Round three is one of the most critical rounds in your fantasy season. Before the prices begin to move drastically now is one of the final weeks you can make moves before getting too far behind. Here’s some rapid-fire advice that hopefully helps you with the trading decisions you make this week.
The priority of trading this round is to ensure you have the right cash cows. So fixing up underperforming stepping stones and premiums as correctional moves is fine this week. But not at the expense of missing the ‘must have’ money makers. Players like Josh Rachele and Jack Hayes need to be prioritised if you missed them.
If you’re unsure who has the best breakeven, we’ve listed all the players with negative BEs across the formats here. Thankfully, for the coaches who’ve missed Nic Martin, you can in DreamTeam & SuperCoach give yourself another week’s grace as his price won’t move just yet. The aim of the game is to get your cash cows off the ground and upgrade your team as quickly as possible. But, of course, you’ll need cash to do that, so prioritise money-making moves this week.
There’s a belief in the fantasy community that says you cannot sideways trade premiums. I beg to differ. At this time of the year, you absolutely can. It’s called correctional trading, not sideways or reactionary trading. It’s different in the middle to later rounds of the year, but in these opening rounds, the only trades you should be making a correctional, suspension or injury impacted trades.
The difference between reactionary trading and correctional is identifying motive. Reactionary trading moves on a player because of one or two bad scores. Trading like this is dangerous and can mean instant ‘egg on your face’ feels. Trading Jack Crisp last week is an example. The role was there in round one, just not the scoring. That’s reactionary.
Correctional sees changes in how a player is used or a team’s game style that no longer makes the previous scoring expectations viable. For example, Tom Mitchell is still in the midfield, but the Hawks game style seems more direct and less Mitchell dependent and less content to play uncontested possession footy. As a result, a corrective trade could move him on to another potential comparable premium like Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca, Jackson Macrae or Touk Miller. So don’t react with your trades, correct.
Don’t be so proud to admit when you get things wrong, whether missing a steppingstone pick or going against a popular selection that’s firing. We all make mistakes, and we call get things wrong. It’s a game; it happens. The difference between good and great coaches is that the great ones recognise the trend and amend it rapidly.
I love this time of year. It’s where coaches who might have a failed starting selection or two can start to get creative with the trading moves they make. Creative thinking and creative trading can open your side to endless possibilities. It can help curate some fixes to your structure or even rapidly increase the cash generation. So give the reverse trade button a workout over the next 48 hours. You never know what gold you might uncover.
Buy low, sell high! It’s the age-old motto to succeed in Fantasy football of all formats. Every week we share with you the players with the lowest breakevens across AFLFantasy, SuperCoach & DreamTeam. Here are the players that offer the best breakevens heading into a new round.
Buy low, sell high! It’s the age-old motto to succeed in Fantasy football of all formats. Every week we share with you the players with the lowest breakevens across AFLFantasy, SuperCoach & DreamTeam. Here are the players that offer the best breakevens heading into a new round.
‘It’s like you’re always stuck in second gear. When it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month, or even your year.‘ In 1995 the band The Rembrandts sang the song “I’ll Be There for You.” It’s best known as the theme song for the 90’s sitcom FRIENDS, but it could also be quite adequately used to describe some coaches fantasy footy round one.
After playing all game formats for over a decade, I can tell you that round one always throws coaches some curveballs. Unfortunately, those curveballs can come as the result of injuries. Just ask Christian Salem owners. Nothing stings more than a unique premium getting injured on single digits. We struggled to find a cash cow we liked in the backline, and now the only basement option coaches wanted in Sam De Koning will miss around two with concussion protocols. Just an unlucky break for all involved.
Other curveballs can be when your premiums, for seemingly no reason, deliver some of their worst scores for over 12 months or more. Just ask people with backlines with Jordan Ridley, Jayden Short, Lachie Whitfield or Jack Crisp. All were well done on their usual consistent best. Throw in that Jake Lloyd was out with health and safety protocols. It was a nasty week for backline premiums.
Finally, the next curveball that determined coaches’ weekends was rookie roulette. It’s a factor always in the opening few rounds when we have the most cash cows on the ground. Some weeks you’ll nail it. Having Jack Hayes, Josh Rachele or a Nic Martin on the field is a great result. Other weeks you’ll end up with Kaine Baldwin style scores. That’s just how it works. Take the good with the bad.
If you have these players and on-field, you probably feel like you’ve won the lotto. Enjoy it! If you’ve got them on the bench but don’t own them, remember you’ll be saving a trade to get them, and you’ll have (In AFLFantasy anyway) banked the cash generation. If you don’t have them, it’s OK to be annoyed, but now it’s time to move on. Make the corrective trade and move forward. The first few trades we make most seasons are all correctional. Make the trade, shake the dust off your feet and move into the new round.
One of the most significant factors to success in this game is luck! Of course, you need skill, research, and intuition to put yourself into contention. But ultimately, luck is the ingredient that determines success or failure. And luck is entirely out of your control.
So, as we enter round two, if things roll your way in round one, enjoy it! It’s nice to be on the right side of the lucky dice roll. But be careful how hard you flex on others. Australians love nothing more than to tear down a tall poppy. After all, next week, the luck might turn against you.
If you had a bad week, remember we are just one week into the year, it’s less than 5% of the year. You’ve got time to make amends. The priorities for you this week and next are:
Identify which cash cows you missed and make the corrective trades. Cash generation is king at this time of year.
If you have an injured player that will miss multiple games, trade them out.
In your preseason research, don’t overreact and trade a guy out because of one bad game. Round one always has some unique variables in footy. Remember 12 months ago the bottom of the ladder Crows beat the runners up. Weird things happen in week one.
Lastly, just like The Rembrandts sang, “I’ll be there for you.” Here at the Coaches Panel, we’ve got you covered to get you through the 2022 season!
Sometimes it’s hard to track which rookies are playing in round one. Worry no more! Here’s your one-stop shop to keep track of every AFL Debutant confirmed to be playing in round one.
This was a fascinating contest to round out the pre-season games. Gold Coast essentially dominated the game but were nearly undone by terrible conversion in front of goal. Geelong, being the experienced side it is, took advantage of the missed Suns opportunities and found themselves in front early in the second half. The young Suns found their kicking boots in time though and stormed home to a 23-point win.
Touk Miller
In some formats, he is a million dollar man, so it was important for those potentially parting with such a large sum of their salary cap, that he delivered. Long story short, he delivered. 32 touches, 9 tackles and 2 goals were his main stats and watching him run from contest to contest with his incredible work rate was enough for me to say he’s set for another uber-uber premium season!
Matt Rowell
It was interesting to see what prospective coaches needed to see from the young Sun gun in this match to convince them that he will start in their squads. Some just needed him to get through the game unscathed and others wanted to see more of the fantasy game we saw when he burst onto the scene in 2020. He did all of that and more, and actually looked like a different player without the excessive strapping on his shoulders and what appears to be a nice haircut. Rowell was hard at the ball and in the thick of the action at the coalface, extracting the ball and giving off to the outside runners. He finished with 27 disposals (18 contested) and 7 tackles and scored a fantasy ton across the formats without even taking a mark! The marks will come as he gets more games under his belt and starts to find position on the outside as well. Marks or no marks, he is priced deliciously and will be extremely popular after this match.
Noah Anderson
There has been a lot of chatter about Caleb Serong being an obvious 3rd year breakout candidate but not enough has been spoken about Noah Anderson. He was absolutely everywhere in this match but slowed in the last quarter, finishing with 25 touches (19 kicks) and would’ve scored much higher had he not given away 5 free kicks. Will be a unique pick, but I’d back him in for the big year.
Lachie Weller
Available as a forward this year, and playing a new role off halfback, Weller looms as a nice differential to the more commonly picked players. If you are basing his selection on this game, however, you might want to look elsewhere. The role is there but it didn’t look like they were trying too hard to get the ball in his hands coming out of the defensive 50. He did take 4 out of the 6 kick ins (playing on 3 times) but Geelong’s accuracy in front of goal really limited his scoring. He still had 18 touches for the game but only took 2 marks. Still a great option for Drafts but that’s probably it at this stage.
Jarrod Witts
Did enough if you are wanting to start him at R2 (especially now with the Preuss news) from only 54% game time. He only collected 7 disposals and 1 mark for the game but was the dominant big man on the ground recording the most hit outs in the game with 29 and impacted the contest plenty. Will have his work cut out for him in round 1 up against Naitanui which is worth considering before locking him in as R2.
Will Powell
Powell has steadily improved his output every season and now in his 5th season, can be considered fantasy relevant. Unlike Weller, he was involved in most defensive rebounds for Gold Coast and was busy up the ground too. He finished with 20 touches, 7 marks and 5 tackles, and can be pushed up your Draft rankings comfortably.
Brayden Fiorini
Fiorini is an interesting player. Historically has been an absolute magnet when he plays but doesn’t use it well enough to hold down a spot in one of the league’s cellar dweller sides. He was the opposite in this match as his game was more about quality over quantity which will hold him in good stead for round 1 selection. Playing more of a half forward role in the first half he was largely unsighted but set free in the second half saw him collect 16 touches in the second half. He finished the night with 23 disposals and 5 tackles but to me looked much more dangerous with ball in hand than we’ve been accustomed to. I don’t think he should be dismissed as a unique starter in Classic comps this year despite his price tag.
Jack Lukosius
The forward role is real and consequently; his fantasy game is dead. He kicked 3 goals and looked excellent for the Suns but he should no longer be considered in the fantasy world. At least not this year anyway.
Patrick Dangerfield
This wasn’t the game potential Dangerfield owners wanted to see as he recorded just the 17 disposals and spent lots of time forward. He kicked 2 goals but didn’t read the ball or the play well in the forward role especially early in the game when supply was at a minimum. So, the question remains, is this going to be how Geelong play Dangerfield this year or is it just a case of Gary Rohan not playing and it being a pre-season match? We’ll find out in round 1 I suspect but either way, you can expect to see Dangerfield gain forward status again this season but until then, it’s hard to make a case for him in Classic.
Cam Guthrie
Whizzed around collecting touches at will as he has done the last couple of years and shows no signs of dropping his output this year. Had 32 touches, kicked a goal, and even took some kick outs! A fairly safe pick if you want to stand out from the crowd but you’re more likely to pick him in your Draft side.
Zach Guthrie
It’s the younger Guthrie I was more interested in tracking in this game and thankfully I didn’t have to look too hard to notice him. With the Geelong defence under siege for most of the first quarter, Guthrie saw a heap of footy and collected 9 possessions for the term. He looks a different player to the baby-faced youngster who played a career high 13 games last year as he has put on some size and is now putting himself in good spots to find the ball. It’s worth noting Tom Stewart and Jack Henry weren’t playing and will likely steal points off Guthrie when they return. Still, the younger Guthrie looked good for his 25 touches and it’s also worth noting, his brother Cam didn’t start putting out decent fantasy scores until he had reached 40 career games, which is the figure Zach will be approaching early this year. A Draft sleeper that will surprise a few this year.
Sam De Koning
The kids down at the Cattery are so interesting because they likely have the talent but haven’t seen much in the way of senior footy due to Geelong always being a top 4 side. De Koning was excellent in this match showing poise and composure I did not expect from the 204cm backman finishing with 19 disposals and 5 marks. Like Guthrie, his scoring opportunities received a bump in the absence of Stewart and Henry, but I think we saw enough to suggest this cash cow will be playing round 1.
Max Holmes
Holmes is another highly touted youngster that should see more opportunities this year after playing 9 games last year, including the finals series. He didn’t look out of place in this match collecting 23 touches but unfortunately is priced in no man’s land and won’t be considered for any fantasy squads this year. Will be a player to watch for the future.
Tom Atkins
The back pocket hard nut had an excellent game seemingly opposed to Rankine but running off him and doing as he pleased. He will have similar games like this but then also very low scoring games when made more accountable. 25 touches and 6 tackles but he is no more than a handy Draft guy.
Joel Selwood
Wow! Selwood saw what Callum Mills did in just 41% game time and said, “hold my beer, er, um, Gatorade”. In just 37% game time, Selwood turned back the clock scoring 83 DT/AF points and 93 SC points! Does this mean he’s a must have under-priced premo? Certainly not, but it’s just a reminder there’s still some legs left in this old Cat. Look to snap him up late in Drafts.
Tyson Stengle
Had to give a quick mention to the flighty forward arriving at his third club. After 4 goals in the practice match last week, all eyes were on Stengle for a potential F5/F6 spot in our squads. Unfortunately, he was a victim of his role and the lack of supply for the Geelong forwards and was very quiet early. He warmed into the game to finish with 10 touches and a goal, but I think some very low scores can be expected this year which will look ugly on our fields.
Jeremy Cameron
The word out of Geelong is Cameron is as fit as he’s been in years (isn’t everyone?) but I’d believe it on this game’s form. In a tough match for Cats forwards, Cameron presented high up the field and helped connect the ball to the deeper forwards. Finished with 3 goals and 16 touches and will improve his output drastically from last year.
For the second time in a week, the Dockers and Eagles went head-to-head in a practice match but this one was a much closer representation of how the sides will line up in round 1 and thankfully was a much closer contest to watch. The undermanned Eagles did well to stay in the contest all night with the Dockers’ poor goal conversion keeping it a contest. In the end, Fremantle held on for a nice win and both sides will take plenty of positives in the lead up to round 1.
Andrew Brayshaw
Looked every bit the player we think he is going to be this year racking up 30 touches, 5 tackles and a goal whilst attending the majority of centre bounces. The tags will come this year, but Brayshaw is such a hard runner that it may not matter. His hard running rewarded him with a Joe the Goose goal in the goal square unmanned. There’s not much more to add here, if you liked Brayshaw before this game then nothing should have changed for you.
Luke Ryan
Has very much gone under the radar this pre-season as I haven’t heard his name mentioned at all. Fremantle dominated the uncontested mark stat as they frequently opted to chip the ball around in their back half. Ryan was a beneficiary of this style taking 13 marks for the game (all uncontested) and finishing the game as one of the highest scorers across the formats. If Fremantle maintain this game style throughout the season, Ryan could be a nice option although his price will put most off.
Sean Darcy
Tipped to give the top 2 ruck mantle a nudge this year, Darcy had a strange game that was hard to interpret. His Supercoach score was double his DT/AF score which indicates he had a big impact on the game without really touching the footy much. He played 80% of the game but could only manage 2 kicks for the game, 1 of which was an incredible banana goal from the pocket that I don’t think any other ruckman in the game would’ve pulled off or even attempted for that matter. The role was fine as he did the bulk of the rucking but he didn’t take a mark for the whole game as he and Naitanui seemed to nullify each other out from the stat sheet. His cause wasn’t helped when Rory Lobb cannoned into him in a marking contest in the second quarter. All in all, a strange game from Darcy who I’m sure is still set for a big year but I don’t see him overtaking Gawn or Grundy just yet.
There has been a lot of breakout buzz this pre-season around Serong and rightfully so as he picked up where he left off late last season with a strong fantasy game. He collected 25 touches mostly on the outside attending 60% centre bounces and used the ball well. The concern with Serong increasing his scores this season is that his time on ground numbers need to increase for him to become a fully-fledged premium. He averaged 74% time on ground last season and was at 71% in this game. He did spend some time on the bench having his head strapped with the visual reminding me of a young Joel Selwood. Serong will be an excellent fantasy player for years to come, I’m just not sure if this is the year he completely breaks out.
Will Brodie
With Fyfe set to come back into the side, Brodie needed to put his best foot forward and finish off what has been a strong pre-season at his new club. In only 67% time on ground, he laid a match high 8 tackles to go with his 23 touches and looks like fitting in well to the Freo midfield attending 52% centre bounces. My main concern with picking Brodie to start the year is that he teased us last year with a solid pre-season and started the year in the Gold Coast midfield, but he looked completely lost and eventually lost his spot. The good thing about this year is he at a new club and is priced low enough that you can take the risk this year. If he’s named round 1, I’m on board.
Jordan Clark
Looks good in purple and you can just about be certain he will gain defender status early in the season. Looked assured with his 24 touches and should develop into the player we had hoped last season at the Cats.
Hayden Young
Maybe not relevant in the fantasy world just yet but I really like this kid. He’s tough and hard and reminds me of a young Rory Laird. Had 17 touches and would’ve scored much better had he not registered zero stats in the 2nd quarter.
Liam Henry
The wing role appears to be there for him, but the scoring isn’t. Just doesn’t get his hand on it enough.
Michael Walters
The midfield role is gone but Walters showed that at his best, he can still score well as a forward. Was brilliant in this game especially in the last quarter when he picked up 10 touches and kicked 2 goals. Worth a look in Drafts.
Matt Taberner
Was BOG at halftime showing a huge presence that Fremantle fans have been wanting to see for years. Was statless in the 3rd term before finishing strong in the last quarter. Not a terrible Draft option.
Heath Chapman
Played a very fantasy friendly game and made the most of Fremantle’s chip kick game style taking 8 uncontested marks. Is cheap enough but I wouldn’t be jumping on based on this one game. Worth watching in the early stages of the season.
Tim Kelly
With so many of West Coast’s midfield facing time on the sidelines, Kelly needs to lift, and he looks primed for a big season. Dominated the game and was one of the highest fantasy scorers on the ground across the formats. At full flight, Kelly is a joy to watch and is the X-factor that the Eagles need in the middle of the ground. He finished the night with 32 touches and a goal oozing class all over the field. Is cheap after an injury affected and poor 2021 by his standards and offers value, particularly in Super Coach.
Alex Witherden
Witherden had an interesting night playing in his usual fantasy friendly role. He looked to be the designated kicker out of the back half taking 6/13 kick ins (and playing on every time) but he did turn it over a few times which has been a knock on his game in the past. He finished the game with 27 touches, with 21 of those being kicks but the best part of his game, was the fact that he did this alongside Hurn. I think he can be the player we need him to be this year and is worth a look. Could come under some scrutiny for a big bump on Brayshaw at the opening bounce of the second half that sparked memories of Mark Yeates on Dermott Brereton in the ’89 grand final!
Andrew Gaff
Disrespected in the fantasy world this pre-season as there has been almost zero talk about him as an under-priced premo. He averaged under 100 for the first time in DT/AF since 2016 and 2017 for SC and is well under priced for his potential output. The problem is, it looks like last year might not be an outlier, but more the start of a downward trend. With so many Eagles mids missing, Gaff had to play much more inside than usual which is not his preferred position. He tried hard all night and West Coast looked much better when Gaff was involved. He finished with 21 touches including 15 in the second half and also kicked a goal.
Nic Naitanui
Very quiet night playing his usual low time on ground (58%). Was dragged deep to the defensive goal square often by Darcy which seemed a deliberate ploy to keep NicNat out of the action. It worked as he only managed 11 disposals and, like Darcy, zero marks.
Connor West
Maybe it’s the hair but there’s a real Matt Priddis 2.0 feel about this kid. I really enjoyed watching him crack in all night and with the current midfielder shortage at the Eagles, he’s a monty for round 1. 16 mostly contested touches from 69% game time but zero marks shows he needs to work on his outside game for him to be fantasy relevant.
Brady Hough
I’ll put my hand up and admit I knew next to nothing about this guy before this game but in a year where cheap rookies are scarce, he has put his hand up for round 1 with a decent performance playing predominantly in the back half taking 8 marks.
Hugh Dixon
The former Docker just joined the club this week and is now very likely to play round 1! He didn’t bother the stat sheet too much but certainly didn’t look out of place at the level. Did some nice things and finished with 9 disposals and 3 marks. Should be F8 in most sides.
Sam Petrevski-Seton
Didn’t get much game time but didn’t do much to warrant more game time. Not interested in him at this stage.
Bailey Williams
Looks like being Naitanui’s back up which is appealing considering NicNat’s a low time on ground guy, but Williams struggled to have any impact with just the 1 kick and only 5 hit outs for the match.
He played just half of the match against the Saints and had the ball on a string. Floated between halfback and midfield and gave coaches that were already hot for owning him all the confidence in the world they needed.
Jye Caldwell
Jye’s one of the forgotten stepping stone midfielders this year. With coaches opting for guys like Matt Rowell or Jarrod Berry. Jye’s every chance of matching the scoring realms of both of these lads if this midfield function holds strong. For some, it might just be personal preference, but for me, as good as he could be, I’d still pick the others over him.
Andrew McGrath
The former #1 draft pick looks so much better coming off the halfback. His run and carry and high footy IQ were evident across the game. He might not get the volume of the ball to have the big ceiling fantasy scores, but in his role, he should be a viable performer. Keep an eye on a season DPP allocation if this role holds.
Darcy Parish
He cruised around in second gear. However, the midfield role is still there, and with McGrath and Merrett spending less time through the midfield, he looks like the leading man for the Dons in 2022.
Jordan Ridley
This game was a perfect reminder of why I think he’s a fantastic option in SuperCoach and just an OK version in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam pick. The quantity of ball isn’t there, especially with McGrath/Merrett Sharking some easy ball. Instead, it’s high-quality use of the ball and intercepting that makes all the difference in SuperCoach.
Rowan Marshall
The history of Rowan Marshall over the past few seasons is clear. He scores like a premium when he’s required to be the #1 ruck option for the Saints. With no Ryder or Campbell, he was given the freedom to roam the ground for the Saints. If he holds down the top mantle from Ryder for the year, he’ll be one of the best scoring ruckmen of the season.
Jack Steele
All we need from our premiums in the preseason is to get through the game unscathed. Don’t worry about the points. He played midfield, looked fit and will be a beast again in 2022.
Jack Hayes
We are crying out for cash cows on almost every line in 2022, especially those at the basement price that looks to have some level of job security. I was pretty impressed with his work around the ground and his ability to impact the scoreboard when given his opportunities. If he’s named round one, he’ll be a popular pick.
Injuries
For the Saints, it’s not uncommon to sadly see Jack Billings and Hunter Clark with the hospital emoji next to their name. For Clark, a shoulder injury, while for Billings, it’s his hammy. Both will miss the start of the season.
Brad Hill
At the start of the preseason, I noticed the positional change to DEF for Brad. With Coffield out for the year and Clark out for the first few rounds, there’s an excellent role opening up for Hill. His run and carry for the Saints is super important. And his seven-rebound 50s highlighted the fact that the club wanted the ball in his hands when exiting the backline. It might be a stretch in the salary cap formats, but in your draft, he’s certainly one to consider.
It was a windy clash on Saturday afternoon. The first of three matches that these clubs will play against each other essentially went to script, especially with Port’s dominance in the second half. Thankfully we had a few standout fantasy moments to help us make some big decisions.
Zak Butters
Attended more centre bounces in this game after just a handful last week. It was an impressive performance with a solid K:H ratio, scoreboard impact and 8 marks. Managed 2 tackles which I think will rise in the season proper. He’s a great candidate to break out and be a top 6-10 scoring forward in 2022.
Connor Rozee
Surprisingly spent a bit more time than usual at centre bounces. He managed to find a bit of the ball but he’s such a great mover and so flashy which I believe favours a more forward dominant role. Priced too awkwardly to consider in classic.
Sam Hayes
Competed well but mostly chopped out for Lycett rather than playing in tandem. His hitout work was decent and didn’t have too many issues finding the footy. If he’s selected he should be strongly considered in your classic teams.
Jackson Mead/Josh Sinn
Both had their moments and there’s no doubt they’ll spend time in the senior side this year but they’re probably last picked at the moment. I’d be worried they get the sub.
Reilly O’Brien
A pretty solid game from the big man. He certainly took advantage of Ports poor kicking with the wind being a large factor in that. Still, his score was mostly built off one quarter of dominance in the 2nd rather than a complete performance.
Josh Rachele
He is going to be a very good footballer. He won’t score 3 goals every week and I don’t believe the ball is going to spend a heap of time in the Crows F50 but his floor may be decent enough to select him if he can replicate the same tackling pressure he displayed in this game. 9 tackles for a young small forward is seriously elite. Certainly worth considering.
Matt Crouch
Ticked all the boxes you needed if you were keen on him. We know the type of player he is and this game suggested he’s well on his way to regaining the form that’s made him such a consistent fantasy player in years previous. No doubt he’ll be on managed minutes at the beginning of the season but a hand injury to Laird may fast track that.
Mitch Hinge
Looked decent but with the absence of Milera and Dawson it’s hard to get much of a read on him. 4 games in 6 years has me leaning towards a pass.
It was a young Hawthorn unit taking on an experienced Richmond outfit. The result was no surprise, but we learnt plenty from a fantasy footy perspective.
Josh Ward
Arguably the biggest takeaway from the game. Lock in Josh Ward. He was sensational across the game, in my eyes he was the best Hawk on the ground. Ward won plenty of the ball, he made good decisions both with and without the footy & is a certainty to play round one.
Connor Nash
Late last year the Hawks started to deploy Nash as a centre bounce midfielder. That role was evident yet again throughout this match. As a forward listed player player he could be a viable stepping stone for us to consider. The challenge with going ’all in’ on him in salary cap formats is that the Hawks were without Mitchell and O’Meara. How much of this role is the Hawks new normal? Or was he only given the heavy midfield minutes due to the absence of options? Sadly, we won’t know for certain until four rounds into the season.
Jai Newcombe
Took his time to build into the game, but as the final siren went it was evident as to why Sam Mitchell is such a fan of his. Jai adds a defensive hard edge to the midfield and will allow other Hawk mids to play to their offensive best. I don’t mind him as a late draft pickup.
The Tigers had a super tall forward line with Riewoldt, Lynch, Balta & a resting ruck all inside 50. As a result, Sicily had to play a more accountable role and found less opportunities to peel off and intercept. Other opposition teams won’t play this many tall forwards, that means he should be freed to play his standard intercepting role. James offers excellent value and with the lack of cheap options in the backline he’s someone that every coach needs to consider regardless of the format.
Connor MacDonald
The year of expensive cash cows continues with Connor plying his craft across the game. He looks was a fantasy star as a junior and we saw glimpses of it as the game went on. He’s already been hyped for a round one debut, and did his chances no harm with this game. I believe the hawks will be pushing to get 50+ games into him, Jai & Josh as a midfield trio as quickly as possible. If named round one, he’s a good chance to get multiple games early.
Noteable Outs
Tom Mitchell & Jaeger O’Meara
Dustin Martin
Dusty played… He looked good, and with so many doubts on forward premos he could just be the safest building block in this line.
Hugo Ralphsmith
Much has been made about the lack of cows in 2022. As a result, anyone priced under $300k that looks like they’ll get games we need to seriously consider. He’s available to be picked as a MID/FWD but is playing predominantly off halfback. I’ve been impressed with his development in the offseason, and as good as he’s looked I still have a slight concern. That is he’s a possible sub candidate most weeks. If named one round, I can see plenty making room for him at F5 or F6.
Trent Cotchin
Not fantasy relevant, but when he’s fit and firing he’s so important to the Tigers structure. If he can get 20+ games then for those hoping for Richmond to miss finals again you might find yourselves disappointed.
Over the past few years Jayden has shown he’s a genuine top tier defensive premium. This match just sent up a massive flare around just how good he can be. If you were hot on him before this match, understandably nothing has changed.
Daniel Rioli
Seems to finally has found his feet in the Tigers defensive 6. I couldn’t touch him in salary gap formats, but late on draft day he could be a brilliant flyer.
0
0
