With the 2023 SuperCoach, AFLFantasy & DreamTeam season officially over, it’s time to review the year in full, one club at a time. First up for our 2023 Fantasy Footy reviews is the Adelaide Crows.
Embed from Getty ImagesMVP
Without a doubt, Jordan Dawson was the clear fantasy football MVP for the Adelaide Football Club. The intercept playmaker transformed into a midfielder after being thrust into the Crows centre bounce rotation during gather round against the Blues. From then on, Dawson became a staple through the midfield, so much so he’ll be listed as a pure midfielder in 2024.
In AFLFantasy/DreamTeam, averages and points ranked him as the top defender. He finished the year as the fourth-highest-ranked player overall behind Tim English, Marcus Bontempelli and Rowan Marshall. His season consisted of sixteen tons, nine above 120, including his career-high 172. For SuperCoach, he averaged 115.9 and ranked fourth for total points across the entire format. His seventeen tons, eight above 120, alongside just one score below 89 all season, were notable scoring highlights. If you didn’t have Jordan on your side for long portions of 2023, your season didn’t quite hit the dizzying heights you’d have hoped for.
Embed from Getty ImagesMoney Man
Adelaide gave us a few money-makers this year. Max Michalanney was a reliable option in the early weeks of SuperCoach especially. While Luke Nankervis, late in the year, gave people a pulse as they looked to cash out of some other cash cows. However, Luke Pedler was the top money maker from the Crows this year. Luke ended the year averaging 58.2 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam and 55.8 in SuperCoach. At his peak, he generated $140,500 in SuperCoach, $310,900 & $283,000 in AFLFantasy.
Embed from Getty ImagesDidn’t quite work out
At first glance, naming Reilly O’Brien as a selection that didn’t work out could appear like I’m throwing shade at him. But it’s anything but. His seasonal average of 88.4 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam and 95.7, while not as strong as in 2022, still had him ranked inside the top five rucks for total points across the formats.
However, 2023 will go down as the year that a ‘set & forget’ ruck strategy of Tim English & Rowan Marshall in starting squads was the optimal starting spot. So going anyone else, as well as it might have gone, likely would have left you missing out on critical points or costing you valuable trade assets.
Embed from Getty Images2024 Watchlist
In 2023, Sam Berry managed just four games, two of which were vest-affected, and he finished the year with an average of 49 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam and 51 in SuperCoach. He didn’t play a small number of AFL games due to injury. After all, he played 15 matches at SANFL. Rather, the club opted for other options to rotate through the midfield. The memo from the club to Sam was to be more impactful and damaging in the game with the ball in hand, not just his elite defensive work.
His fantasy numbers are a drastic fall away from his 2022 season, where he averaged in the mid-80s across the formats and posted multiple tons. The upside of a down season is the potential upside for value in the coming year. For the Crows rebuild to succeed, they must move past Matt Crouch’s slightly aging midfield group, Ben Keays, Rory Sloane, Jordan Dawson and Rory Laird. Berry is among a young group of developing midfielders that the club needs to come on to help the rebuild succeed. With Harry Schoenberg out with a long term chillies injury, the opportunity has only further got wider for Berry to step in.
It’ll take a big offseason, but if Sam can force his way back into the Adelaide starting lineup, he’ll need to be seriously considered.
