Analysis by Adam
At a glance
Top 5 Scorers
| Player | Games | Average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Gawn | 21 | 111.8 | 4 |
| Adam Treloar | 22 | 110 | 7 |
| Sam Walsh | 19 | 106.1 | 16 |
| Nic Newman | 23 | 102.6 | 24 |
| Jack Sinclair | 22 | 101.9 | 26 |
Season Summary
No club has had the level of sustained success the Defenestrators have throughout the league’s history.
That sustained success typically has a price. Nearly all their key players, those averaging 90+, are 29 or older. Sam Walsh is the noticeable exception, and coach Zerna will be hoping he serves as a Joel Selwood-esque bridge between eras for this club. But there isn’t much coming up behind Walsh. Hollands is handy, especially if he can maintain forward status. The two Roberts acquired last year are probably the most promising up and comers. But Finlay Macrae and Deven Robertson haven’t come on. Ginbey remains a question mark, as does Chapman.
Those older players though – Gawn, Treloar, Newman, are arguably in career best form. The slightly younger Giants duo in Kelly and Coniglio have plenty of football to come. There are no obvious signs of regression on the radar. This team should be making finals, and winning them, in 2025. And probably 2026 as well.
Which makes this team a fascinating draft watch. Turnover is coming. Eventually. One day. Their recent recruitment suggests they do have one eye on that reality. Do they continue to try and build that aforementioned bridge, thread that needle, and begin to refresh the list whilst remaining in premiership contention? Or do they put their chips in and focus exclusively on contributors for 2025? Or are they the next club to join the “tear it down” approach that has featured heavily in some shape or form in recent seasons. Watch this space.
Season Grade – B+
All-Australians
| Pos | Player | Average | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| D6 | Jack Sinclair | 100.74 | 19 |
| M2 | Adam Treloar | 111.89 | 19 |
| M5 | Sam Walsh | 106.75 | 16 |
| BR | Max Gawn | 113.28 | 18 |
DangerGawn Votes
| Rank | Player | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Max Gawn | 20 |
| 24 | Adam Treloar | 10 |
| 26 | Sam Walsh | 9 |
| 41 | Nic Newman | 6 |
| 65 | Jack Sinclair | 3 |
| 70 | Jesse Hogan | 2 |
| 79 | Blake Hardwick | 2 |
| 88 | Conor Nash | 2 |
| 89 | Matt Roberts | 2 |
| 91 | Steven May | 1 |
| 98 | Jason Johannisen | 1 |
| 103 | Josh Kelly | 1 |
| 105 | James Harmes | 1 |
| 107 | Zac Fisher | 1 |
| 109 | Christian Salem | 1 |
| 111 | Joel Jeffrey | 1 |
| 113 | Nick Vlastuin | 1 |
| 118 | Brent Daniels | 1 |
| 122 | James Peatling | 1 |
Pre-Season Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | GP | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Heath Chapman | 8 | 66.88 |
| 2 | 19 | Harry Himmelberg | 19 | 78.53 |
| 3 | 29 | Taylor Walker | 11 | 68.18 |
| 6 | 59 | Patrick Dangerfield | 13 | 77.46 |
| 7 | 69 | James Harmes | 6 | 73.17 |
| 8 | 79 | Oscar Allen | 5 | 62.6 |
| 9 | 81 | Jason Johannisen | 9 | 83.78 |
| 9 | 89 | Jamie Cripps | 19 | 73.63 |
| 10 | 99 | Matt Roberts | 12 | 75.58 |
| 11 | 109 | Steele Sidebottom | 12 | 80.17 |
| 12 | 119 | Ryan Burton | 5 | 59.8 |
| 13 | 129 | Deven Robertson | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | 139 | Sam Draper | 7 | 80 |
| 15 | 149 | Jordon Sweet | 10 | 82.3 |
| 16 | 159 | Bailey Laurie | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 169 | Will Brodie | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | 179 | Brandan Parfitt | 8 | 75.88 |
| 19 | 189 | Brayden George | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | 199 | Harvey Gallagher | 10 | 52.5 |
Most Inspired Selection
Pick 99 – Matt Roberts
A solid, albeit unspectacular, draft for the Defenestrators here – one in which they enjoyed particular success with some of their selections down back.
Roberts is the pick of the bunch and looms as a long term keeper option for the team in pink. Himmelberg and Johannisen both provided value. One imagines they would’ve been hoping for a few stronger showings from first round selection Heath Chapman – he may prove difficult to keep.
Up forward Jamie Cripps provided great value, as he seemingly does each and every year.
Pour one out for recurring Defenestrator Deven Robertson, who didn’t manage to take the field and must now be running very low on future chances.
Trades
| Date | Teams | Received |
|---|---|---|
| 10 February 2024 |  | Neil Erasmus |
 | Defenestrators Round 5 pick (pick 49) |
A very quiet 2024 on the trade front for the Defenestrators. Their only trade came in the lead-up to the draft, where they took a chance on a former first round selection for the relatively cheap price of a 5th round pick.
Truth be told the steeper price here is having to discard another keeper to accommodate Erasmus. I think this is a trade worth doing, even if it doesn’t pay off – and it seems fair to say this one hasn’t paid off. Erasmus seems like a fantasy player, but Fremantle have an abundance of midfielders and it’s hard to see who makes way for Erasmus.
List at end of 2024 season
| Player | GP | AVG | Rank | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Gawn | 21 | 111.8 | 4 | 32.07 |
| Adam Treloar | 22 | 110 | 7 | 31.05 |
| Sam Walsh | 19 | 106.1 | 16 | 24.01 |
| Nic Newman | 23 | 102.6 | 24 | 31.07 |
| Jack Sinclair | 22 | 101.9 | 26 | 29.06 |
| Josh Kelly | 15 | 95.2 | 43 | 29.06 |
| Brent Daniels | 21 | 85.9 | 73 | 25.05 |
| Archie Roberts | 4 | 85 | 79 | 18.09 |
| Zac Fisher | 18 | 82.4 | 95 | 26.02 |
| Nick Vlastuin | 22 | 81.5 | 102 | 30.04 |
| Harry Himmelberg | 23 | 80.4 | 104 | 28.03 |
| Christian Salem | 17 | 80.3 | 106 | 29.01 |
| Patrick Dangerfield | 14 | 79.6 | 110 | 34.04 |
| Tom Mitchell | 6 | 77.8 | 124 | 31.02 |
| Stephen Coniglio | 13 | 76.9 | 134 | 30.08 |
| Jesse Hogan | 23 | 76.8 | 137 | 29.06 |
| Matt Roberts | 20 | 76.1 | 145 | 21 |
| Steven May | 19 | 75.8 | 149 | 32.07 |
| Elijah Hollands | 21 | 74.9 | 156 | 22.04 |
| Harry Perryman | 19 | 74 | 162 | 25.08 |
| Conor Nash | 23 | 73.9 | 165 | 26 |
| Shaun Mannagh | 10 | 72.9 | 174 | 27 |
| Dion Prestia | 13 | 72.4 | 179 | 31.10 |
| Callan Ward | 18 | 71.9 | 180 | 34.04 |
| Jamie Cripps | 23 | 71 | 186 | 32.04 |
| Mark Blicavs | 22 | 68.6 | 205 | 33.04 |
| Marc Pittonet | 13 | 68.3 | 208 | 28.02 |
| Alex Davies | 7 | 66.1 | 222 | 22.05 |
| Heath Chapman | 16 | 65.6 | 229 | 22.06 |
| Rory Lobb | 15 | 65.3 | 231 | 31.06 |
| Blake Hardwick | 23 | 64.7 | 241 | 27.06 |
| Jack Ross | 7 | 63.7 | 257 | 23.11 |
| Tim Membrey | 19 | 62.5 | 270 | 30.03 |
| James Peatling | 17 | 61.8 | 282 | 24 |
| Connor Budarick | 8 | 61.3 | 289 | 23.04 |
| Reuben Ginbey | 23 | 60.1 | 308 | 19.11 |
| Toby Bedford | 22 | 57.6 | 340 | 24.03 |
| Finlay Macrae | 9 | 39.9 | 551 | 22.05 |
| Neil Erasmus | 4 | 25.8 | 630 | 20.08 |
| Angus Sheldrick | 0 | 0 | 677 | 20.09 |
Ages as of 31 August 2024
Averages are AFL H&A season averages (not DangerGawn games played)
Player to watch in 2025
Archie Roberts
What a waiver wire pick up this appears to be. Roberts was a revelation for Essendon almost immediately upon being selected, average just shy of 86 in his first four games at AFL level. He’s almost immediately volted right up the list of Defenestrators prospects, and he was the cheapest to acquire by far.