AFL DT 2010 From Left Field - Phil Davis

As regular readers will know, I have been doing a series of posts profiling potential 2010 Dream Team recruits. Since Dream Team Talk launched their 52 players in 52 days preseason guide which will cover all the obvious picks, I will be moving to the left field selections, especially those I (as both an Adelaide fan and a North Adelaide Roosters fan) have inside knowledge about.

Phil Davis is a key defender. He can also be selected as a forward. He is not quite what you would call a left field selection for those who have done their research already. Before you run to the hills in fear of a 30 average, he is a creative type player, in the vein of S. Fisher or Bock. He can also play forward. Last year, he was knocking so hard on the door of the Crows defence that almost any other team in the league would have been playing him. But at Adelaide, he had three major roadblocks taking the key defence roles in Bock, Rutten and Otten (2nd in the rising star). However, for 2010 Otten is out with an ACL knee injury leaving a spot free for Davis.

There are two worries for Davis on getting his spot. Scott Stevens could be thrust back into the defence to plug the hole. This is unlikely in light of Davis' form over last year and Adelaide's need to find some key defenders to take over after Bock and Rutten. The other faint possibility is that Daniel Talia finds some excellent form over the NAB Cup and leapfrogs him. Again, considering what Davis showed last year this is unlikely.

Phil was a first round draft pick before last season, showing his potential. Playing in an Adelaide defence which likes to share the ball around, he should be capable of putting up similar numbers to Otten last year, probably averaging around 60. By the end of 2009, his SANFL coach Daniel Healy claimed he was 'the best tall defender in the competition' and was a regular emergency for the Adelaide side. He will be priced at regular draftee price in 2010, making him a lock for your defensive bench.

Edit: Looking at Phil's 2009 SANFL stats, he averaged 58 DT points, with 3 scores from 18 games over 70. He looks like a Scarlett type scorer who has occasional massive scores when he is let free, but cannot maintain these. He averaged 16 touches and 5 marks with a greater number of handballs than kicks. Or he could just be showing glimpses of his potential at this stage. He should get the ball shared to him more at AFL level due to the higher possession gamestyle of Adelaide. In any case, anyone who can consistently play as a DT back at base price is a solid pick.

Making Test Cricket Testing Again

At present, the West Indies, cricketing powerhouse of the 1970s-1990s are so feeble that the Queensland state side are ahead by more than 300 runs on the first innings of their tour match. They have only 4 players who would make an Aussie state side (Sarwan, Chanderpaul, Gayle and possibly Bravo). Yet this is not the threatened 2nd tier team which would have come had disagreements between the players and sponsors not been solved. It is time for a two-tiered top level in Test cricket. Test matches are about the contest between two evenly matched teams, a true test of players' skill and resolve. The coming series of 3 tests will not tax the Australian side one iota (even if one of their best batsman (Hughes) is not playing).

Let the West Indian players develop their game against weaker sides (New Zealand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Australia A, England A, India A, South Africa A). At the end of each calendar year, the top side from the lower division gets promoted and the bottom side from the top division goes down (with variation possible in the number of teams in each division depending on the number of strong teams). The A teams would also be varied depending on depth and which teams are strong. This would also have the added effect of giving some meaning to the ICC Test championship table. The lower division teams would still get to play the top level teams in series of meaningless ODIs as they do now (hello Chappell-Hadlee series). Anyone from Fremantle could tell you that getting flogged every week doesn't make you a better player.

And obviously, pitches need to be prepared so that there is something in them for bowlers. Low scoring test cricket is much more exciting than games where both sides make 500 in the first innings and sporting declarations are required to make a contest.

AFL Dream Team 2010 Player Profile: Franklin, Lance "Buddy"

Vital Statistics:

Name: Lance "Buddy" Franklin

Team: Hawthorn

Age:23

Position: Fwd

2010 Price: $354,900

2009 Avg: 80.8 from 21 games

Historical Avgs: 96 from 22 in '08, 79 from 20 in '07, 57 from 14 in '06, 51 from 20 in '05

Pros:

-Was below par last year, with poor supply and weight issues detracting from his point scoring

-Has been rarely injured historically (playing more than 20 games in all but '06)

-Had a strong finish to the year with scores over 90 in 5 of his last 6 games

-Should improve back to somewhere near his '08 average of 96

-Is still young and scarily could still improve

Cons:

-Suspension carried over from last year means he will miss round 1

-Has had a few troubles with the tribunal in the past (3 visits in the past 2 years)

-Has Tom Boonen like off-field problems which may lead to a suspension (if the AFL has decent testing procedures)

-Gives away a lot of frees against (-3 points each)

Best Case Scenario: 21 games at 98

Worst Case Scenario: 18 games at 86

At a Glance: Dipped last year, should be back up again in 2010. Make sure you have playing cover for round 1