdoch has gone between 72 and 80 Draftstars points in his past seven games. We love a good standard deviation here at Draftstars HQ, and I reckon you can’t get much better than that. While this points range isn’t exactly what we are after, Murdoch should be able to perform well on the run-and-gun Adelaide Oval.
James Parsons ($7,400)
I was that close to chucking Parsons into my Draftstars line-up last week, and I am very glad I didn’t. The youngster collected just eight disposals and 24 Draftstars points against the Hawks. Putrid. You are probably wondering why I am suggesting selecting him this week, well I am a forgiving person. Before this mare he had scores of 75 and 68 in his previous three games, so I think (hope) he can get to a score like this on Friday night.
Defence
Cam Guthrie ($10,300)
Jake Lever had this spot until he was left out of the side with injury, so Cam Guthrie comes in to take his place. Guthrie’s past few couple of weeks have been dismal, posting meagre totals of 57 and 31 against Hawthorn and Brisbane. In close clashes in previous weeks however, Guthrie fared much better. Cam produced scores of 74 (Giants), 83 (Dockers) and 111 (Eagles), and I’d expect Friday night’s encounter to be a tight one as well.
Alex Keath ($6,400)
In all honesty, I was unsure if this bloke still existed. Enter Alex Keath. The footballer-turned-cricketer-turned-footballer comes in for his AFL debut thanks to Jake Lever’s injury. Keath was picked up by the Crows as a category-B rookie and has (apparently) been tearing it up in the SANFL. Hopefully he goes better than his over to Shaun Marsh in that BBL semi-final in years ago (0/27). I’m gonna back him in.
Ruck
Sam Jacobs ($13,050)
Sam Jacobs is the logical ruckman selection in this one despite being at a more expensive price. The Cats are playing both Rhys Stankley and Zac Smith in the ruck, while Jacobs is rucking on his lonesome. Sauce beat last year’s All Australian Max Gawn last weekend with an imposing 42 hitouts along with nine disposals and 97 Draftstars points. Should be the dominant ruckman on Friday night.
The Line Up
FWD: Josh Jenkins ($12,450)
FWD: Daniel Menzel ($10,700)
MID: Brad Crouch ($15,450)
MID: Scott Selwood ($13,600)
MID: Jordan Murdoch ($10,400)
MID: James Parsons ($7,400)
DEF: Cam Guthrie ($10,300)
DEF: Alex Keath ($6,400)
RUCK: Sam Jacobs ($13,050)
Salary Remaining: $250
AFL SCORING SYSTEM
Kick = 3 points
Mark = 3 points
Handball = 2 points
Goal = 6 points
Behind = 1 point
Tackle = 4 points
Free Kick For = 1 point
Free Kick Against = -3 points
Hitout = 1 point