At this point, the Magpies are 7-5. In their 12 matches to date, they’re scoring 52.2% of the game & currently I rank them at 5th.

Tarkyn Lockyer – Playing his best football in defence averaging 20.4 touches per game, the 2nd time he’s gone over the 20 touch mark in his career. His best game to date was against North Melbourne where he scoring 4 goals. Also, was his usual best at the Gabba gathering 29 touches & 14 marks. His 6 tackles against West Coast & Sydney have seen him gain his best tackle average in his career. (3.4).

Leon Davis – The best forward in the league for his size, Davis has notched up big games against the Bombers with his 32 touches & 7 tackles in a losing team. He also had 32 touches, 10 marks & 3 goals against the Eagles in Perth gibing him his best possession (22.3) & goal average (1.7) in his career.

Dane Swan – The Magpies No 1 ranked player, but a $13 chance for the Brownlow. Averaging over 30 touches (31.6) for the 1st time in his career with his 48 against Port Adelaide the stand out. Taken 11 marks twice (West Coast & Essendon) as well as 7 tackles against the Eagles. Arguably the best midfielder in the competition today.

Scott Pendlebury – Will the Magpies miss him after a possible 1-3 week knee injury?? 39 touches & 11 marks against the Dees was his obvious stand out & will try hard even when the chips are down, evident in his 6 tackles against both the Lions & the Saints.

Nick Maxwell – Some say he wears the No 5 with distinction, but the stats say otherwise. 29 touches & 12 marks against the Eagles was the highlight whilst his 8 tackles & 2 goals against the Crows in a losing effort may have signalled the best of intentions, but compare that to a shocker against the worst team in the AFL in the Dees & the No 5 isn’t very much alive.

Josh Fraser – The man who got Grant Thomas sacked started the season like a house on fire with 5 tackles against the Cats, 27 hitouts against the Bombers & has taken 8 marks in 3 games, but since then his 27 disposals against the Dees is the only highlight. Seriously needs help & Cameron Wood isn’t the answer the Pies were punting on. They’d be better off having Fraser as the extra forward.

Shane O’Bree – Had high 32 touches against the Saints, 11 tackles against the Cats & 7 marks against the Crows all in losing sides. Probably epitomises the lack of effort over the years against teams they should beat.

John Anthony – The man with no surname is a surprise top scorer for the Pies kicking 28-12. Has kicked 4 goals on 3 occasions & 8 marks against the Eagles, but lacks high disposal & defensive skills.

Brad Dick – Second year and after a knee reconstruction with 25 touches against Port Adelaide, 9 tackles against the Eagles & 5 goals against the Dees. Finding it tougher against the bigger boys & hopefully extra bulk might help in the future.

Could finish 4th to 6th with only Brisbane, Carton & their ability to lose the games they shouldn’t stand in their way of a top four finish.

ESSENDON

Stand at 6-6 after round 12 & have slipped in recent weeks to be scoring at 49.7% of the game ranking them 9th.

Patrick Ryder – Came to life in the 27 hitout, 13 tackles in his Anzac medal winning performance against the Pies. He also helped himself to 6 marks in the upset of the season against the Hawks & his 20 touches against the Tigers showed no lack of intensity against the non-performing clubs.

Matthew Lloyd – Watch him on TV & he looks past it. This is his worst year since his 2nd year at the club, but saves his best for the rivals. 19 touches & 15 marks against the Hawks & 5 goals against the Blues stands out, but is averaging 2 goals a game. Lacking the size of today’s modern forwards

Jobe Watson – By far his best season to date with 39 touches in that scare of the Saints, 6 tackles against the Kangaroos & the Dees, 8 marks against the Power & 3 goals against the Crows. Much maligned for his lack of foot skills but his endeavour never wavers no matter the odds.

Dustin Fletcher – The evergreen inspector gadget served a 5 week suspension for tripping himself & breaking his own leg. 28 touches & 13 marks against the Dockers in a season of lowlights & one wonders how long the bookends can go for.

Brent Stanton – Every season, Stanton just gets better. 36 touches & 14 marks against the Hawks was the main highlight. Another who tries hard with 6 tackles in losing efforts against the Crows & the Power, whilst 2 goals against the Blues proved handy. Can still mix the good with the bad, but this season, it’s more often good.

Jason Winderlich – Better than his breakout 2007 season, Winderlich’s 29 touches against the Hawks, 12 marks against the Tigers & 8 tackles against the Power, along with a the ability to be a midfielding goal sneak, has seen him be the Bomners mark of consistency this season.

Scott Lucas – You wouldn’t believe that Lucas is the 9th best Bomber in the rankings this season. Found enough of it early, including 9 marks against the Kangaroos, but 7 goals in 2 games from the VFL, 19 touches against the Dees & 5 tackles against the Crows has shown Lucas that he has to think between the ears 110% of the game in 2009.

Heath Hocking – Cemented his place in his 3rd senior year at the Bombers. 27 touches against the Saints, 7 marks twice & 9 tackles against the Hawks has shown the football world that he can mix it with the big boys.

Hayden Skipworth – “Remember me?” said Hayden having not played since 2006. Set the tone with 30 touches & 12 marks against the Power, but that tone has levelled off over the weeks. 5 tackles & 2 goals against the Crows is probably his only other real glamour patch this season.

They could be the team that breaks the mould & finish in 8th spot with 11 wins ahead of the Hawks & the Power.

SYDNEY

Could Paul Roos miss the finals for only the 2nd time in his coaching career, if you count his caretaking year?? Scoring 47.1% of the time & slipping to 43.7% on the road without a win outside of Sydney.

Darren Jolly – Has almost made rucking his own in 2009 of it wasn’t for Dean Cox or Aaron Sandilands. 53 hitouts against the Pies exposed their rucking weaknesses. 19 touches, 7 marks & 3 goals against the Hawks in the round 2 upset, along with his 8 tackles the next week against the Lions, shows why the Swans recruited him. It’s his never say die attitude that makes him a year in, year out value.

Brett Kirk – Add the word “guts” to value for Kirk. 41 touches against the Pies & 13 tackles against the Lions shows that players outside of the Aussie Rules heartlands can play the game. 5 out of 12 games have had double figure tackle counts.

Jude Bolton – What an amazing year for Jude Bolton. Thrown into the midfield, he’s had 29 touches 3 times & racked up 10 or more tackles 3 times if he doesn’t rack up the disposals. One player who can hurt you in both aspects, but lacks the size to be a superstar.

Jarrad McVeigh – 33 touches against the Hawks, 7 marks 3 times & 6 tackles twice. Keeping up last years disposal count, but he just doesn’t have that same presence as last season. But, he’s not alone.

Ted Richards – Had a ripper against the Tigers when the game was almost slipping away. Also had 25 touches against the Eagles proving he can find it under extreme pressure.

Adam Goodes – His best season since 2006 with 30 touches against the Bulldogs, & loves playing against the Hawks. 4 goals in round 2 & 8 tackles in round 11 shows they can’t find a match up for the Brownlow medallist.

Ryan O’Keefe- Went absolutely missing in the 1st 6 weeks, but you wouldn’t know it as he’s averaged the best season to date. 41 touches, 8 marks & 2 goals against the Pies, while 9 tackles against the Bulldogs & the Power, have given the Swans the player they’ve been missing from last season.

Amon Buchanan – Has been a disappointment for the Swans this season & his career is in jeopardy. 21 touches against the Dockers & 8 marks plus 7 tackles against the Tigers are unmatched against quality opposititon.

Craig Bolton – Another once reliable player, only his 25 touches & 12 marks against the Hawks stands out. Now becoming more well known for holding the likes of Jonathan Brown & Lance Franklin to next to no goals.

Unfortunately, can see them finishing in 11th spot & questions should really be asked of Roos inability to play the youngsters after their Grand Final loss in 2006.

Against better opposition, they rise to the task. Against the also-rans, they do what they need to do.

But you cannot play with form like that. You look at the Australian Cricket squad and they played with their form by ‘resting’ players etc and they lost several Australian one day competitions that way. It will come back to bite them in the bum, like last year!

Surprisingly in the 95 season, Carlton had a mini form slump when they lost two games in a row against the bottom sides (St Kilda & ??), they then bounced back and won the Grand Final in a canter! Maybe Geelong should have lost against WCE or Freo to give them a wake up call.

They are not playing that impressive at the moment.

but they do enough to win. I don’t think they’ll get caught again like they did against the Doggies (interesting coincidence that the Doggies broke Essendon’s winning season in 2000. . .). Against better opposition, they rise to the task. Against the also-rans, they do what they need to do.
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@Geelong: surprised you rate that Geelong will go undefeated. They are not playing that impressive at the moment. They struggled to contain the Dogs when they had a run on and they also struggled against two of the bottom four sides in West Coast & Fremantle…

@Sydney: I do not even think their resilience will help them. I think they will try and trade their way out of the hole. Their forward line and midfield needs the most help as the defense still has a few years in it.

Notions of Lloyd’s demise are very premature. He has sacrificed his own game, and potentially his standing in the history books, to be a better around the ground leader and to nurture the up-and-coming talent. Unfortunately, Neagle hasn’t yet figured out how it all works, but he and Gumbleton will be called upon in 2010.

I share your pessimisim on Lucas. He has lost a yard and is far too easily spoiled these days. With a turning circle like the Queen Mary, there aren’t too many effective second efforts so oppositions are rebounding off him.

Overall, lots of positive signs.

For the others:
Geelong, unstoppable. Will go undefeated for the season.
Collingwood. Seem to find a way, even with an “ordinary” list.
Sydney. Dark days ahead trying to cover O’Loughlin, Hall, Kirk, Barry, but the team has a resilience other teams covet.
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