Analysis by Adam
At a glance
Top 5 Scorers
| Player | Games | Average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Brayshaw | 23 | 104.6 | 21 |
| Luke Ryan | 23 | 102.1 | 25 |
| Lachie Neale | 22 | 101 | 28 |
| Will Setterfield | 4 | 99 | 33 |
| Jarrod Witts | 16 | 96.3 | 39 |
Season Summary
It’s hard to peg this as anything other than a disappointing year for the Vipers. After a 3rd place finish in 2023, a season in which they entered the finals as arguably the form team and then suffered a crushing defeat to a Devils team that won 5 fewer games, one imagines they came into 2024 with aspirations of at least finally breaking through and winning a final.
Alas, they missed the finals entirely.
This is a team with a list profile that frankly can’t afford to be missing finals. They certainly seem to think so, having traded their quite valuable first round selection for an ageing midfielder. This is not the move of a team with one eye on a rebuild.
The question is what version of this team will we see in 2025? The team of 2023? Or the team of 2024?
The Prime Movers are still mostly in their prime – Brayshaw, Ryan, Miller, Duggan and Redman. Neale, Liberatore and Duncan are the wrong side of 30 – though Neale’s form in the second half of the season would suggest we don’t need to be concerned for him yet. Jye Caldwell had a much welcomed breakout last season, and looks to be a mainstay building block alongside Brayshaw moving forward. There is still enough here to beat any team on any given weekend.
Consistency has always been the problem here. And competition for finals spots promises to be fierce yet again. Does this team have enough to return to the finals? And what happens if the answer is no… ?
Season Grade – D
All-Australians
| Pos | Player | Average | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| D5 | Luke Ryan | 101.2 | 20 |
| F4 | Jye Caldwell | 95.9 | 20 |
DangerGawn Votes
| Rank | Player | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Luke Ryan | 16 |
| 7 | Andrew Brayshaw | 14 |
| 13 | Lachie Neale | 13 |
| 33 | Jye Caldwell | 7 |
| 37 | Oliver Florent | 6 |
| 40 | Darcy Cameron | 6 |
| 55 | Tom Papley | 3 |
| 64 | Mitch Hinge | 3 |
| 67 | Ben Keays | 3 |
| 72 | Tom Liberatore | 2 |
| 75 | Nat Fyfe | 2 |
| 86 | Liam Duggan | 2 |
| 93 | Will Setterfield | 1 |
Pre-Season Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | GP | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 16 | Jarrod Witts | 5 | 84.2 |
| 3 | 26 | Void | – | – |
| 4 | 33 | Darcy Cameron | 16 | 95.56 |
| 4 | 36 | Lachie Hunter | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 46 | Oliver Florent | 15 | 76.67 |
| 7 | 66 | Tom Papley | 17 | 71 |
| 8 | 76 | Sam Powell-Pepper | 3 | 56.67 |
| 9 | 86 | Jack Ross | 5 | 61.8 |
| 10 | 96 | Josh Battle | 9 | 66.78 |
| 11 | 106 | Tom Doedee | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 116 | Dan Butler | 2 | 34 |
| 13 | 126 | Peter Wright | 9 | 61.11 |
| 14 | 136 | Aiden O’Driscoll | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 146 | Lachie Jones | 3 | 43.67 |
| 16 | 156 | Dylan Shiel | 5 | 87.2 |
| 17 | 166 | Zak Jones | 5 | 52 |
| 18 | 176 | Laitham Vandermeer | 7 | 40.57 |
| 19 | 186 | Seamus Mitchell | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | 196 | Oskar Baker | 3 | 58.67 |
Most Inspired Selection
Pick 46 – Ollie Florent
Not the best draft for the Vipers here – though it is generally hard to nail the draft when you miss the opening rounds. General Manager Autopick decided Coach McClaren could do with some rucks. This was perhaps inspired given Darcy took a real step back this year. But unfortunately you can only play one at a time (at the moment).
Darcy Cameron by any measure was the most successful selection here. 16 games at an 95.5 average is a pre-season draft success story. But their first selection was also a ruck, and Witts only featured 5 times for the Vipers.
Once they regained control over the draft, the Vipers selected several past Vipers. The Sydney duo of Florent and Papley were the best of the selections. Battle was handy, and Shiel was great value at pick 156.
But all in all this wasn’t a great draft for the Vipers in terms of new blood for the list. The return of a utility spot will bolster Cameron’s value, and Florent could justifiably be kept. But the list as a whole gets older.
Trades
| Date | Teams | Received |
|---|---|---|
| 20 May 2024 |  | MaherShalalHashBaz Round 6 pick Jake Kelly |
 | Travis Boak | |
| May 2, 2024 |  | Lethal Vipers Round 1 pick Lethal Vipers Round 3 pick |
| Lachie Neale Will Setterfield Nat Fyfe MaherShalalHashBaz Round 7 pick |
The trade with the Soldiers is a doozy. The Vipers had just 1 win from 7 rounds when they pulled the trigger on that – parting with what seemed sure to be a top 4 draft pick, if not higher, for a 31 year old midfielder.
We can debate the merits of that list management decision. But Neale certainly delivered for the Vipers. He played 13 games for them post trade, at a 110 average.
List at end of 2024 season
| Player | GP | AVG | Rank | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Brayshaw | 23 | 104.6 | 21 | 24.09 |
| Luke Ryan | 23 | 102.1 | 25 | 28.06 |
| Lachie Neale | 22 | 101 | 28 | 31.03 |
| Will Setterfield | 4 | 99 | 33 | 26.06 |
| Jarrod Witts | 16 | 96.3 | 39 | 31.11 |
| Darcy Cameron | 23 | 96.2 | 40 | 29.01 |
| Jye Caldwell | 23 | 94.3 | 46 | 23.11 |
| Touk Miller | 18 | 93.1 | 50 | 28.06 |
| Liam Duggan | 21 | 88.7 | 61 | 27.08 |
| Tom Liberatore | 17 | 87.5 | 67 | 32.03 |
| Mason Redman | 21 | 83.9 | 85 | 27 |
| Mitchell Hinge | 22 | 82.7 | 92 | 26.02 |
| Sean Darcy | 12 | 77.8 | 123 | 26.02 |
| Mitch Duncan | 20 | 77.5 | 130 | 33.02 |
| Dylan Shiel | 9 | 77.2 | 132 | 31.05 |
| Ben Keays | 23 | 76.7 | 138 | 27.06 |
| Oliver Florent | 23 | 76.5 | 141 | 26.01 |
| Wil Powell | 18 | 74.7 | 157 | 25 |
| Josh Battle | 23 | 73.7 | 167 | 25.11 |
| Tom Papley | 18 | 68.3 | 207 | 28.01 |
| Peter Wright | 14 | 64.4 | 246 | 27.11 |
| Jamarra Ugle-Hagan | 21 | 62.4 | 271 | 22.04 |
| Lachie Schultz | 20 | 62.2 | 275 | 26.08 |
| Jake Kelly | 20 | 61.8 | 281 | 29.07 |
| Noah Balta | 19 | 60.8 | 299 | 24.1 |
| Zach Tuohy | 17 | 60.4 | 302 | 34.08 |
| Aaron Naughton | 19 | 60.2 | 307 | 24.08 |
| Nat Fyfe | 22 | 59.8 | 311 | 32.11 |
| Will Hoskin-Elliott | 20 | 58.7 | 330 | 30.11 |
| Zak Jones | 13 | 57.4 | 341 | 29.05 |
| Liam Henry | 12 | 57.3 | 342 | 23 |
| Harry Morrison | 10 | 56.5 | 350 | 25.09 |
| Ryan Angwin | 4 | 56 | 362 | 21.08 |
| Brennan Cox | 9 | 51.8 | 411 | 26 |
| Max King | 12 | 51.4 | 415 | 24.01 |
| Nathan O’Driscoll | 2 | 50.5 | 426 | 22.03 |
| Jye Amiss | 22 | 49.5 | 443 | 21 |
| Jack Bytel | 7 | 48.1 | 461 | 24.05 |
| Lachie Hunter | 2 | 48 | 463 | 29.08 |
| Tarryn Thomas | 0 | 0 | 663 | 24.05 |
Ages as of 31 August 2024
Averages are AFL H&A season averages (not DangerGawn games played)
Player to watch in 2025
Jye Caldwell
The long time Viper enjoyed a breakout season in year 6, propelling his average by almost 20 points per game.
And that only tells half the story. It was the backhalf of the 2024 season that Caldwell truly excelled, averaging well over 100 in the second half of the season. That included a month long stretch in which his lowest score was 120.
The Vipers already possesses one of the best midfielders in fantasy in Andy Brayshaw. They have a former DangerGawn Medallist in Touk Miller, and Lachie Neale was a top 5 midfielder once he started donning the green and black. Will Caldwell give them another AA level midfielder? His ascent almost clawed them back into finals last season – perhaps he will drag them forward another step in 2025.