GDFL INS vs. OUTS: Who would win in a fantasy match?

22 Mar GDFL INS vs. OUTS: Who would win in a fantasy match?

The countdown to the league’s blockbuster opening round continues with a spotlight cast on the players entering the league accompanied by the voids each may hopefully fill.

Theoretically, the best way to paint the picture would be by selecting a dream team made of these stars and match the side against our list of talent in the league’s departure lounge.

Returning names such as McNamara, Jones, Challis and Witney combining with the incoming talents of James, Runnalls, J.Smith, Seddon and Sneddon would form an impressive side.

But could these names match a side with our departing talents including three time Bannockburn best and fairest Jack Brauman (on the eve of his VFL career with the Werribee Tigers)?

To help promote the league’s incoming talent we’ve left out recruits hopping from one GDFL club to another such as 2015 Whitley medallist Jamie Pitman, Dylan Smith, Blake Podnar, Curtis Young and Michael Leamer.

We’ve also excluded players returning from a long term injury such as 2016 Geelong West best and fairest Aaron O’Callaghan and David Holzfeind (pictured) given they did not leave their respective clubs last year.

So who would win in the GDFL’s INS vs. OUTS fantasy match?

More importantly, which names would make your respective fantasy sides?

“INS”

Defenders:

Jacob Hernan (Winchelsea)       Beau McNamara (Bell Post Hill)      Matt Costello (Winchelsea)

      Paul Davis (Thomson)                   Ryan Rich (East Geelong)              Tito Nyawela (Werribee)

All reports suggest five time GDFL premiership defender Beau McNamara ticked all boxes required at GFL club Grovedale from 2016-17 and already looks like a potential option for the GDFL interleague side in two month’s time.

East Geelong’s recruit Jayden Fanning looms as the next best defender however the former Geelong West star is under an injury cloud at the moment so we’ll replace him with his former Apollo Bay teammate Ryan Rich.

Former Grovedale defenders Jacob Hernan and Matt Costello will reunite for Winchelsea while former Portarlington captain Paul Davis injects even more leadership into this potential lineup.

Tito Nyawela (pictured) rounds off the six.

While the Centurion is still young he did finish fourth in the 2016 Whitley medal count behind Brent Macleod (Thomson), David Holzfeind (Bell Post Hill) and James Huybens (Inverleigh).

Midfield/Followers:

          Andy Challis (Corio)               Dylan Witney (Belmont)        Daniel Freeman (Thomson)

  Brayden Sneddon (Werribee)       Jackson Smith (Werribee)       Matthew James (Bell Post Hill)

The Grovedale theme continues when returning GDFL premiership stars Dylan Witney (Belmont) and Daniel Kee (North Geelong) battle for the centre spot.

We’ll hand it to the Lions’ assistant coach for now until the the two play off in Round 9.

We don’t expect incoming Corio coach Andy Challis (pictured) to return to his 2014 Whitley medal winning form over night nonetheless the 27-year-old should still be a walk in for the extended interleague squad.

Since departing the league the former Winchelsea and East Geelong play-maker starred in a premiership for Ballarat FL club Darley in 2015 before he was judged as AFL London’s best player from 2016-17.

The next three names may be worth highlighting.

The GDFL’s number-one ruckman Renn Lovitt will be unavailable for a majority of the upcoming season so former Ocean Grove (203cm) big man Brayden Sneddon looks to be the standout ahead of Kyle Brookes and Brodie Hecker.

Matthew James returns to Bell Post Hill hungry for success and as for Jackson Smith, not to be mistaken with the reigning Winchelsea best and fairest, well… click a link for his outstanding story.

Forwards:

Simon Seddon (Inverleigh)         Blake Miller (Bannockburn)         Tyler Jones (Belmont)

   Justin Baxter (Inverleigh)     Beau Runnalls (North Geelong)     Scott Galloway (Geelong West)

Rumours have it that North Geelong forward Beau Runnalls (pictured) landed six goals in last weekend’s practice match.

This would be reminiscent of his 2015 season with Alberton FL club Phillip Island when he found 106 in 20 games.

The forward, who joins the club his father Andrew played for in the 1980s, is joined by his brother Matt as recruits from Southern FL metropolitan club St Kilda City.

Bannockburn forward Blake Miller may claim the early lead on the goal-kicking front when travelling to Corio while former Thomson and East Geelong star Tyler Jones may be restricted by the Panthers’ back six in Round 1.

Inverleigh utilities Justin Baxter and Simon Seddon have injected hype into Inverleigh’s premiership campaign, Seddon reportedly found 10 goals in the second half of the 2014 QAFL grand final for Labrador.

Jake Kiddle (Thomson) and John Gillett (Anakie) were initially in the side, they’ve made way for Scott Galloway who has returned to his 2013 Geelong West GFL form in recent weeks now representing the GDFL Giants.

Interchange/Emergencies:

       Blake Taylor (Werribee)        Nick Sneyd (Belmont)        Daniel Kee (North Geelong)

Jake Kiddle (Thomson)         Will Cann (East Geelong)          John Gillett (Anakie)

You can expect an influx of quality recruits this season when Magpie star Daniel Kee is named on the bench.

Arguably the surprises (other than missing names like Andrew Hodgson, Joseph Fama, etc) are the additions of the youngsters.

Blake Taylor, simply known as BT in the WRFL, is one of four teenagers named in Werribee’s leadership group alongside fellow recruit Aadyn Sleep-Dalton (formerly St Joseph’s).

And then there’s Will Cann, a dynamic ball winner who has already been touted as future senior captain of East Geelong.

“OUTS”

Defenders:

Elia Tzagarakis (Werribee)        Lachlan Edwards (Belmont Lions)       Matthew Kelly (Bell Post Hill)

Grant Armistead (North Geelong)          Cam Howland (Thomson)             Daniel Knight (Werribee)

Former VFL star Lachlan Edwards bleeds Belmont but will don a Bell Park jumper in season 2018.

Therefore it will be very hard to see the Lions covering his spot in Round 1, when playing a Panther unit which ran out 200-point winners the last time they met.

Cam Howland will also be a notable departure as will Matthew Kelly who returns to Grovedale after 17 senior games in 2017 alone for Bell Post Hill.

Midfield/Followers:

James Chandler (North Geelong)       Jack Brauman (Bannockburn)       Jake Peters (Bannockburn)

Phillip Jones (Werribee)        Ruben Vesikuru (East Geelong)     Dion Lawson (Werribee)

We would recommend some violin background music when waving goodbye to these names.

James Chandler and Jake Peters starred for the 2016 GDFL interleague side before they were replaced by Bannockburn star Jack Brauman last year.

Brauman’s 27 disposal performance against North Central last May was one of perhaps 40-50 elite games showcased by the 22-year-old across a 106 GDFL senior game career.

While he was unable to reach the senior premiership dais Brauman did just about everything else at Victoria Park and has promised to return to Bannockburn after his VFL tenure with Werribee (he will use Bell Park as an interchange club).

Ruben Vesikiuru (pictured) and Dion Lawson may have both had short lived GDFL careers nevertheless both stood out on the field by winning best and fairest awards for their low ranked sides.

Forwards:

Adam Vaughan (Geelong West)   Jackson Macleod (Thomson)   Ashley Brown (East Geelong)

Barry O’Toole (Corio)                    Jason Tom (Bannockburn)     Tyson Doherty (Geelong West)

Arguably two of the biggest names in local football from the past decade have called time on their GDFL careers.

After VFL stints at both Geelong and Werribee, Jason Tom evolved from a trusty defender at Leopold to prolific goal-kicker not just in the GFL but also in the region’s other two leagues.

Tom found 209 goals from 36 games for Geelong Amateur at the start of the decade before venturing down to Victoria Park where he starred for the Tigers with 147 goals in 38 games.

Macleod has postponed his 19-year Thomson career to follow his brother to CDFL club Apollo Bay.

And while the 28-year-old’s 2017 season was plagued by injury his resume has been second to none as a two time premiership player (2006 & 08 as a teenager), interleague captain and team of the year member.

Ash Brown may line-up for a Canberra based club this season due to his work situation while the recently retired Barry O’Toole, Adam Vaughan and Tyson Doherty may all still make a comeback at reserves level.

Bench/Emergencies:

Samuel Spencer (Belmont)               Andrew Fay (Belmont)              Adrian Carr (Geelong West)

Daniel Sprigg (Winchelsea)         Brenden Flinn (Geelong West)            James Fisher (Belmont)

Neighbouring leagues have been complimented by the final group who have made the extended bench with three ruckmen weakening the league’s stock of tap out specialists.

*Full list of Ins & Outs to be released this evening

By Alex Tigani
GDFL Media (22/03/2018)