At a glance
14 wins / 3 losses – 1st on ladder, Minor Premier
Lost Grand Final v Defenestrators
Wins
| Round 1 | Te Puke Pukekos |
| Round 2 | Roughnecks |
| Round 3 | Solomon’s Soldiers |
| Round 4 | Feelin Dusty |
| Round 5 | The Love Sparkles |
| Round 7 | MaherShalalHashBaz |
| Round 9 | The Taxmanian Devils |
| Round 10 | Te Puke Pukekos |
| Round 11 | Roughnecks |
| Round 15 | Solomon’s Soldiers |
| Round 16 | Feelin Dusty |
| Round 17 | The Love Sparkles |
| Round 19 | MaherShalalHashBaz |
| Round 20 | Defenestrators |
| Preliminary Final | Roughnecks |
Top 5 Scorers 2021
| Puttanesca Chiefs | Tot. | Avg. | Last 5 Avg |
| Jack Macrae WB | 2550 | 115.9 | 116.2 |
| Rory Laird AD | 2457 | 111.7 | 118.4 |
| Dayne Zorko BL | 2287 | 108.9 | 120 |
| Clayton Oliver ME | 2391 | 108.7 | 107.6 |
| Brodie Grundy CW | 2129 | 106.5 | 94.8 |
All-Australians
Note: The Chiefs also traded in All-Australian Dayne Zorko on the eve of finals.
2021 Pre-Season Draft
| Pick | Player | Team | Games | Avg | Still on List? |
| 10 | T. Bruhn GWS – C | Puttanesca Chiefs | 0 | 0 | Y |
| 20 | B. Sheppard WC – B | Puttanesca Chiefs | 18 | 76.1 | Y |
| 30 | J. Polec NM – C | Puttanesca Chiefs | 3 | 58.3 | Y |
| 40 | S. Hurn WC – B | Puttanesca Chiefs | 11 | 98 | Y |
| 41 | L. Fogarty CA – F | Puttanesca Chiefs | 11 | 73.3 | Y |
| 50 | M. Kennedy CA – C,F | Puttanesca Chiefs | 4 | 92.8 | N |
| 60 | C. Downie HW – C | Puttanesca Chiefs | 0 | 0 | N |
| 78 | M. Blicavs GE – B,C | Puttanesca Chiefs | 18 | 70.6 | Y |
| 80 | S. Simpson GE – F | Puttanesca Chiefs | 0 | 0 | N |
| 90 | J. Caddy RI – C | Puttanesca Chiefs | 3 | 86.7 | Y |
| 100 | P. Seedsman AD – C | Puttanesca Chiefs | 16 | 95.2 | Y |
| 108 | T. Cotchin RI – C | Puttanesca Chiefs | 14 | 78.4 | Y |
| 110 | J. Bowey ME – C,F | Puttanesca Chiefs | 0 | 0 | N |
| 119 | C. Sinclair SY – R | Puttanesca Chiefs | 1 | 110 | N |
| 120 | T. Duryea WB – B,F | Puttanesca Chiefs | 18 | 69.7 | Y |
| 140 | R. Angwin GWS – C | Puttanesca Chiefs | 0 | 0 | N |
| 150 | J. Laverde ES – F | Puttanesca Chiefs | 0 | 0 | N |
| 160 | J. Silvagni CA – F | Puttanesca Chiefs | 3 | 68 | N |
| 170 | Z. Guthrie GE – B,C | Puttanesca Chiefs | 0 | 0 | N |
| 180 | M. McGovern CA – F | Puttanesca Chiefs | 0 | 0 | N |
| 190 | Z. Reid ES – B | Puttanesca Chiefs | 0 | 0 | N |
| 200 | D. Mackay AD – B | Puttanesca Chiefs | 0 | 0 | N |
Most inspired selection: Paul Seedsman – pick 100
Played 16 games. Averaged 95.2 Brilliant selection smack bang in the middle of the draft. If not for Aaron Hall, would be a strong shout for best overall selection. This is why they make the Grand Final every year. They don’t need to hunt for the next big thing – they’ve got a dozen of them already. So they can just stock up on solid, capable contributors.
Not far behind was Shannon Hurn at pick 40. Hurn made the All-Australian team, and is at the centre of one of my favourite little league quirks this year – Hurn going from the Defenestrators to the Chiefs, and Rich going from the Chiefs to the Defenestrators, and both making the All-Australian side for their new squads.
Four additional players played 14 games or more for the Chiefs. Year after year this happens with the Chiefs. It’s a remarkable run. This particular draft probably has less long term keepers than some of the club’s previous endeavors, but this is not a team in need of bringing in new keepers each year. This is a team built to win. This is the draft of a team that knows that.
Trades
| Date | Team 1 | Received | Team 2 | Received |
| 26 July 2021 | Puttanesca Chiefs | Dayne Zorko | MaherShalalHashBaz | Puttanesca Chiefs Round 1 Pick |
| 20 February 2021 | Defenestrators | Daniel Rich | Puttanesca Chiefs | Defenestrators Round 12 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 |
We’ve already touched on the Rich/Hurn festivities. A fantastic trade for the Defenestrators, and one the Chiefs can afford to make.
On the eve of the finals the Chiefs joined the quasi-arms race and acquired one of the premium forwards (and previous Grand Final star) in Dayne Zorko for their first rounder. I imagine this was an easy trade for the Chiefs. Pick 10 or 9 for someone who could be the difference in a crunch final?
Zorko losing forward status for 2022 stings a little, as does his age. But seeing as their most recent first rounder didn’t take the field for the club, I doubt they’re particularly concerned.
List at end of 2021 season
| Puttanesca Chiefs | Tot. | Avg. | Last 5 Avg |
| Jack Macrae WB | 2550 | 115.9 | 116.2 |
| Rory Laird AD | 2457 | 111.7 | 118.4 |
| Dayne Zorko BL | 2287 | 108.9 | 120 |
| Clayton Oliver ME | 2391 | 108.7 | 107.6 |
| Brodie Grundy CW | 2129 | 106.5 | 94.8 |
| Taylor Adams CW | 1412 | 100.9 | 105 |
| Paul Seedsman AD | 2104 | 95.6 | 94.2 |
| Lachie Whitfield GWS | 1422 | 94.8 | 93.8 |
| Jayden Short RI | 2054 | 93.4 | 95.8 |
| Rowan Marshall SK | 1166 | 89.7 | 106.5 |
| Shannon Hurn WC | 1317 | 87.8 | 62 |
| Alex Witherden WC | 790 | 87.8 | 87.7 |
| Hugh Greenwood GC | 1315 | 87.7 | – |
| Patrick Dangerfield GE | 1128 | 86.8 | 79.8 |
| Kyle Langford ES | 1472 | 86.6 | 95 |
| Jaidyn Stephenson NM | 1611 | 84.8 | 81.4 |
| Timothy Kelly WC | 1601 | 84.3 | 68 |
| Jack Billings SK | 1499 | 83.3 | 63 |
| James Harmes ME | 1235 | 82.3 | 81.8 |
| Josh Caddy RI | 458 | 76.3 | – |
| Trent Cotchin RI | 1289 | 75.8 | 90 |
| Mark Blicavs GE | 1510 | 71.9 | 70.4 |
| Taylor Duryea WB | 1501 | 71.5 | 63 |
| Brad Sheppard WC | 1426 | 71.3 | 64.3 |
| Jamie Cripps WC | 1562 | 71 | 78.4 |
| Mason Redman ES | 1420 | 67.6 | 64 |
| Lachlan Fogarty CA | 1075 | 67.2 | 83 |
| Gryan Miers GE | 775 | 64.6 | 55 |
| Lincoln McCarthy BL | 1412 | 64.2 | 64.2 |
| Josh Battle SK | 863 | 61.6 | – |
| Bayley Fritsch ME | 1292 | 61.5 | 65.6 |
| Dougal Howard SK | 1284 | 61.1 | 40.8 |
| Zach Guthrie GE | 606 | 60.6 | 88.3 |
| Mabior Chol RI | 605 | 60.5 | 41.7 |
| Charlie Spargo ME | 1200 | 54.5 | 57.2 |
| Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti | 1082 | 54.1 | 25 |
| Charlie Constable GE | 154 | 51.3 | – |
| Jared Polec NM | 255 | 51 | 40 |
| Thomas Fullarton BL | 418 | 41.8 | 47.8 |
| Tanner Bruhn GWS | 415 | 37.7 | 43.6 |
Player to watch in 2022
Kyle Langford
A handy contributor for the Chiefs over the past two seasons enters 2022 as a midfielder only, and facing a midfielder squeeze at his real life AFL club.
The Chiefs are flush with midfielders. Is Langford a guaranteed starter in this squad? Does he play midfield for his AFL club? Does he get forward status back (and is his scoring impacted on the way there?)
This selection falls more under ‘fascination’ than anything particularly serious. The Chiefs core is pretty established. Maybe we could’ve selected Dangerfield, and whether he begins to decline, or Constable finally moving to a new club (is he being kept again by the Chiefs?) – but Langford is my pick for selfish reasons. I like to keep an eye on former Roughnecks.
2021 IN REVIEW
Anything less than a flag for this club is a disappointment – or at least a mild inconvenience.
It wasn’t without its highs. A fourth consecutive minor premiership. Finishing the year with 6 players who averaged 100+
They’ll go into 2022 primed once again for a premiership push. It’s hard to see where the drop off will come from for this team. Dangerfield is getting on, I guess. As is Zorko. But the core is still well under 30.
The forward line is a minor issue – purely by virtue of the fact that, as is often the case, the best ones get re-classed as midfielders the following season. They’ve lost Dangerfield, Zorko, and Langford from the forward line. With Laird losing defender status as well, they now bat exceedingly deep in the midfield. It’s not the worst problem to have, as far as problems go. Will they trade to stock up on forwards? Something to monitor.
Season Grade: B+