At a glance
11 wins / 6 Losses – finished 4th on the ladder
Lost Elimination Final v Roughnecks
Wins
| Round 2 | Taxmanian Devils |
| Round 3 | Te Puke Pukekos |
| Round 6 | Puttanesca Chiefs |
| Round 7 | Love Sparkles |
| Round 8 | Feelin Dusty |
| Round 9 | MaherShalalHashBaz |
| Round 11 | Taxmanian Devils |
| Round 16 | Roughnecks |
| Round 18 | Puttanesca Chiefs |
| Round 19 | Love Sparkles |
| Round 20 | Feelin Dusty |
Top 5 Scorers
| Lethal Vipers | Tot. | Avg. | Last 5 Avg |
| Touk Miller GC | 2565 | 122.1 | 123.4 |
| Ben Keays AD | 2376 | 108 | 104.6 |
| Andrew Brayshaw FR | 2085 | 104.3 | 110.3 |
| Mitch Duncan GE | 1003 | 100.3 | – |
| Sean Darcy FR | 1968 | 93.7 | 83.4 |
All-Australians & Award Winners
Note: Aaron Hall was traded to Solomon’s Soldiers on the eve of the finals.
Pre-Season Draft
| Pick | Player | Team | Games | Avg | Still on List? |
| 3 | J. Ugle-Hagan WB – F | Lethal Vipers | 3 | 39 | Y |
| 13 | F. Macrae CW – C,F | Lethal Vipers | 4 | 37.8 | Y |
| 23 | J. Anderson NM – C | Lethal Vipers | 7 | 59.9 | Y |
| 33 | J. Koschitzke HW – B | Lethal Vipers | 7 | 37.9 | Y |
| 43 | P. Wright ES – F | Lethal Vipers | 10 | 61.9 | Y |
| 53 | M. Gibbons CA – F | Lethal Vipers | 10 | 62.2 | N |
| 73 | B. Fiorini GC – C | Lethal Vipers | 2 | 107 | N |
| 83 | B. Hardwick HW – B | Lethal Vipers | 17 | 74.8 | Y |
| 93 | M. Flynn GWS – R | Lethal Vipers | 8 | 71.1 | Y |
| 97 | T. Thomas NM – F | Lethal Vipers | 11 | 81.6 | Y |
| 99 | M. King SK – F | Lethal Vipers | 3 | 53 | Y |
| 103 | B. Cox FR – B | Lethal Vipers | 0 | 0 | N |
| 113 | L. Schultz FR – F | Lethal Vipers | 6 | 48.3 | Y |
| 123 | J. Newnes CA – C,F | Lethal Vipers | 14 | 69.4 | Y |
| 133 | G. Logue FR – B | Lethal Vipers | 2 | 44 | N |
| 143 | M. Pickett RI – C | Lethal Vipers | 2 | 81.5 | Y |
| 153 | C. Taylor NM – F | Lethal Vipers | 0 | 0 | N |
| 163 | Z. Tuohy GE – C | Lethal Vipers | 16 | 80.8 | N |
| 173 | C. Mayne CW – B,C | Lethal Vipers | 13 | 96.7 | Y |
| 183 | N. Wilson FR – B | Lethal Vipers | 0 | 0 | N |
| 193 | Q. Narkle GE – C | Lethal Vipers | 5 | 78.4 | Y |
Most inspired selection: Tarryn Thomas – pick 97
Hard to fault this draft. They played finals, and part of the reason why was they drafted 7 players who played 10 or more games for them. That’s huge – I doubt it’s happened all that often.
I love the selection of Thomas. He had a huge finish to the year, and looms as a potential All-Australian forward in 2022.
But there is a case to be made that the very best selection was Mayne at pick 173. He almost made the All-Australian team. He averaged almost 97 a game – that’s astonishing value. Thomas gets the nod from me because Mayne was a one-and-done selection.
A case could also be made for Hardwick. He played in all but one game for the Vipers this year.
Even Narkle in the final round was useful. Can he get a consistent game at Geelong (is he old enough yet?) – he could prove a very handy M7 moving forward.
In short, if you wanted to argue this was the best draft, I don’t think I’d argue back.
An interesting aside – they’ve invested a bit of capital in key forwards, an interesting approach in fantasy where those types tend to be overlooked for consistency reasons. But with the best forwards increasingly losing forward status with each passing off-season, maybe there is merit in this approach. This was a team built around Nick Riewoldt for a long time, and they clearly liked what they saw. Now they’re building around Aaron Naughton. And Max King. And Jamarra Ugle-Hagan. And Riley Thilthorpe, which brings us to…
Trades
| Date | Team 1 | Received | Team 2 | Received |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 July 2021 | Solomon’s Soldiers | Aaron Hall Zach Tuohy | Lethal Vipers | Nat Fyfe Harry Morrison |
| 5 April 2021 | Solomon’s Soldiers | Lethal Vipers Round 1 Pick | Lethal Vipers | Riley Thilthorpe |
| 6 March 2021 | Solomon’s Soldiers | Lethal Vipers Round 7 pick | Lethal Vipers | Roughnecks Round 10 Pick Defenestrators Round 10 pick |
Can I just say I love they sold high on Aaron Hall to bring in club icon Nat Fyfe. I don’t know if it will prove to be a good trade from a points perspective. Hall put up outrageous numbers, and is the number one defender heading into the year by a solid margin. But this club was named after Fyfe when it came into existence. It’s just right to have him in Viper green.
List at End of Season
| Lethal Vipers | Tot. | Avg. | Last 5 Avg |
| Touk Miller GC | 2565 | 122.1 | 123.4 |
| Ben Keays AD | 2376 | 108 | 104.6 |
| Andrew Brayshaw FR | 2085 | 104.3 | 110.3 |
| Mitch Duncan GE | 1003 | 100.3 | |
| Sean Darcy FR | 1968 | 93.7 | 83.4 |
| Chris Mayne CW | 1579 | 92.9 | 87.5 |
| Luke Ryan FR | 1660 | 87.4 | 86.6 |
| Nat Fyfe FR | 1267 | 84.5 | 39 |
| Blake Hardwick HW | 1627 | 81.4 | 85 |
| Tarryn Thomas NM | 1706 | 81.2 | 102.3 |
| Jed Anderson NM | 558 | 79.7 | 74.2 |
| James Cousins HW | 711 | 79 | 64 |
| Liam Duggan WC | 1099 | 78.5 | 72.5 |
| Darcy Byrne-Jones | 1688 | 76.7 | 70.8 |
| Jye Caldwell ES | 153 | 76.5 | |
| Oliver Florent SY | 1597 | 72.6 | 73.4 |
| Lachie Henderson GE | 1282 | 71.2 | 90.3 |
| Matthew Flynn GWS | 845 | 70.4 | |
| James Aish FR | 1528 | 69.5 | 65.8 |
| Peter Wright ES | 1385 | 69.3 | 74.4 |
| Harry Morrison HW | 936 | 66.9 | 62 |
| Aaron Naughton WB | 1403 | 66.8 | 46.2 |
| Angus Brayshaw ME | 1463 | 66.5 | 57.8 |
| Jack Newnes CA | 1248 | 65.7 | 68 |
| Tom Papley SY | 1430 | 65 | 72.8 |
| Patrick Lipinski WB | 585 | 65 | |
| Matt Taberner FR | 1000 | 62.5 | 61 |
| Sam Petrevski | 797 | 61.3 | 73 |
| Sam Flanders GC | 887 | 59.1 | 58 |
| Marlion Pickett RI | 1061 | 58.9 | 52.5 |
| Lachlan Schultz FR | 1159 | 58 | 53.3 |
| Cody Weightman WB | 743 | 57.2 | 48 |
| Quinton Narkle GE | 740 | 56.9 | 36.3 |
| Christopher Burgess GC | 1056 | 55.6 | 43.6 |
| Max King SK | 1093 | 54.7 | 64.3 |
| Riley Thilthorpe AD | 717 | 51.2 | 49.7 |
| Nakia Cockatoo BL | 197 | 49.3 | 49.3 |
| Jacob Koschitzke HW | 981 | 49.1 | 46.5 |
| Finlay Macrae CW | 388 | 43.1 | 63.8 |
| Jamarra Ugle-Hagan WB | 210 | 42 | 42.3 |
| Nathan O’Driscoll FR | – | – | – |
Player to watch in 2022
Patrick Lipinski
I already wrote extensively about Thomas in the draft section. He’s the obvious answer. Can he make the leap Andrew Brayshaw made this season?
So instead we’ll go with Patrick Lipinski. You won’t find any analysis here you won’t also see on just about any fantasy football site this pre-season. The former bulldog scores well when he plays, he just didn’t play as often as he’d like. Now he’s a magpie, and their midfield rivers don’t run as deep. Will he join Brayshaw as a young jewel in the Vipers’ midfield crown?
2021 In Review
Nobody predicted the Vipers to make the finals. They finished the home & away season in fourth.
It was a stunning year for the Vipers, returning to the finals for the first time since 2016. They knocked over presumptive flag favourites the Chiefs every time they were asked to.
They didn’t get that elusive first finals win, falling just short of the Roughnecks, but this season was a roaring success. Now they’ve got to try and entrench themselves in the top 6. Te Puke Pukekos will be banging down the door, so too perhaps the Sparkles. Can the little engines that could in Miller and Keays deliver another finals appearance? Will Brayshaw become the new top dog? Will Lipinski, Thomas, Caldwell, Florent, or Flanders take a big step forward? Will one of their numerous key forwards break out? In writing this, I’d be disappointed if I didn’t return to the finals again if I was coach Nathan. Lots to like here.
Season Grade: A