At a glance
13 wins / 4 losses – 2nd on ladder
Lost Preliminary Final v Defenestrators
Wins
| Round 2 | Feelin Dusty |
| Round 4 | Love Sparkles |
| Round 5 | Lethal Vipers |
| Round 6 | MaherShalalHashBaz |
| Round 8 | Taxmanian Devils |
| Round 9 | Te Puke Pukekos |
| Round 10 | Roughnecks |
| Round 11 | Feelin Dusty |
| Round 16 | Love Sparkles |
| Round 17 | Lethal Vipers |
| Round 19 | Defenestrators |
| Round 20 | Taxmanian Devils |
Top 5 Scorers 2021
| Solomon’s Soldiers | Tot. | Avg. | Last 5 Avg |
| Christian Petracca ME | 2439 | 110.9 | 112.6 |
| Callum Mills SY | 1980 | 110 | 115 |
| Aaron Hall NM | 2179 | 109 | 121 |
| Marcus Bontempelli WB | 2373 | 107.9 | 95.6 |
| Hugh McCluggage BL | 2201 | 100 | 97.8 |
All-Australians
Note: AA member Aaron Hall joined Solomon’s Soldiers on the eve of the finals. Chad Wingard also played several games for the Roughnecks.
2021 Pre-Season Draft
| Pick | Player | Team | Games | Avg | Still on List? |
| 6 | R. Thilthorpe AD – R,F | Solomon’s Soldiers | 2 | 42.5 | N |
| 18 | D. Heppell ES – C | Solomon’s Soldiers | 14 | 95.9 | Y |
| 22 | R. Gray PA – F | Solomon’s Soldiers | 12 | 74.4 | Y |
| 36 | B. Houli RI – B | Solomon’s Soldiers | 10 | 89.4 | Y |
| 48 | M. Wallis WB – F | Solomon’s Soldiers | 0 | 0 | N |
| 61 | O. Markov GC – B | Solomon’s Soldiers | 10 | 78.3 | Y |
| 62 | C. Cameron BL – F | Solomon’s Soldiers | 0 | 0 | N |
| 63 | N. Newman CA – B Injured | Solomon’s Soldiers | 8 | 82.9 | Y |
| 64 | Z. Jones SK – C | Solomon’s Soldiers | 5 | 99.4 | Y |
| 65 | M. Murphy CA – C | Solomon’s Soldiers | 4 | 50 | N |
| 66 | C. Dixon PA – F | Solomon’s Soldiers | 10 | 67.2 | N |
| 67 | J. Jenkins GE – R,F | Solomon’s Soldiers | 0 | 0 | N |
| 68 | R. Stanley GE – R | Solomon’s Soldiers | 7 | 70 | N |
| 69 | T. Bianco CW – B,C | Solomon’s Soldiers | 6 | 53.8 | N |
| 70 | W. Powell GC – B | Solomon’s Soldiers | 6 | 63.7 | N |
| 138 | J. Finlayson GWS – F | Solomon’s Soldiers | 0 | 0 | N |
| 148 | A. Hall NM – F | Solomon’s Soldiers | 14 | 104.4 | Y |
| 155 | D. Moore CW – B | Solomon’s Soldiers | 5 | 72.4 | N |
| 158 | M. Robinson BL – C | Solomon’s Soldiers | 4 | 84.8 | Y |
| 178 | S. Martin WB – R | Solomon’s Soldiers | 0 | 0 | N |
| 185 | L. Dahlhaus GE – F Sore | Solomon’s Soldiers | 2 | 38.5 | N |
| 198 | J. McInerney SY – C | Solomon’s Soldiers | 8 | 61 | N |
Most inspired selection: Aaron Hall – pick 148 (15th round)
You read this right. The best defender was drafted in the 15th round… and promptly cut soon after, showing not even the Soldier’s believed in him. It cost the soldiers Nat Fyfe to get him back in, but it was worth it for a shot at the flag. A particular dagger to the heart of this writer, as a former owner who saw a similar average to this many years ago, Hall then proceeded to stink it up as a keeper for the following 3 seasons. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.
Rest of draft
This is all about the 7th round, and while this will surely never be done again, it was a make or break round for the Soldier’s. And largely it was a success. Markov, Jones, Stanley and Newman were hits, while Powell was flipped for the in-form Swallow, who’s play style embodies the title “Soldier”. While early picks Heppell, Gray and Houli were great selections. Late round pick Mitch Robinson also found sometime in his busy online gaming competition schedule to play some fantastic football in what was somewhat of a resurgent season for the veteran.
Overall this was a very solid draft hand that helped Solomon’s Soldiers finish 2nd on the ladder and go deep into the finals.
It is worth noting that Riley Thilthorpe and Trent Bianco were the only rookies selected by coach Alex, and while this should be obvious given their finals ambitions, it was a noteworthy show of restraint by the rookie savvy coach. Given neither of those are on his list anymore, this may be the first year since 2017 the Solomon’s Soldiers haven’t had a rookie on their list.
Trades
| Date | Team 1 | Received | Team 2 | Received | Team 3 | Received |
| 27 July 2021 | Solomon’s Soldiers | Aaron Hall Zach Tuohy | Lethal Vipers | Nat Fyfe Harry Morrison | ||
| 30 June 2021 | Roughnecks | Lethal Vipers Rd 1 Pick Jayden Laverde Josh J. Kennedy | Solomon’s Soldiers | Kane Lambert Chad Wingard | ||
| 26 May 2021 | Solomon’s Soldiers | David Swallow Taxmanian Devils Rd 16 Pick Taxmanian Devils Rd 20 Pick | Taxmanian Devils | Wil Powell Solomon’s Soldiers Rd 8 pick Solomon’s Soldiers Rd 19 pick | ||
| 5 April 2021 | Solomon’s Soldiers | Lethal Vipers Round 1 Pick | Lethal Vipers | Riley Thilthorpe | ||
| 25 March 2021 | Solomon’s Soldiers | Dustin Martin Ben McEvoy Feelin Dusty Rd 1 Pick Feelin Dusty Rd 3 Pick | Feelin Dusty | Matthew Rowell Jarrod Witts Alex Keath Solomon’s Soldiers Rd 2 Pick Solomon’s Soldiers Rd 6 Pick | ||
| 9 March 2021 | Love Sparkles | Justin McInerney Solomon’s Soldiers 2022 Rd 1 Pick Solomon’s Soldiers 2022 Rd 3 Pick | Solomon’s Soldiers | Toby Greene | ||
| 6 March 2021 | Solomon’s Soldiers | Lethal Vipers Round 7 pick | Lethal Vipers | Roughnecks Round 10 Pick Defenestrators Round 10 pick | ||
| 1 March 2021 | Te Puke Pukekos | Solomon’s Soldiers Round 4 – Pick 38 Te Puke Pukekos Round 9 – Pick 84 | Roughnecks | Te Puke Pukekos Round 6 – Pick 54 Solomon’s Soldiers Round 12 – Pick 118 Solomon’s Soldiers Round 17 – Pick 168 | Solomon’s Soldiers | Te Puke Pukekos Round 7 – Pick 64 Roughnecks Round 7 – Pick 67 Roughnecks Round 10 – Pick 97 |
| 20 February 2021 | Te Puke Pukekos | John Noble | Solomon’s Soldiers | Te Puke Pukekos Round 9 pick | ||
| 9 February 2021 | Solomon’s Soldiers | Defenestrators Rd 7 pick Defenestrators Rd 10 pick | Defenestrators | Solomon’s Soldiers Rd 6 pick Puttanesca Chiefs Rd 13 pick | ||
| 8 February 2021 | Solomon’s Soldiers | Love Sparkles Rd 1 Pick Love Sparkles Rd 4 Pick | Love Sparkles | Noah Anderson Oscar Allen |
Sir Trades-a-lot was at it again in 2021, dealing his way to a very strong list. And as I could discuss the pros and cons of each I expect the details will be covered much more at length in the recipients reviews, as unlike coach Alex, these may have been their only trades for the year.
Coach Alex pulled off an amazing feat of pick trading as the Soldiers accumulated all 10 7th round picks in the one draft. Four of those were acquired within a month before the draft. This will likely be the only time in league history we see this, and as discussed in the draft section, the Soldiers largely used them to good effect.
Regarding the trades made in season, the overarching theme was a willingness for coach Alex to offload picks and youth. He identified that he couldn’t keep all the talent littering his list, so found the right time to ship some out. But importantly wasn’t afraid to sell high-end talent in order to boost his list as a whole. The value is not just in what you or give up, but the net result including cutting a player you otherwise would have kept or keeping a player you otherwise would have had to cut. Kudos to you coach Alex.
What he got in return though was ready made talent, particularly high class forwards. He ended up with 5 of the top 30 forwards, all household names; Dusty Martin, Chad Wingard, Kane Lambert, Toby Greene and Aaron Hall. While he had all the firepower to take the trophy in 2021, it was not to be. However the team’s newest recruits have each got 3-5 years left in them, so he has positioned himself well to win roughly 3-5 flags across that span.
List at end of 2021 season
| Solomon’s Soldiers | Tot. | Avg. | Last 5 Avg |
| Christian Petracca ME | 2439 | 110.9 | 112.6 |
| Callum Mills SY | 1980 | 110 | 115 |
| Aaron Hall NM | 2179 | 109 | 121 |
| Marcus Bontempelli WB | 2373 | 107.9 | 95.6 |
| Hugh McCluggage BL | 2201 | 100 | 97.8 |
| Sam Docherty CA | 1381 | 98.6 | – |
| Brad Crouch SK | 1904 | 95.2 | 83.4 |
| Dyson Heppell ES | 1707 | 94.8 | 94.8 |
| Lachie Neale BL | 1417 | 94.5 | 95.3 |
| David Swallow GC | 1879 | 89.5 | 87.4 |
| Zak Jones SK | 1152 | 88.6 | 100.6 |
| Chad Wingard HW | 1413 | 88.3 | 109.4 |
| Jack Viney ME | 1058 | 88.2 | 83.3 |
| Caleb Daniel WB | 1824 | 86.9 | 94.2 |
| Nic Newman CA | 1209 | 86.4 | 94.2 |
| Jack Lukosius GC | 1892 | 86 | 84.2 |
| Toby Greene GWS | 1441 | 84.8 | 79.7 |
| Zach Tuohy GE | 1594 | 83.9 | 86.3 |
| Patrick Cripps CA | 1635 | 81.8 | 71.3 |
| Dustin Martin RI | 1300 | 81.3 | – |
| Ben McEvoy HW | 1759 | 80 | 73.2 |
| James Worpel HW | 1576 | 78.8 | 84.3 |
| Kane Lambert RI | 1004 | 77.2 | 65.8 |
| Jade Gresham SK | 219 | 73 | – |
| Robbie Gray PA | 1162 | 72.6 | 78.3 |
| Oleg Markov GC | 1233 | 72.5 | 7 |
| Ben Ainsworth GC | 1181 | 69.5 | 66.4 |
| Jack Henry GE | 1386 | 66 | 70.2 |
| Jack Martin CA | 691 | 62.8 | 59.7 |
| Luke Jackson ME | 1302 | 62 | 68.8 |
| Nicholas Coffield SK | 977 | 61.1 | 66.5 |
| Daniel Rioli RI | 1006 | 55.9 | 78.4 |
| David Mackay AD | 950 | 55.9 | 49.6 |
| Lachlan Gollant AD | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Ned McHenry AD | 1045 | 49.8 | 59.4 |
| Darcy Fogarty AD | 740 | 46.3 | 56.6 |
| Sam Philp CA | – | – | – |
| Jacob Edwards NM | – | – | – |
Player to watch in 2022
Luke Jackson
All of them. There’s no weak links in this armour. But for the sake of content, lets talk about Luke Jackson, the player this writer laughed off in the draft only 2 years ago. Jackson played in a premiership lineup, with his direct competition for minutes being the best ruckman in the competition and his team captain, it felt to this humble journalist, that it was less of a mountain for Jackson to climb to fantasy relevancy, and more of 1000 ft wall with no hand-holds. However, I watched in awe as Jackson adapted seamlessly to a forward role, and demonstrated ruck craft that takes most players multiple years to develop in that role. He ended up playing 21 games and scoring 84+ on 6 of those occasions (3 in the last 4 rounds). But the most promising sign was the grand final (you know for the actual football) where a stroke of brilliance saw Melbourne play Jackson in the ruck for the final quarter to help the Demons take the midfield ascendancy and ultimately win… that thing they win (I’m sorry, I just tune out when the fantasy season finishes). This may have been the turning point for Jackson getting more responsibility in the ruck, so expect big things going into his 2nd season. This should have the Soldiers very pleased as they would otherwise be relying on Ben McEvoy to hold the ruck mantle.
2021 IN REVIEW
A compelling bye rounds mini comp saw the Soldier’s claim the 21st keeper. After a brilliant first week put them 250 points ahead, the Defenestrators clawed back the margin, and left the Soldier’s fans with their hearts in their mouth as 7 players needed to average over 24 pts each in a half of footy for the Defenestrators to win. But it was not to be, as the Soldier’s took the chocolates by 9 measly points (not that this author is bitter or anything…). This was probably the most thrilling finish to a bye comp yet, and the Soldier’s fought valiantly to the end.
It is worth noting the role injuries played in the finals run for this team. Late trades for Wingard/Lambert seemed more like short-term plugs for the loss of Dusty, Docherty, Houli, Mills and co. Obviously a gut-wrenching feeling to be so close, yet so far, but there will be more finals series for this team to come (this was the coach who pointed out our leagues circle of parity in round 9 after all so he should be familiar with the notion that these things go in swings and round-abouts).
In summary, if there was ever a season to tank, 2022 might be it as this juggernaut will be tough to beat. This teams trajectory looks more like a New England Patriots than a Philly 76ers, and while I’m sure coach Alex wouldn’t mind Bill Belichek comparisons, he’s more interested in his team embodying the NE slogan ‘Do Your Job’ and winning them their coveted inaugural trophy. I’m sure the slogan is being painted on the walls of the Soldier’s gym as we speak (right above the giant sword they won in the Korean baseball league).
Season Grade: A