A loss of defensive status doesn’t mean it’s a loss of fantasy relevance for this premiership Eagle.
PLAYER PROFILE
Name: Elliot Yeo
Age: 25
Club: West Coast Eagles
Position: Midfield
2018 Highest Score:
138 Vs Gold Coast (AFLFantasy)
150 Vs Gold Coast (SuperCoach)
2018 Average:
106.7 (AFLFantasy)
107.8 (SuperCoach)
SuperCoach Price: $570,300
AFLFantasy Price: $692,000
AFLDreamTeam Price: $682,200
WHY IS HE RELEVANT?
After previously being awarded All Australian selection at half-back, Yeo took the next evolution in his game by moving into the midfield and arguably is now among of the games elite midfielders. In 2018 he delivered career-highs for disposals, tackles, inside 50s, clearances, contested possessions and goal assists plus he ended up winning the clubs best and fairest in a year where they won the flag.
From a fantasy footy perspective, it was a career best for the Eagles star. In SuperCoach he finished the year with 15 tons, 7 of those were over 120 and an average of 107. While in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam he scored 100 or more in 14 matches, 6 of them over 120 and an average of 106.
Not only does he boast a strong ceiling but his scoring basement is consistently high. Only 3 times in SuperCoach and 4 in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam did his scores dip below 90 which included a clear once off a shocker against the Cats in round 3 where he was used as a lockdown defender and scored 46 AFLFantasy/SuperCoach and a 27 in SuperCoach. Take this clear once off out of his seasonal average is around that of 110 across all formats.
Yeo in 2018 and likely again in 2019 will rarely get the attention of taggers given Andrew Gaff and also Luke Shuey are both arguably more damaging by foot or susceptible to the attention.
MY TAKE
The loss of dual position status can sometimes be a blessing in disguise for Fantasy coaches. If Yeo were to retain defensive status he’d be in contention as the #1 defender and a likely 40-50% ownership. However, the midfielder only status can turn coaches away from selecting him. Just last year Jackson Macrae went from a popular owned forward to a rarely selected midfielder in starting squads and yet turned out to be one of the best fantasy options in the game. The low ownership numbers of a premium can be either a blessing or a curse depending on how they start their season. The positive, is you have a unique gun killing it for you and something that’s setting your side up different from the pack. The negative is if he fails to deliver only barely anyone feels the pain and can seriously stall your push for rankings early in the year.
One does need to wonder whether or not he’s a better or worse fantasy option with Andrew Gaff in the side. While we have only 3 games of ‘home and away’ footy data we did a bump of 15 points per game in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam and a dip of 10 points in SuperCoach when Yeo played without Gaff. Truth be told though, Gaff is due back from suspension in the 3rd round of the year. So any potential impact (positive or negative) is minimal.
The big question for those seriously considering starting with Yeo is can he find a way to give a further bump to his seasonal averages and go over 110. In just pure midfield for AFLFantasy/DreamTeam, only 4 are currently available one of which is Tom Mitchell while in SuperCoach it’s 8. Elliot’s close enough to the big boys, and as I said if you remove the clear one off against Geelong last year and he’s a 110 midfielder.
His bye round means he’ll miss round 13 along with premium midfielders in Lachie Neale, Adam Treloar, Dayne Beams, Joel Selwood, Clayton Oliver and previous inclusion in the 50 Most Relevant Angus Brayshaw. At 25 he’s just starting to hit his peak and needs to be seriously considered as a unique starting squad option in all formats of the game.
DRAFT DECISIONS
Based on current avg: Ranked 12th mid in SuperCoach and 10th in AFLFantasy/DreamTeam despite this he will likely be many teams M2 with guys that a more ‘attractive’ fantasy names like Matt Crouch and Zach Merrett ranked below him.
In many drafts, the earliest he’ll go is late second round but it’ll be pretty safe to suggest he’ll be
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