Analysis by Alex
At a glance
Top 5 Scorers
| Player | Games | Average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lachie Whitfield | 23 | 111.7 | 5 |
| Sam Flanders | 22 | 107.8 | 10 |
| Jordan Dawson | 22 | 105.3 | 17 |
| Rory Laird | 23 | 99.3 | 32 |
| Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera | 22 | 97.7 | 34 |
Season Summary
A strong year for the Roughnecks – their dominance proven by having the highest percentage in the league, however unlucky in drawing the Hashbaz’ers in the first round of finals – with both teams in terrific form leading into the finals this season. Made some solid moves at the trade table to make the top end better, and along with the excellent draft they had, the list is all ready to run again in 2025 for that elusive maiden premiership. A good mix of veterans and younger players, they will be fun to watch (but not to play against) as the year progresses.
Season Grade – B
All-Australians
| Pos | Player | Average | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | Lachie Whitfield | 111.8 | 20 |
| F2 | Sam Flanders | 109.63 | 19 |
| BD | Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera | 98.89 | 19 |
DangerGawn Votes
| Rank | Player | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Lachie Whitfield | 15 |
| 11 | Brodie Grundy | 13 |
| 12 | Jordan Dawson | 13 |
| 23 | Sam Flanders | 10 |
| 44 | Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera | 5 |
| 52 | Rory Laird | 4 |
| 54 | Ed Richards | 4 |
| 62 | James Sicily | 3 |
| 80 | Jack Bowes | 2 |
| 84 | Elliot Yeo | 2 |
| 94 | Tim Taranto | 1 |
| 100 | Jack Macrae | 1 |
Pre-Season Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | GP | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 25 | Elliot Yeo | 18 | 91.22 |
| 4 | 31 | Mark Blicavs | 13 | 67.69 |
| 4 | 35 | Luke McDonald | 1 | 40 |
| 5 | 45 | Sam Switkowski | 14 | 70.07 |
| 7 | 65 | Dion Prestia | 7 | 77.43 |
| 8 | 75 | Jeremy Sharp | 18 | 68.61 |
| 9 | 85 | Tom Sparrow | 14 | 65.36 |
| 10 | 95 | Sam Durham | 17 | 85.69 |
| 11 | 105 | Jake Bowey | 4 | 59.5 |
| 12 | 115 | Jack Bowes | 15 | 85.73 |
| 13 | 125 | Lachlan Cowan | 1 | 50 |
| 14 | 135 | Edward Allan | 1 | 25 |
| 15 | 145 | Sam Banks | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | 155 | Jaxon Binns | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 165 | Miles Bergman | 20 | 76.5 |
| 18 | 175 | Kane Farrell | 19 | 80.74 |
| 19 | 185 | Samson Ryan | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | 195 | Kai Lohmann | 5 | 61 |
Most Inspired Selection
Pick 95 – Sam Durham
A lot of strong contenders in what turned out to be one of the best draft hauls of the year, so honourable mentions go to Jack Bowes, Miles Bergman, and Kane Farrell; but for me the steal of the draft was Sam Durham in the 10th round. There was a lot of hype coming out of Essendon about him, but like always it seems we were all sceptical of this talk. Adam was the one to take the punt, and thus the massive rewards are his both now and for the future. An 85 average in the 10th round to be a set and forget mid is a quality selection at any time, but for this to be a 23 year old means Adam has locked in another mid for the long term.
Trades
| Date | Teams | Received |
|---|---|---|
| 24 July 2024 |  | Elijah Tsatas Billy Dowling |
 | James Sicily Callum Wilkie | |
| 23 May 2024 | | Roughnecks Round 2 pick Roughnecks Round 5 pick Will Graham Harvey Thomas |
| Brad Crouch Jack Viney Soldiers Round 10 pick Soldiers Round 16 pick | |
| 4 April 2024 |  | Miles Bergman Roughnecks Round 4 pick |
| Tim Kelly Puttanesca Chiefs Round 9 pick |
Three trades, and all with a clear win now objective for the Roughnecks this year. They parted with some young talent and a few high draft picks, but in return they acquired a collection of players that were ready made best 22 players for the finals run this year, and at least half of them likely to be kept for runs in the next few years as well.
List at end of 2024 season
| Player | GP | AVG | Rank | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lachie Whitfield | 23 | 111.7 | 5 | 30.01 |
| Sam Flanders | 22 | 107.8 | 10 | 23.01 |
| Jordan Dawson | 22 | 105.3 | 17 | 27.04 |
| Rory Laird | 23 | 99.3 | 32 | 30.07 |
| Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera | 22 | 97.7 | 34 | 21.06 |
| Brodie Grundy | 23 | 97.1 | 37 | 30.04 |
| Tim Taranto | 15 | 95.5 | 42 | 26.06 |
| Elliot Yeo | 20 | 90.9 | 57 | 30.1 |
| James Sicily | 20 | 87.4 | 68 | 29.07 |
| Jack Viney | 23 | 87.4 | 69 | 30.04 |
| Ed Richards | 20 | 86 | 71 | 25.01 |
| Tim Kelly | 20 | 85.9 | 72 | 30.01 |
| Sam Durham | 22 | 83 | 91 | 23.01 |
| Scott Pendlebury | 20 | 79.2 | 113 | 36.07 |
| Jack Bowes | 20 | 78.5 | 119 | 26.07 |
| Kane Farrell | 22 | 78.4 | 120 | 25.05 |
| George Wardlaw | 18 | 78.2 | 121 | 20.02 |
| Connor Macdonald | 23 | 78 | 122 | 21.07 |
| Callum Wilkie | 23 | 73.9 | 164 | 28.05 |
| Jeremy Sharp | 23 | 73 | 173 | 23 |
| Oliver Dempsey | 23 | 72.8 | 175 | 21.07 |
| Jack Macrae | 18 | 71.4 | 182 | 30 |
| Marcus Windhager | 15 | 70.4 | 191 | 21.03 |
| Sam Switkowski | 20 | 69.1 | 201 | 27.09 |
| Tom Sparrow | 21 | 64.9 | 238 | 24.02 |
| Jack Graham | 14 | 64.5 | 242 | 26.06 |
| Luke Nankervis | 20 | 64.5 | 244 | 21.03 |
| Josh Rachele | 22 | 64.4 | 245 | 21.04 |
| Bailey J. Williams | 23 | 63.8 | 256 | 24.04 |
| Riley Garcia | 11 | 62.9 | 266 | 23.06 |
| Jake Bowey | 14 | 62.5 | 269 | 21.11 |
| Kai Lohmann | 23 | 59.8 | 312 | 21.03 |
| Brad Crouch | 1 | 59 | 321 | 30.07 |
| Mitch Owens | 23 | 57.3 | 343 | 20.11 |
| Josh Ward | 10 | 56.2 | 355 | 21 |
| Ben Hobbs | 12 | 48.2 | 459 | 20.11 |
| Bailey Humphrey | 21 | 45.3 | 491 | 19.11 |
| Zac Taylor | 9 | 42.9 | 521 | 21.06 |
| Peter Ladhams | 1 | 37 | 576 | 26.07 |
| Bailey Smith | 0 | 0 | 660 | 23.08 |
Ages as of 31 August 2024
Averages are AFL H&A season averages (not DangerGawn games played)
Player to watch in 2025
Bailey Smith
It’s an easy option, but it’s definitely the one I feel has the most intrigue. Coming off an ACL, and at a new club, it’s always hard to judge how a player will be. However I’m optimistic on behalf of the Roughnecks that this will be a big year for the mullet. All I’m seeing out of Geelong so far is that he is training exclusively in the guts, and so the potential for high scores (and less likely to get Bevo’d) means this could be back to his 2022 best of comfortably 100+ average. Add in that he has forward status, and Adam will be loving this set and forget player for the 2025 season.