Christmas came early for fantasy coaches when it was announced in early December would be forward eligible in 2019.
PLAYER PROFILE
Name: Patrick Dangerfield
Age: 28
Club: Geelong Cats
Position: Midfield/Forward
2018 Highest Score:
158 Vs Gold Coast (AFLFantasy)
187 Vs Gold Coast (SuperCoach)
2018 Average:
106.3 (AFLFantasy)
121.6 (SuperCoach)
SuperCoach Price: $660,500
AFLFantasy Price: $771,000
AFLDreamTeam Price: $760,900
WHY IS HE RELEVANT?
2018 never started the way he wanted injuring his hamstring in the JLT community series, and as such he missed the opening round of the year. That didn’t dint his ability to deliver another strong season that ends with him being part of the All-Australian team for the sixth time.
Upon return, He was still a dominant force in the midfield with his explosive power and skills on show averaging 28 disposals, eight score involvements, five tackles and five inside 50’s a game.
Last year in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam he scored 15 tons from his 21 games and had just four matches where his centuries were above 120 ending the year with an average of 106. For SuperCoach he scored 19 tons, 9 of those were over 120 and a season-ending average of 121.
Danger always spent time up forward both as a Crow and now as a Cat, but last year it was considerably more as he managed 24 goals for the year and a season highlight of 4 goals and 34 possessions in round 23, 2018 against the Suns. This extra time as a forward dint limit his fantasy ceiling in contrast to previous seasons, but the positive for us as coaches is that now we get him as a no brainer forward selection
What’s interesting to me is that even though he spent more time FWD in 2018, he kicked more goals ‘resting there’ in 2017. From a fantasy footy perspective in 2017 from his 21 games in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam, he scored 18 tons and a colossal ten of those being over 120 ending in an average of 120. For SuperCoach he posted 19 tons, but his ceiling went next level as 16 of those were over 120 and ended the year averaging 136.
MY TAKE
What was the reason for the scoring dip last year? Simple, The need for Geelong to create better support inside forward 50 coupled with an overabundance of midfielders that are mainly one dimensional in terms of their versatility.
Geelong has identified and have rectified this with some offseason recruits but also in the plan to play Gary Ablett more as a forward. Further to this Chris Scott has spoken at length about Danger and his desire as a coach to use him more frequently in the guts like in 2016-2017 seasons. What will add this is Patrick has slimmed down, and while ‘best preseason ever’ feels like a game of fantasy footy bingo in the preseason it certainly looks correct for Danger.
Sometimes you can over complicate fantasy football because I can see no benefit to choosing to start without him. At worst he maintains his current output which still makes him the likely #1 forward for the year. Best case scenario he returns to his previous year’s numbers and becomes a candidate for the #1 scoring player overall.
While you can’t win your league or overall rankings glory in the first few weeks, you can make it near on impossible to succeed if you get ‘too cute’ and start the most bankable starting squad option in years.
I’m starting him everywhere, and I’m yet to hear a compelling and coherent argument not to start him. Save the pain, do it, pick Dangerfield!
DRAFT DECISION
In a SuperCoach scoring format, he’s the easiest selection for me as the number one overall selection. Grundy or Macrae may tempt some, but for me, it’s a one-horse race. In AFLFantasy scoring he’s undoubtedly in the conversation as the first picked, but not a certainty. If you have a top three selection, he could be in play, but anything beyond that, and you’ll almost certainly be without him this year.
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